Five games into the season, the Premier League remains as unpredictable as ever, but one thing is for sure – this weekend’s results have pointed out a number of weaknesses in teams across England and will provide more entertainment once action resumes after the international break.
Arsenal ended a perfect start to the season with a surprise 3-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, while Manchester City remain the only league leaders after a 5-3 victory. Sunderland on Sunday. The results are not entirely representative of the actual form of these teams, or how they perform this weekend – even if Brighton win, the Gunners may have a right to feel tough, while City may be lucky to survive so many defensive lapses as they experienced this weekend.
Appearances aren’t always deceiving, though. Brentford beat Brentford 3-0 and look more and more like real opponents chelsea On Friday, they produced their most impressive result yet, suggesting their ambition may be matched by their ability. On the other hand, the news keeps getting worse tottenham hotspur As they slip to last place in the table, United’s 1-1 draw was the latest example of how much work remains to be done at Old Trafford.
With club competition suspended for three weeks due to the extension of the international window, here is another batch of Premier League power rankings.
1. Arsenal(–)
Arsenal’s unbeaten run is over but they have outscored Brighton on expected goals so there is no real reason to doubt their title credentials.
2. Manchester City(–)
City would be top of the table here if they hadn’t produced one of the worst defensive performances in Europe’s top five leagues this season against Sunderland, but their form so far makes Sunday’s performance likely to be a one-off.
3. Brentford (+2)
Keith Andrews’ side absolutely dominated Chelsea and showed it with a lopsided victory that was a real sign that Brentford could be on the verge of an exciting season.
4. Brighton and Hove Albion (–)
No team has as good a nose for goals as Brighton, but it’s hard not to wonder if they’ll return to average at some point – they’re about five goals above expected goals, which is quite a bit in five games.
5. Liverpool(+1)
Their 1-0 win over Bournemouth was anything but glorious, but there is a sense that Liverpool are starting to sort things out under new coach Andoni Iraola, which is key to newfound defensive reliability.
6. Chelsea(-3)
Xabi Alonso may be building a tactically unique Chelsea side that could all work out in the long term, and their loss to Brentford showed there is still room for improvement.
7. Leeds United (+4)
Leeds United There’s nothing flashy about it, but their record so far isn’t really bad and deserves credit for an unbeaten start to the season.
8. Sunderland (+2)
In terms of expected goals, Sunderland are still the better team despite losing to Manchester City, which is consistent with the fact that the Black Cats were one of the best attacking teams in the league early in the season.
9. Manchester United (-2)
United still have time to play like a normal (if not perfect) team, but are essentially in a close game against a relegation contender fulham Doesn’t help their case.
10. Everton (+2)
A straight win over newly promoted Ipswich Town is always good news for the team evertonthey seem poised to comfortably reach mid-table again.
11. Nottingham Forest (-2)
It’s not pleasant to be a newly promoted team whose unbeaten streak is shattered, but their loss to Coventry City doesn’t erase their solid, if unremarkable, work nottingham forest It was done at the start of the season.
12. Ipswich Town (+2)
Ipswich were overtaken by Everton this weekend, but it helps that there are several teams who performed worse than them and are temporarily out of crisis mode.
13. Bournemouth (-5)
It’s a bit surprising that Bournemouth are yet to win a game this season, but it’s starting to become troubling that they haven’t lived up to their potential yet.
14. Newcastle United(+1)
It takes more than just winning by a narrow margin Hull City Climb out of the lower end of the table, even if they deserve a little credit for that.
15. Hull City (-2)
Hull finally suffered their first defeat of the season and their form is starting to resemble the underlying numbers. That’s just the beginning – they’re not exactly second best Newcastle Unitedeven if it fails.
16. Crystal Palace(–)
crystal palace In the 0-0 draw with Leeds United we saw a glimmer – but not a complete sign – of a superficial defensive determination that saw them handily pick up a much-needed point.
17. Fulham(–)
Fulham failed to impress in their draw with Manchester United, but exploiting your opponents’ weaknesses has to count when it comes to debates between the Premier League’s worst teams.
18. Coventry City (+2)
There’s no guarantee that Coventry City can escape the relegation zone, but a win at Nottingham Forest at least marks a good start, even if there are tougher tests ahead.
19. Aston Villa (-1)
There’s value in taking a lead against two teams at the bottom of the Premier League, but losing to Tottenham Hotspur on expected goals is nothing to brag about, even if it’s a 3-2 win.
20. Tottenham Hotspur (-1)
It took Spurs nearly five games to score their first goal of the season, and they somehow managed to score twice after the 85th minute. However, this team still looks dangerously half-baked, which is not a good sign after spending around $400 million in transfer fees.