With 2020 having drawn to its conclusion, we turn our attention to 2021 and look at five burning football questions that are set to be answered within the next 12 months.
From fierce promotion battles in EFL to Liverpool looking to defend their crown to questions concerning international competitions, 2021 promises to be a huge year for football fans.
We therefore take a look at five huge questions across men and women’s competitions, starting with Liverpool’s bid for a second consecutive Premier League title.
Can Liverpool Defend Their Crown?
Liverpool enter 2021 sat top of the Premier League but this season so far has thrown up plenty of unpredictable results from Arsenal flirting with relegation to Manchester United’s surge from potential mid-table contenders to title challengers.
The last decade saw just Manchester City defend their crown highlighting just how difficult it is to defend a title in the top flight of English Football, although this season has the added complication of Coronavirus potentially affecting fixture scheduling creating the possibility of the title boiling down to who can avoid creating a fixture congestion throughout the second half of this season.
Liverpool therefore have a difficult fight on their hands to retain the title with Man Utd plus resurgent Leicester and Everton hot on their heels along with several other teams, ensuring that the rest of this season will be definitely one to watch on so many levels.
Can Lyon Femines’ Champions League Dominance be Stopped?
One of the big questions in Women’s Football at present concerns whether Lyon Femines can be stopped from claiming a sixth consecutive Women’s Champions League crown.
Lyon have been so dominant and haven’t lost any match en route to the title in each of the last three seasons, underlining their superior quality to many teams yet will face a tougher title defence than before with an influx of American stars across Europe.
Add in the fact that no team across both the men and women’s game have won six consecutive Champions League titles, Lyon certainly are battling not just stronger competition but history in order to claim a sixth straight European Cup success
England to Win Euros on Home Soil?
Having reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in summer 2018, pressure will be on England heading into the postponed Euro 2020 to deliver success.
England have home advantage in the Group Stage and could well have a relative Great Britain home advantage overall if top the group earning themselves a Last 16 tie in Dublin, with just Quarter-Final played aboard ahead of semis and Grand Final at Wembley if they get that far.
Gareth Southgate’s squad will also have a blend of youth and experience following squad evolution since their World Cup exploits, following the arrivals of various youngsters like Jadon Sancho and Mason Mount mixed in with experienced players like Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson.
The Three Lions though have tough competition from France and Portugal who reached the final of Euro 2016, alongside traditional contenders in Germany and Spain plus resurgent forces of Italy and Netherlands.
We mustn’t forget the pressure of playing at home in a major tournament and England’s constant promise of new golden generations only for nerves to cost them at every tournament, although fitness will also be key after a truncated 2020-21 season due to Coronavirus causing a delayed start.
Either way, 2021 promises to be a huge year for England as they look to claim a first title in 65 years on home soil.
Can Man Utd Women break WSL Dominance?
Current Women’s Super League leaders, Manchester United will be looking to continue their rise since forming in 2018 and break a dominant monopoly occupied by Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Casey Stoney last season led Utd to a fourth-placed finish in their first season in the Women’s top flight, yet lost just one of 15 league games in 2020 meaning that there will be pressure to continue that run and go for a first league title.
Chelsea, Man City and Everton though have games in hand and with 12 more rounds to though, this WSL campaign could very well go to the wire but if Stoney can continue to instill confidence and energetic attacks, this could well be a huge historic season for the Red Devils.
UEFA meanwhile are increasing England’s club allocation for 2021-22 UEFA Women’s Champions League from two to three, so Europe could also beckon for Utd if they continue their exciting rise.
Great Britain Look to Impress at Olympics
Having qualified for the Women Football’s tournament in postponed 2020 Summer Olympics through England’s journey to semi-finals of 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, this is a huge chance for Great Britain to show how far all the home nations have come since 2012 Olympics.
From emerging young talent from Scotland’s Erin Cuthbert to England’s Ellie Roebuck to the experienced stars like Wales’ Jess Fishlock and Northern Ireland’s Rachel Furness on top of wider popularity of the women’s game, this is a huge opportunity for Great Britain to show their progress and push for a medal.
There is however no Head Coach appointed at time of writing with Phil Neville departing his role as England Lionesses Manager just before the tournament, whilst Shelley Kerr resigned from her Scotland position over Christmas.
We are therefore set for an interesting tournament in terms of not just how fairly each home nation is represented in the squad but selection of the manager, given that Neville and Wales’ Jayne Ludlow are amongst frontrunners to lead the team and decide on player selection plus tactics.
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