Premier League interesting rankings: Arsenal rising, City are City

Manchester City do what they do and Arsenal make a jump. Here’s our updated Premier League interesting rankings.

20. Everton (Last Week: 19)

The Toffees lost their third Premier League match in four tries on Saturday, falling 2-0 away to a suddenly-hot Leicester. Simply put, Everton are bad. They sit in 18th place on eight points. They can’t score: the Toffees have managed seven goals in 10 games. The only clubs with fewer goals are the two teams below them in the league table. Whoever Everton sign as full-time manager will have a hell of a hill to climb for the remainder of the season.

19. West Brom (LW: 20)

West Brom haven’t won in a while, and have only scored a nine goals this season, but put in a decent shift against leaders Manchester City on Saturday at the Hawthorns. The Baggies lost 3-2 in a match most assumed they would lose by three or four. A stoppage time goal from Matt Philips made the game feel closer than it was, but still, it was a surprise performance from a side deemed very boring by me all season.

18. West Ham (LW: 17)

Allowing Crystal Palace to double their total number of goals for the season is a bad look for The Hammers. They drew 2-2 with the Eagles at Selhurst Park on Saturday, missing out on all three points by giving up a 97th minute goal to Wilfried Zaha. That one will sting for awhile. West Ham are in 16th place and have to host Liverpool this week.

17. Swansea (LW: 16)

The Swans scored the opener in the 22nd minute against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday. But they then allowed two second half goals and were unable to find the equalizer. Swansea have lost four of their last five, all by one goal, and sit one place above the relegation zone. They need a result this week as they host Brighton.

16. Southampton (LW: 13)

The Saints are in 10th, because they always seem to be in 10th, after drawing 1-1 with Brighton on Sunday at the Amex. They got off to a great start with a Steven Davis goal in the seventh minute. However, that would be their lone shot on target as they returned to their normal boring selves, giving up the equalizer in the second half.

15. Bournemouth (LW: 14)

Bournemouth don’t score goals — they have only six on the season — but put up a good fight against Chelsea, losing 1-0 at home on Saturday. The Cherries sit in second to last place in the Premier League table. They are in danger of being overtaken by lowly Crystal Palace if they don’t watch out. There is no greater disgrace than that.

14. Leicester (LW: 15)

The Foxes are unbeaten in their last four league matches, winning two on the bounce after defeating Everton 2-0 at King Power Stadium on Sunday. Sure, beating Everton is as easy as squashing ants at the moment, but a win is a win in the Premier League. The Villain Jame Vardy opened the scoring in the 18th minute while Demarai Gray provided the insurance 11 minutes later. And just like that, Leicester are up to 11th place in the table. It was a nice start for new manager Claude Puel.

13. Stoke (LW: 18)

Well, would you look at Stoke. The Potters got a huge 1-0 win away to Watford on Saturday thanks to a goal from Darren Fletcher, aka The Ancient One, his first goal with the club. They move up to 14th place with the win and host Leicester this coming Saturday.

12. Watford (LW: 6)

No warning for Watford this time. If you lose to Stoke you deserve to fall out of the top 10 of the interesting rankings. Losing to Stoke is never interesting. The Hornets managed a cool zero shots on target. Again, they were playing against Stoke! At home! Their back-to-back losses sees them fall to eighth in the table. Luckily for Watford, they get to travel to Everton this week.

11. Newcastle (LW: 8)

Newcastle also fall out of the top 10 of these rankings after a 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday. The Magpies held most of the possession and matched Burnley’s five shots on target, but could not find the back of the net. American DeAndre Yedlin went the full 90 minutes once again. Manager Rafa Benitez obviously sees him as the everyday right-back for the foreseeable future.

10. Liverpool (LW: 12)

The Reds stopped their winless streak at three matches after walloping Huddersfield 3-0 at Anfield on Saturday. Liverpool banged in three second-half goals, including this blast from Georginio Wijnaldum. They moved up to sixth place in the league table  and will have three more points in their sight as they travel to West Ham this week.

9. Huddersfield (LW: 5)

After their gigantic win over Manchester United last week, Huddersfield crashed back down to Earth against Liverpool on Saturday. They hung with the Reds in the first half, but couldn’t keep the tidal wave at bay. The Terriers only managed one shot, and it wasn’t on target. They fell to 13th in the table, but have a chance to rebound as they host West Brom this coming Saturday.

8. Crystal Palace (LW: 10)

The Eagles got their second result of the Premier League season on Saturday thanks to Zaha’s heroics at the death. The draw brings their point total to four, with all four coming in their last three matches. But that is a good sign. Unfortunately for Crystal Palace, they travel Wembley to take on Tottenham on Sunday.

7. Brighton (LW: 7)

The Seagulls hold steady in these rankings and in the league table thanks to their 1-1 draw with Southampton on Sunday. Is Glen Murray the new Harry Kane? Hell no. But he did score his third goal in two games, notching the equalizer in the 52nd minute. Brighton are 12th in the table, and only three points off eighth-place Watford as they prepare to visit Swansea this Saturday.

6. Arsenal (LW: 11)

Arsenal are back into our top 10 after winning their fourth match in five tries on Saturday. The Tank Sead Kolasinac continued to be a force for the Gunners as the big defender scored the equalizer in the 51st minute before setting up Aaron Ramsey for the game winner seven minutes later. Arsenal remain in fifth, but are tied on points with fourth-place Chelsea, and are only a point behind archrivals Tottenham, who sit in third. The Gunners have a huge away match with leaders Manchester City this coming Sunday.

5. Burnley (LW: 9)

The little engine that could keeps chugging along. Burnley recovered form their spanking by City last week enough to dispatch Newcastle 1-0 at home on Monday. Jeff Hendrick found a late goal to bump the Clarets up to seventh place in the Premiere League. They travel to Southampton this week.

4. Chelsea (LW: 3)

Chelsea only converted one of their five shots on goal against Bournemouth, but it was enough to secure all three points at Vitality Stadium on Saturday. Eden Hazard bagged his first league goal of the season as Chelsea remain in fourth-place. The Blues have a chance to shake up the table as they host Manchester United this coming Sunday.

3. Tottenham (LW: 2)

The absence of Harry Kane was deeply felt at Old Trafford on Saturday as Spurs failed to convert any of their five shots on goal. Tottenham lost 1-0 to United in a hard-fought match. Despite dropping all three points, Spurs remain in third place and will feel they can make up ground as they gladly welcome Crystal Palace to Wembley this week.

2. Manchester United (LW: 3)

The Red Devils swap spots with Tottenham in our rankings because, well, they beat them. Winning is, for the most part, more interesting than losing. That being said, shouts to Crystal Palace. Anyway, Anthony Martial scored the game winner 11 minutes after coming on to get United back to winning ways. A big away win against Chelsea this week could see them start to put pressure on their crosstown rivals.

Next: GoT Characters as Premier League players

1. Manchester City (LW: 1)

City remain the kings of these rankings and the Premier League after beating West Brom 3-2 on Saturday. The leaders appeared to take their foot off the gas while cruising to a 3-2 win, but if you’er going to take a breather against anyone, West Brom are a decent choice. Also, they still scored three goals. Leroy Sane, Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling each found the back of the net. City’s goal difference currently sits at plus-29, which isn’t too bad in my humble opinion. Can a surging Arsenal challenge the leaders this Sunday? Probably not.