Last weekend saw Manchester United top the EPL table 2015 - 2016, but it's been a hard slog to get there. Not too long ago, Manchester United were the de facto frontrunners in the English Premier League each year. Just as Bayern Munich dominate the German Bundesliga with an iron fist, Manchester United won the EPL 13 times between 1993 and 2013. Then, just as quickly as the Vikings had come to be the dominating force in English football, they seemed to vacate that position. In the 2013 2014 season, the football squad tumbled to a seventh place finish on the league standings table. It was the worst finish since 1990 for England's most consistently great soccer club.

Fast-forward to now, and it seems Manchester United might finally be ready to reclaim the top spot. After a solid 2014 2015 campaign-which netted the Red Devils a fourth place finish in the Premier League and returned them to the Champions League after a one-year absence-Man United are in the perfect position to contend for first in 2016.

The Current Leaders

In fact, Manchester United are currently holding down the fort at the top of the 2015 2016 EPL
standings table. Following a 3-0 win against Sunderland this past weekend, Man United leapfrogged their crosstown rivals, Manchester City, to take the lead.

The return to the top of the table is a big symbolic moment for Man Utd. Not since the very first week of the 2013 2014 season-a 4-1 home victory against Swansea City-have we seen the Red Devils at the top of the Premier League. Inconsistent play dropped the club as far down the table as 12th place in 2013 2014. As for 2014 2015, United never even had a chance at taking the top slot: Chelsea FC held it for all 38 weeks of competition.

This season, though, it seems like all the stars are aligning in favor of Manchester United. A handful of promising summer transfers, the early-season collapse of Chelsea FC, and a pair of off-weeks for Man City have combined into the perfect storm to carry the Vikings to the top of the table.

Hitting the Right Groove

Back in August, when competition got underway for the 2015 2016 Premier League, Manchester United had promise, but not clear frontrunner potential. They won their first two matches, beating Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, respectively, but stumbled in weeks three and four. A draw against Newcastle United and a loss at Swansea City dropped Man Utd to fifth place and had some fans worrying that the football club might be heading toward a repeat of the disastrous 2013 2014 campaign.

Luckily, the Red Devils seem to have hit the right groove in the month since that loss. In week five, players donned the Manchester United home shirt 2015 2016 and scored their most significant of the season so far: a 3-1 win over Liverpool. Subsequent wins against Southampton and Sunderland put pressure on Man City, who broke a five-week winning streak with losses against West Ham and Tottenham in weeks six and seven. Now, the two Manchester soccer clubs are occupying the top two spots in the EPL, but United have the edge by one point.

The New Signings Impress

If Manchester United manage to nab the English national football title this year, then you can bet their summer transfers are going to play a substantial role. After two years of leading the club in scoring, team captain Wayne Rooney looks like he has some competition for the title this year.

Indeed, Rooney just scored his first goal of the season in United's September 26th match against Sunderland. Youngster Anthony Martial, meanwhile, is already making a strong impression at Old Trafford. Many soccer analysts were skeptical when Louis van Gaal paid big money to bring Martial-a largely unproven 19-year-old attacker-to England from AS Monaco. But Martial scored three goals in his first two Premier League matches, netting a goal in Man
Utd's win against Liverpool and scoring a brace to give the Red Devils their 3-2 win against Southampton. He's tied with Juan Mata as United's top scorer for the season so far.

Memphis Depay, United's other big transfer from the summer, took a bit longer to get comfortable at Manchester than Martial, but seems to be hitting his stride. The 21-year-old attacker, a high-profile talent from PSV Eindhoven, scored his first goal for Manchester United in Saturday's Sunderland match.

Will United's signings continue to make a strong impression with the football club? Root for the team and cheer them toward a big Premier League victory!