Premier League 2020/21 an extraordinary season

The calendar year 2020 has been one very extraordinary period for most sports, and especially the Premier League. Going to Round 12 of the league there are already a lot of talking points that could go on for the better part of the season. The Covid-19 protocols set out have seen the league suffer financially, with fans kept away from the stadia while restrictions imposed on players and officials have reduced the fun aspect of the league.

The extraordinary nature of the season has forced clubs to adapt to what would have been unthinkable by this time last year. Thankfully, after strict observation of the set protocols since the Project Restart, fans are starting to come back to the stadia.

Bookmakers have also been forced to move with the changing times. With fans asked to stay home, and more working from home, bookies have had to design their products to not only reach these users but to entice them to sign up too. Most of these offers are well summed up on Wincomparator, with in-depth info provided for each.

The emergence of Tottenham Hotspur as a genuine title contender is another factor about this season that can’t be ignored. This should be Jose Mourinho’s first full season at the club and his footprint can already be seen at the North London side.

Tottenham head to the 12^th round of matches leading the league standings and mourinho has already engineered wins over Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, drawn with Chelsea and picked routine wins over a number of mid table sides. The Portuguese manager has managed to bring out the best of Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min and the two have a total 18 goals already after 11 rounds.

To emphasize on Mourinho’s impact at Spurs, he has managed to alienate one of the team’s key players, Dele Alli, and still keep the team performing. Alli is now a bit part player, mostly used in the Europa League, and second team duties. In the meantime, the manager has been able to revive Pierre-Emile Hojberg’s career and made him one of his most reliable players. If by any chance Spurs march on and win the title, Hojberg’s contribution will be well highlighted, that is if he maintains the current standards.

Chelsea is another club that has completed a great transformation after being banned from signing new players for two transfer windows. They were among the biggest spenders in the summer transfers and the big investment is paying off.

In attack, Timo Werner is banging in goals, Hakim Ziyech is playing the provider’s role very well and Kai Havertz is coming up well. Olivier Giroud, who started the season in the periphery is now making his case much clearly and has attracted praise from the manager.

Read more: Giroud ‘getting better with age’ -Lampard

In defence, Thiago Silva has stabilized after the horror start in the game against West Bromwich Albion while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has provided the safe hands the team has badly needed in recent seasons.

The Blues started the season in poor defensive form and the players hadn’t ticked as well but that seems like a distant memory for now, with Chelsea tipped to challenge for the title for the first time since winning it in 2015.