Premier League play remains as captivating as ever. As Chelsea hum along eight points clear at the top, how are other clubs making an impact?
As the saying goes, the Premier League table doesn’t lie. Chelsea have clearly been the league’s best team on the pitch this season. But have they been the most interesting? In our new weekly ranking, we take a look at the sides keeping us most entertained on and off the pitch.
20. Stoke
Whether Bojan Krkic leaves Stoke or not, the Potters seem suited for a second half mostly comprised of giant-toppling. Stoke are often content with drawing upper-level opponents rather than taking the chances necessary to beat them. Ultimately, that makes for too many tedious, unappetizing second halves.
19. Crystal Palace
Christian Benteke has all the skill to be a world-beating colossus, and some weekends, he is. Aside from that, the Eagles are a bungling group headed by ex-England skipper Sam Allardyce, a man who likely never should have been in that position in the first place. Whether he lasts the season may end up being the most compelling storyline.
18. Watford
Early on, the Hornets were put in a tough position, drawing Chelsea and Arsenal in two of the first three weeks of the season. They improved quickly from their, but after a brief stint in the Europa League places, they’ve been falling fast. Tom Cleverley, on loan from Everton, should provide some punch, as he did in this weekend’s draw against Bournemouth.
17. Southampton
Currently sitting in 11th, the Saints are a perfectly fine team. They don’t crush opponents, they don’t have a signature victory over a huge club and their leading scorer is Charlie Austin. Still, they can be a tough opponent, as their 3-0 victory over Leicester proved.
16. Sunderland
Of Sunderland’s 20 goals this season, Jermain Defoe has scored 12 and assisted two. In other words, Defoe is literally 70 percent of the Black Cats’ offense. Needless to say, he’s frustrated with his team’s last-place standing in the league table.
15. Swansea
Earlier this season, during Bob Bradley’s 85 days at the helm, the Swans may very well have topped this version of these rankings. Even now, however, with Paul Clement in charge, Swansea are a compelling watch, their 3-2 defeat of Liverpool standing as the best and most recent evidence.
14. Hull
Despite a 2-0 loss to Chelsea over the weekend, one in which they played an inspired first half before running out of gas, the Tigers are undoubtedly rejuvenated under Marco Silva. Though it will be a slog to escape relegation, Hull have shown just enough punch in the past month that they can’t be counted out yet.
13. West Ham
The Hammers, who didn’t so much stumble as they were belligerently thrown out of the gate, lost nine of their first 14 league games. Since then, however, they’ve lost once and become masters of cunning victories. Momentum may very well carry over the second half of the season.
12. Middlesbrough
In two months, Alvaro Negredo went from referring to his departure from the Etihad after one season as “a mistake” to describing his emotion about the current situation on loan at the Boro as “very happy.” Boro play stout defense, but that the highlight of their season thus far is likely a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in November ought to keep their players motivated.
11. Everton
Romelu Lukaku has been excellent for most of the season, even after an injury to Yannick Bolasie deprived him of his main creative partner. The onus falls on Ronald Koeman to ensure the Toffees defense doesn’t put an exciting attack to waste.
10. Burnley
In one of the wildest finishes you are ever going to see, Burnley let points slip from their grasp at the hands of Arsenal, another in a long, strange line of 2-1 losses to top clubs such as Tottenham and Manchester City. For a newly-promoted side, Burnley tend to play up to their better opposition; if they could find a way to consistently beat those teams, they’d be in business.
9. Bournemouth
Who doesn’t love the Cherries? Rarely great, but always exciting, Bournemouth fell flat against Hull before drawing Watford over the weekend. Like a zero-calorie Everton, this is a team with the gall to knock off any team on any weekend.
8. Leicester
The spectacular fall from grace has been the story of the season for the still-defending champions. Now, allegedly, Leonardo Ulloa’s agent has branded Claudio Ranieri a “selfish egotist.” Regression to the mean is one thing, but Leicester’s success in European play complicates the narrative at King Power Stadium.
7. Tottenham
Time and again, Spurs have shown a remarkable resiliency. Coming back from down two against a Manchester City team playing exceptionally well meant exploiting Yaya Toure, which is a tough proposition for any team. Yet, it worked, and Spurs now sit third, with a rejuvenated Harry Kane leading the charge.
6. West Brom
Tony Pulis has been the manager Pep Guardiola hasn’t, and with a much lesser squad. The 2-0 victory over Sunderland on Saturday was the perfect rebound from a 4-0 loss against Tottenham the week before. A year after finishing 14th, the Baggies have a spot in the Europa League in their sights.
5. Liverpool
With his brace, Roberto Firmino certainly came to play, but that fight was tougher to see in his teammates. Losing 3-2 to Swansea is a tough pill to swallow anyway, but that it allowed Arsenal and Tottenham to jump ahead of them in the table made it all the more frustrating. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond, especially given Jurgen Klopp’s transfer frustrations.
4. Chelsea
One minute, Diego Costa is unfit and primed to go to China. The next, Antonio Conte is letting the striker dominate as usual and as always. It’s an unusual amount of strife for a team eight points clear at the top of the table.
3. Manchester City
In this week’s Premier League roundtable, I posited that, perhaps, Pep Guardiola isn’t all he’s cracked up to be. Coughing up a two-goal lead in controversial circumstances, especially after a mostly dominant performance, isn’t a disaster, but given the run Pep’s been on, it only added fuel to the ideological fire.
2. Arsenal
Every time you think they’re out, they pull you back in. A stoppage-time victory against Burnley shot the Gunners up the table, and now Arsene Wenger is under investigation from the FA. Rare is the dull moment at the Emirates.
1. Manchester United
Any team featuring the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and led by Jose Mourinho is bound to cause a stir. It only happens that they’ve really rounded into form over the past two months, harking back to Fergie-era feelings of an inevitable United late goal. Drawing Stoke in a key week wasn’t ideal, but Wayne Rooney finally jettisoned the monkey from his back via his free kick goal, becoming United’s all-time leading scorer.