The 2016/17 English Premier League season was full of ups and downs.

There were new managers, high profile sackings and a desperate late scramble to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

We look back at the five biggest turning points of the season and predict what could make or break the 2017/18 campaign.

NUMBER FIVE: Cry Three-Dom

Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0 - 24/09/16
Conte changes his system during Emirates hammering

In the first few months of the season, Chelsea looked like a team without a plan. New manager Antonio Conte appeared out of his depth and there was little to suggest that they could challenge for the title, following on from their disastrous 2015/16 campaign.

In late September, the Blues faced Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, where Conte stuck with the same 4-1-4-1 formation that saw his side lose to Liverpool the previous weekend.

A flat back four of Branislav Ivanović, Gary Cahill, David Luiz and César Azpilicueta were deployed behind N’Golo Kante, who was assigned a holding midfield role. In front of the Frenchman, Nemanja Matic lined up alongside Cesc Fabregas, with Eden Hazard and Willian on the wings and Diego Costa upfront.

It was a recipe for disaster.

Chelsea were rarely allowed to venture out of their own half, as Arsenal – in particular Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez – tore Conte’s men to shreds.

The prolific Costa was isolated upfront while Chelsea’s back four, which missed injured captain John Terry, looked broken and lethargic.

Goals from Sanchez, Özil and Theo Walcott completed a chastening first half for the Blues, who hadn’t lost at the Emirates since 2010.

That prompted a significant switch from the Chelsea manager.

Ten minutes into the second half, Conte withdrew Fabregas and threw on new signing Marcos Alonso for his first Premier League appearance.

The Italian also switched to a more fluid 3-4-3 formation – like the one he used with his national side at Euro 2016.

At first it seemed like a damage limitation exercise, as Chelsea managed to keep the score down in a goalless second half.

However, in their next game, away at Hull City, Conte employed the unorthodox system again, deploying Alonso and the seemingly-exiled Victor Moses as wingbacks.

The new structure gave Chelsea more stability at the back, with three centre halves rather than two. It also allowed their talented offensive players, the likes of Hazard and Pedro, to play further up the pitch, supporting Costa rather than being bogged down by defensive duties.

After the Arsenal result, Chelsea found themselves eight points adrift of league leaders Manchester City.

The change of formation began a decisive 13-match winning streak, eventually propelling the Blues to their fifth Premier League title.

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NUMBER FOUR: Press the key

Tottenham 2 Manchester City 0 - 02/10/16
Pochettino's high press exposes Manchester City

Pep Guardiola had adapted to life in England with aplomb. Six wins out of six in the Premier League, including a derby-day victory over Manchester United, had left his Manchester City side four points clear at the top of the table.

That was before they visited White Hart Lane at the start of October.

Guardiola’s teams are renowned for pressing opponents high up the pitch and winning the ball back quickly. However, against Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, the Spaniard was beaten at his own game.

Tottenham hassled and harried City from the first minute, as an attacking quartet of Son Heung-min, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela applied constant pressure on the visitors’ backline.

Behind them, Victor Wanyama out-powered and out-thought City’s midfielders, winning back possession whenever the ball broke loose in the middle of the park.

The warning signs were there for all to see when City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo received possession inside his penalty area and, after being hurried by Son, sliced the ball into touch.

Spurs then took the lead with just nine minutes on the clock, when Danny Rose’s cross from the left was clumsily turned into his own net by City defender Aleksandar Kolarov.

Pochettino’s men continued to bully City and, despite missing their talismanic striker Harry Kane, doubled their lead through Alli on 37 minutes.

If it wasn’t for a late penalty save from Bravo to deny Lamela, the scoreline could have looked even more depressing for the bemused visitors.

The result not only ended City’s formidable winning streak, but also unmasked their defensive frailties when passing the ball out from the back.

That was how Guardiola’s sides played at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. However, it quickly became clear that the Spaniard wasn’t blessed with the same talent pool at City.

The defeat at White Hart Lane derailed Pep’s title challenge, and they won just one of their next four league games.

