The 2016/17 Premier League season has almost hit the halfway mark. With 16 rounds of matches played, Chelsea tops the table rather comfortably with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City in hot pursuit. But can Chelsea’s grip on top of the table be wrestled away by those in the hunt? Can Jose Mourinho and his expensively assembled Manchester United team finally kick into action and surpass others for a top four spot? Or even the title?

This unpredictable season has everything up in the air.

Stuttering champions

Twelve months ago, after having narrowly escaped relegation, Leicester City had everyone scratching their heads when they topped the table midway through the season. Even more shocking was their title triumph that left English’s established powers baffled. But Leicester’s fairy tale has come to an end, with the Foxes going from champions to chumps. Claudio Ranieri’s and his title winning team has badly struggled to regain the spark this time around. Flashes of brilliance has been on display in the Champion’s League and during a convincing 4-2 victory against Manchester City last week but the lack of consistency and a poor away run has seen them languishing at a measly 14th in the table.

Free-flowing Chelsea

Last year, Chelsea produced one of the worst defenses of the Premier League title, prompting the club to replace Jose Mourinho with Antonio Conte and charging him of reversing the club’s fortune. He began his reign a bit wobbly, with two unconvincing defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal. But since he made a tactical switch to a 3-4-3 formation, his team have undergone a renaissance. After the switch, Chelsea have now won 10 consecutive matches and have let in two goals, keeping eight clean sheets. But perhaps sweeter than victories, it has been the manner in which the club has achieved them. They brushed aside Manchester United, humiliated Manchester City and thumped Tottenham to stamp their intent in the title race. With Conte and Chelsea in such rich vein of form and the fact that they have won every Premier League title when they topped the table at Christmas, it is difficult to bet against them bringing the title back to Stamford Bridge.

Inconsistent City

Pep Guardiola’s illustrious four-year, 14 trophy-laden campaign at Barcelona and another three dominating years with Bayern Munich in Germany made him the most coveted manager in the world. Guardiola took charge of the cash-rich Manchester City this year hoping to repeat the same dominance he enjoyed with Barcelona and Munich. His start to City managerial career seemed to be on course for just that. Victories in the Manchester Derby and early in the Champions League group stage showed just why City were desperate to get him in charge. But all is not well of late at the club. City has struggled for results, despite having an arsenal of attacking options. Five victories in 16 games in all competitions, including a laborious one against Watford, have been challenging for both the club and its manager to swallow.

Unpredictable Arsenal, Liverpool

Arsene Wenger is into the final year of his contract with Arsenal and he has not won the Premier League title since 2004. With negotiations on a new contract yet to take place, a Premier League title could be a perfect hurrah for the manager who has been in the club for 20 years. Wenger has also splashed the cash this time around capturing the likes of Granit Xhaka, Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi. Arsenal has lost only twice after 16 matches this season but, as it has often been, there are doubts about the club being able to mount a sustained title challenge.

Jurgen Klopp had made a desire of heavy metal approach, rather than a silent symphony of passing, clear when he took charge of Liverpool last October. Now into the first full season in charge, Klopp has delivered entertaining football, losing only once in their last 10 matches and scoring a league-high 40 goals. But the main concern for the manager is they have leaked 20 goals this season, the highest among the top four clubs. Currently, placed second in the table, with Arsenal and Man City hot on its tail, Liverpool have to plug their defense, if they are to mount a title challenge this season and end their long Premier League trophy drought.

United out to prove

Hopes were high among Manchester United fans when Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed ‘special one’, took charge of the Red Devils this May. The club was out to prove they were still a force to reckon with and backed Mourinho with the mega signings of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly. While Mkhitaryan has started to show glimpses of his brilliance and Ibrahimovic is returning to scoring days, Pogba’s much-hyped homecoming has gone a tad awry. Pogba became the most expensive player in the world after moving to United from Juventus but has struggled to prove his price tag at the club he left in 2012. Club’s captain and England’s record scorer Wayne Rooney, once an integral part of the club, has been relegated to the bench. The fluent attacking mindset, never-give-up-spirit and unparalleled optimism under Alex Ferguson has long dissipated and hopes of returning to those winning days under Mourinho has slowly begun to erode. With United’s title hopes all but gone, only an improvement on the current performance will guarantee them top-four finish, which now seems to be the only safe landing for the club and its manager.

The Champions?

Football, and particularly the Premier League, is seldom predictable. And with as many as six clubs in the hunt for the title this year, it is difficult to forecast a champion. Chelsea will cherish their current six point lead at the top of the table but will be wary of a host of other clubs following close behind. With Manchester United faltering again this season, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City seem to be the only other contenders for the title. But given the old cliché—anyone can beat anyone in the Premier League—this season looks set to become one of the most absorbing in recent history.