Growing parity in the EPL

On Jan. 12 in the English Premier League, Blackpool defeated Liverpool 2-1 in front of 16,089 screaming supporters, completing a season sweep of one of the richest football clubs in the world. Two weeks later they would enter halftime up two goals on Manchester United before allowing three unanswered in the second half.

Blackpool's penchant for unexpected big performances this year (3-1 vs. Tottenham, 4-0 vs. Wigan, 2-1 on the road against Sunderland) highlights what has become an unusual situation in the Premier League this season: A surprising increase in the amount of parity in the league.

As it stands, only one club is averaging two points a match (Manchester United with 66 points in 31 matches), and the league hasn't finished that way in 10 years. No club is averaging under a point a match and things haven't finished that way since the league moved to 20 clubs in 1996. Only three points separate the bottom seven clubs, and teams like Blackpool and West Bromwich Albion have scored more goals than Liverpool and Tottenham.

In short, it looks quite a bit different than you'd normally expect the Premier League to look like. But how different and what might be causing it?

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