How Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea

This is a unique and somewhat impossible time in the sports world and in the world as a whole. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, we have no idea whether or when soccer and other sports will resume their seasons, we don't know whether there will be fans in the stands when they do, we don't know whether or when transfer windows will open and, most importantly from a sports perspective, we don't know just how painful the financial hit from this stoppage will be. It could be awfully bad, and it could drastically change the way personnel decisions are made w88 line .

We do, however, know how teams looked before the stoppages took place. So as we continue to search for diversions during this extended period of social distancing, let's look at England's six richest clubs -- Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur -- and assess their strengths and weaknesses moving into the future. You know, for whenever there's a future to actually move into.



Editor's Note: There will be a second edition of this, looking at the biggest clubs across Europe (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich & Co.), next week.

This season has been fascinating to watch and has unfolded in several distinct stages. First, a talented but stale roster underachieved for Mauricio Pochettino. Then, injuries waylaid any attempted recovery for new manager Jose Mourinho. Forward Harry Kane and midfielder Moussa Sissoko haven't played since early January, with forward Son Heung-Min joining the duo on the injured list a few weeks later. The offense has had to come from the midfield, which is another way of saying it hasn't come w88 casino .

Spurs were blown out by Red Bull Leipzig in the Champions League round of 16, and although they trailed fifth-place Manchester United by only four points at the time of play stopping, it was beginning to feel like 40.

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Biggest strength: The core roster is somehow still pretty young
Kane is 26, and Son, right back Serge Aurier and forward Lucas Moura are 27. (Dele Alli, Spurs' most productive player since the injury run began, is somehow still 23.) If we assume a player's peak (on average) comes in the 25-29 age range, there could still be another year or two of high-level productivity in store for this group even if some have more mileage on their respective odometers than typical players their age.

Spurs also have an interesting base of talented youngsters: midfielders Giovani Lo Celso, Harry Winks, Steven Bergwijn and Tanguy Ndombele and defenders Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga are all 24 and under, along with Alli. Really, only defender Toby Alderweireld and Sissoko are in danger of aging out of the rotation in the coming years. Safe to say, defender Jan Vertonghen already has w88club mobile .

The team's hustle levels in the midfield were still strong even without Sissoko, probably Spurs' best player in ball pursuit. Since Jan. 1, they ranked third in the Premier League in total ball recoveries, and while they were increasingly incapable of pressing high up the field, they were fourth in possessions won in the middle third of the pitch. They were still putting in effort, and theoretically if/when you add Sissoko and actual offensive options in Son and Kane, you might have a team again.