Conversely, this was the day that Tottenham announced themselves as serious Premier League contenders, even without their star forward.

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NUMBER THREE: Kev's clanger

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 3 - 03/12/16
De Bruyne miss gives Chelsea momentum

Arguably the game of the season came at the Etihad Stadium back in December when Manchester City took on Chelsea in a top-of-the-table clash.

From a neutral’s point of view, the lunch-time kick-off between two of the Premier League’s powerhouses well and truly delivered.

But for City it ended in disaster.

A 3-1 home defeat saw Pep Guardiola’s side slip down to fourth place, their lowest league position since the start of the season.

More significantly, the result left them four points adrift of Chelsea, who never looked like being caught for the remainder of the campaign.

To make matters worse, the hosts were reduced to nine men in stoppage time when Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho were shown straight red cards.

The game had been on a knife-edge for much of the second half and, with tensions running high, it all boiled over when Aguero committed a horrendous two-legged tackle on David Luiz.

That incident sparked an unsavoury brawl between the two sets of players, in which Fernandinho was dismissed for pushing Cesc Fabregas over an advertising board.

City’s indiscipline exposed another chink in their quickly-diminishing armour, as their title challenge began to fade.

Yet, it could all have been so different.

After taking the lead through a Gary Cahill own goal before half time, City had the chance to put the game beyond Chelsea’s reach.

The hosts had played some wonderful football, created chances and seemingly shackled Chelsea by using an identical 3-4-3 set-up.

Then the opportunity came.

In the 57th minute, David Silva dribbled the ball through the middle of the pitch before releasing Jesús Navas on the right.

The Spaniard kept the move flowing, taking an effective first touch, before sweeping a low cross past the backtracking Chelsea defenders and into the path of Kevin De Bruyne.

From two yards out, the Belgian international seemingly couldn’t miss. However, with the goal at his mercy, he cannoned the ball onto the crossbar.

A second goal for City would have left Chelsea with a mountain to climb. Instead, the visitors drew level three minutes later, when Diego Costa evaded the challenge of Nicolas Otamendi and slotted the ball past Claudio Bravo.

Goals from Willian and Eden Hazard sealed the victory for Conte’s side.

However, it was De Bruyne’s miss that changed the course of the match, as well as the title race.

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NUMBER TWO: Crystal Pard-less merry go-round

Pardew sacking triggers managerial musical chairs - 22/12/16

December is often the time when Premier League chairman begin to reach for the panic button and last season it was Crystal Palace owner Steve Parish who blinked first.

The Eagles were languishing in 17th place, one point above the relegation zone, when they dismissed 55-year-old Alan Pardew just a couple of days before Christmas.

In truth, it was a surprise that Pardew lasted that long, after Palace had recorded just six wins in the whole of 2016.

Parish acted quickly. So quickly in fact, that new manager Sam Allardyce was appointed before Palace’s important trip to Watford on Boxing Day.

That prompted others to act.

Allardyce has an impressive track record when it comes to keeping teams in the top-flight and, under his guidance, it seemed inevitable Palace would improve.

This was a concern for the Premier League’s fellow stragglers, who were also in danger of losing piles of TV money, gained by having a top-flight status.

The next manager to pay the price was Swansea’s Bob Bradley, whose tenure ended after just 11 games when he was sacked on December 28.

A couple of days later, Mike Phelan was axed by Hull, despite having to manage a side with only 13 fit senior players at the start of the campaign.

Ultimately, though, the managerial changes worked.

Allardyce and Paul Clement, who was appointed at Swansea in January, both kept their sides up, while Hull’s Marco Silva took a seemingly relegated club to the brink of safety.

The immediate success of the battlers then led to the biggest casualty of the season – last year’s hero, Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri.

The charismatic Italian was dismissed on February 23, just nine months after spectacularly winning the title with the Foxes.

Leicester were 17th at the time, one point above the relegation zone, and were in real danger of becoming the first Premier League champions to be relegated the following season.

At a time when the cost of Premier League survival is greater than ever, Ranieri’s past achievements were seemingly forgotten as he was sacked following a run of five straight defeats.

