5 teams that have surprised everyone this season

When the 2014/15 season began there were many bold predictions about teams that would get relegated or teams that would finish in the Champions League spots. But the season has thrown many surprises at us fans. An example of that would be AS Monaco finishing top of their Champions League group consisting of Bayer Leverkusen, Zenit St. Petersburg and SL Benfica.Similarly, nobody would have thought that Parma, who finished sixth in the Serie A last season, will be in a relegation battle this time around. Here are five teams from Europe’s top leagues who have surprised us with their performances this season:

#5 Everton

Lukaku hasn’t replicated his form from last season

Everton finished the 2013/14 season in fifth place after fighting for a Champions League spot till the very end of the season. This was a very big achievement for Everton, who were playing their first season under Roberto Martinez.

There were many who expected Everton to mount another serious challenge for the Champions League spot this season as the Toffees had managed to keep all their key players and sign Lukaku on a permanent deal.

But things have gone horribly wrong at Merseyside. Everton are currently twelfth in the league table and are fifteen points away from the last Champions League spot. They have been dropping points consistently against other mid-table clubs and have also failed to capitalize on their famed home turf.

In fact, before their draw against Manchester City last wee, the Merseysiders were on a run of four straight losses.

#4 SD Eibar

Eibar’s first season has been a dream come true for both it’s fans and players

2014-15 season is Eibar’s first in the Top-tier of Spanish football, but the performance of the minnows certainly doesn’t make it seem that way. The Basque club play in a stadium with a capacity of just over 5000 and are currently eight in the league. This is an incredible achievement for a team playing for the first time in the La Liga and their team consists of just three players who are not Spanish.

Eibar started their season with a win against Real Sociedad and have also salvaged points against the likes of Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal. They have made it thus far, despite having to go through the summer with the threat of potential relegation to the Spanish third division due to their financial inability to transform into a Sociedad Anotima Deportiva (They needed to have a share capital of at least 2,146,525.95 € before 6 August 2014).

If the teams who play the final of the Copa del Rey finish in the top four, and Eibar climb one place higher in the league table, then they could potentially find themselves in the Europa League next season.

#3 Olympique Lyon

Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette is in the running for the European Golden Boot

After the injection of money into Paris Saint-Germain, the club have now won two league titles on the trot. PSG have some world class players in their squad and their dominance from the previous seasons suggested that they would easily secure the Ligue 1 for a third consecutive season.

But things haven’t gone according to plan for Laurent Blanc’s men in Paris. PSG currently sit fourth in the league table, which is outside the Champions League spot and behind Olympique Lyon, Olympique Marseille and Saint Etienne.

Lyon are currently top of the French league, as they lead Marseille by a single point. They have been riding on the form of youngsters Alexandre Lacazette and Nabil Fekir. Both are from Lyon’s academy and have scored a combined 27 goals and provided 5 assists each this season. Another youngster who came through Lyon’s academy, Jordan Ferri, has also been doing well for the French club this season.

If Lyon can topple teams like PSG, Marseille and AS Monaco and win the Ligue 1, it will be an incredible achievement.

#2 Borussia Dortmund

The support of the fans is the only positive from Dortmund’s season so far

Although not many would have expected Borussia Dortmund to mount a title challenge against Bayern Munich this season, not a single soul could have foreseen their downfall this season this season.

Borussia Dortmund are currently 17th in the Bundesliga, which puts them in the relegation zone. The German side lost their last game against fellow relegation battlers Werder Bremen and have gone into the winter break in full crisis mode.

Dortmund’s biggest issue has been replacing the goals from Robert Lewandowski and their new acquisitions – Ciro Immobile and Adrian Ramos have both failed to hit the ground running. On top of this, the constant injury woes, of players like Marco Reus and Mats Hummels have made things even more difficult.

The Germans will be coming back for the second half of the season after a winter break and will be looking to reignite their form from the previous seasons.

#1 Southampton

There was no question about the top spot. Southampton were very successful last season under their manager Mauricio Pochettino and finished eighth in the league. But their success came at a price.

The Saints lost their manager to Tottenham Hotspur and many important first team players like Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers also moved to the top clubs in England. In addition to these key players, they also loaned out Artur Boruc and Pablo Osvaldo.

All the outgoing transfers prompted many pundits and fans alike to label them as relegation favourties, but boy were they terribly wrong.

Southampton are currently third in the Premier League table after 21 games and that is by no means a fluke. They have defeated Manchester United and Arsenal in the league and also salvaged a draw against the table toppers Chelsea. The South Coast outfit also knocked out Arsenal from the Capital One Cup.

The appointment of Ronald Koeman and some shrewd transfers (Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic being prime examples) have worked really well for Southampton and if they qualify for the Champions League next season, it will be an amazing conclusion to a very exciting journey.