The 2021-22 Premier League season is about to go down to the wire. With just a handful of games left, a mere point separates Manchester City at the top of the table from Liverpool in second, north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are battling it out for fourth and at the other end of the table Everton and Burnley are stuck in a nail-biting scrap for Survival.
With the pressure firmly on so many sides as there’s plenty to play for between now and the end of the season later this month, it’s proving too difficult to predict who to back in the Premier League betting odds. But it will all soon be over for another couple of months, and then it will be time for reflection and for the best players and coaches to be recognised at the PFA Awards.
The Player of the Year Award is one that every top-flight footballer wants to win, but it looks like the trophy is going to be in familiar hands this year. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at three of the favourites for the personal accolade.
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool
Liverpool might not regain their Premier League title, potentially losing out to Manchester City by nothing more than a single point for what would amazingly be the second time in four years, but Mohamed Salah will almost certainly take home the Player of the Year award.
It would be the second time the affectionately known ‘Egyptian King’ has been crowned the English top flight’s best player, after winning the award previously in 2018, and he would be a deserved winner having scored 22 goals and assisted 13 times in 32 Premier League games so far this campaign.
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne will be looking to make history at this year’s awards ceremony, hoping to become the first ever player since the Player of the Year accolade was inaugurated at the end of the 1973-74 season to take home the trophy on three occasions.
The Belgian playmaker became the first Manchester City player to win the award in 2019-20 and he joined the likes of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry as a dual recipient at the end of last season. He has 11 goals and six assists in 26 games this season, and if City hold on for the title, he could complete the hattrick and be crowned best player for the third time.
Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur
The gulf between the top two and the rest of the Premier League has once again been made clear this year, with Liverpool and Man City streaking clear at the top of the table — leaving the rest of the so-called ‘Big Six’ and co. in their wake as they battle it out for supremacy in two-horse race.
The difference in class is there for all to see, and it’s reflected in the Player of the Year market — as Harry Kane is someway behind Salah and De Bruyne. Amazingly, the Tottenham Hotspur man has never won the award and with this season being a rather poor one by his incredibly high standards, it’s unlikely he’s going to be presented with the title next month.
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