Once again, though, the decision paid dividends.

Leicester won their next five games under caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare, who led Midlanders to an unlikely 12th place finish.

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NUMBER ONE: Gunners out-gunned

Tottenham 2 Arsenal 0 - 30/04/17
Derby defeat for Arsenal puts Champions League beyond reach

Arsène Wenger’s unblemished record of qualifying for the Champions League was plunged into serious doubt after a humbling defeat to arch-rivals Tottenham in April.

The Gunners had finished inside the Premier League’s top four for the past 20 seasons under the Frenchman, guaranteeing them a regular place in Europe’s elite competition.

However, after they were well and truly outplayed by Mauricio Pochettino’s side at White Hart Lane, Arsenal’s faint Champions League hopes relied on Manchester City and Liverpool slipping up.

The result, courtesy of second half goals from Dele Alli and Harry Kane, also confirmed Spurs would finish above their North-London rivals for the first time since the 1994/95 season.

The game finished 2-0 but in truth it could have been more, if it wasn’t for some late interventions from Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech.

In derbies gone by, Tottenham may have crumbled or succumbed to a more potent and gritty Arsenal side.

Not this Spurs team. In fact, it was the complete opposite, as Pochettino’s men tormented the Gunners from start to finish.

Victor Wanyama was too strong for Arsenal’s $45 million summer signing Granit Xhaka in midfield. Meanwhile, Spurs’ forward line of Kane, Alli and Eriksen dismantled the visitors’ three-man defence.

It was another performance full of endeavour and zest from the men in white, who kept up the pressure on runaway leaders Chelsea for most of the season.

In contrast, Arsenal looked sluggish and week, a mere shadow of the 2003/04 side which went the whole season unbeaten.

Tottenham’s opener came from a throw-in on the right flank, before the movement of Eriksen and Alli bamboozled Arsenal’s shaky backline.

The ball quickly broke into the visitors’ penalty area and, after Eriksen’s effort was saved by Cech, Alli stabbed it home – reacting quicker than the static red shirts dotted around him.

Three minutes later, a clumsy challenge from Gabriel on Kane inside the area allowed the striker to double Tottenham’s lead from the penalty spot.

Arsenal went on to win their remaining four league fixtures but the damage had already been done. It’ll be the Europa League for them this campaign.

 

Five Things That Could Make Or Break This Season

1. Can Mourinho find Pogba's best position?

We didn’t see the best of Paul Pogba after he returned to England for a record Premier League transfer fee.

Even so, the 24-year-old still has all the attributes to be one of the best midfielders on the planet, if manager José Mourinho can find the formation and players to suit him.

2. Can Tottenham adapt to the Wembley pitch?

Mauricio Pochettino’s youthful side made White Hart Lane a fortress last season, winning 17 of their 19 league games on home turf.

However, Spurs will play their home games at Wembley this campaign, a ground where they won only once in three Champions League games last year.

3. Will Guardiola change his formation to fit Aguero and Jesus in the same side?

The arrival of Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus rejuvenated City in the second half of last season. The 20-year-old was so impressive that he kept top scorer Sergio Aguero out of the side.

If manager Pep Guardiola can find a formation that suits the pair of them, City will be a devastating force this campaign.

4. Are Chelsea good enough to adapt now that teams know their style?

In the latter stages of last season, teams began to adjust to Chelsea’s innovative 3-4-3 formation.

This campaign, sides will know what to expect when they face the defending champions and it will be down to manager Antonio Conte to adapt once again.

5. Will Wenger stick with a back three?

Arsene Wenger’s bold decision to switch to a back three at the end of last season initially looked a little desperate.

However, in the Gunners’ final few games, they found some much-needed solidity at the back, a trait which has often cost them when challenging for the title. 

GET THE NEW FOURFOURTWO WITH EVERY EPL AND CHAMPIONSHIP SIDE ANALYSED, RATED AND SLATED - PLUS MOOY AND RYAN IN THE EPL, AND THE ADVENTURES OF TOM ROGIC AT CELTIC!