The Premier League’s top four picture is crowded through (almost) 10 weeks of the 2024-25 season, as a losses for Arsenal and Aston Villa continued to keep the door to the throne room wide open for business.
While first-place Liverpool and second-place Man City have multiple-game buffers over the rest of the Premier League, third-place Nottingham Forest (!?!) start a run of eight teams within four points going all the way down to 10th-place Newcastle United.
[ MORE: The biggest challenges for Ruben Amorim at Man Utd ]
And that will hit 11th place if there’s a Monday winner of the West London derby between Fulham and Brentford (Watch live at 3pm ET on USA Network, streaming online via NBC.com). Throw Man United in 13th place, and there’s firepower up-and-down the table. We may not know contenders from pretenders until Christmas.
Here are 10 thoughts about Week 10 from our writers, as Joe Prince-Wright, Andy Edwards, and Nick Mendola share their observations from the latest nine games of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
10 things we learned from Week 10 of the 2024-25 Premier League season
Martin Odegaard’s absence will probably cost Arsenal the title
In the seven Premier League games Martin Odegaard has missed, Arsenal have lost two, drawn two and won three. That is a huge drop-off from their form when the Arsenal skipper was fit and orchestrating things over the last few seasons. Other injuries have played their part in Arsenal’s recent collapse too, but perhaps Odegaard’s importance was underestimated when he went down with an ankle injury for Norway during the September international break. It is the first time Arsenal have been without Odegaard for an extended period of time in the last few years and their fluidity is missing. Their drive to get the ball forward quickly from defense to attack is gone. Via Opta, in their five PL away games this season Arsenal have had just 37 shots (7.4 per game) with only Brentford (7.5 per game) managing fewer shots on the road this season. Odegaard has been missing for four of those five away games.
Their usually lethal and rhythmic right side has looked lackluster. Bukayo Saka has just come back from injury himself, Ben White has been out injured and is lacking in confidence. And without Odegaard, the man who knits that side of the pitch together, Arsenal is just looking clunky. There’s now no doubt who makes Arsenal tick best and Odegaard’s absence is why Arsenal are languishing so far behind Man Cit and Liverpool. As he prepares to return to action in the coming weeks, can they make up this ground? Maybe. But if Odegaard goes down again with another injury it will be curtains for the Gunners’ title hopes this season. — Joe Prince-Wright
Arne Slot’s got his width right, but Konate injury raises concern
It’s wild to consider that Luis Diaz as a bench piece for Liverpool, but the Reds right now look dominant out wide with Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah on the flanks in front of Kostas Tsimikas and Trent Alewander-Arnold. Width drove their comeback win over Brighton. Salah remains one of the best players in the world and Alexander-Arnold, while no defensive star, looks more comfortable in his defensive duties under Slot than he usually looked in Jurgen Klopp’s more open set-up. But what’s currently keeping Diaz out of the XI is big Gakpo, who is developing an understanding with the midfield and Tsimikas, who looks an upgrade on out-of-form Andy Robertson at the moment. But now Liverpool have to sort out its preferred center back pairing if Ibrahima Konate, who left the first-half pitch with his arm in a makeshift sling, misses time. Joe Gomez took his place Saturday but Jarell Quansah is also an option.— Nick Mendola
Rodri’s absence continues to hinder City’s attack and defense
Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester City
One of the things that Pep Guardiola’s teams do better than anyone else is create numerical advantages in small spaces, trusting that their technical and tactical execution is good enough to play through any opponent. At their very best, City are virtually unplayable for all but a handful of teams in the world. But right now, they don’t resemble anything close to their best with a Rodri-sized hole in the middle of the field. For example, City’s first shot on target didn’t come until Erling Haaland sent a weak shot right at Mark Travers in the 80th minute on Saturday.
Rodri is the one that makes all of the overloads possible, because the rest of the midfield and the outside backs can all get forward to join the attack without fear of what might happen if/when City lose the ball. He snuffs out fires before the starting spark is even struck. That’s neither what Mateo Kovacic nor Ilkay Gundogan does best, so City have to compensate by having the duo tag-team Rodri’s duties. So, the attack is too light in numbers and the same central overloads aren’t possible, which means the full backs get pushed even higher, which means the remaining two defenders are on an island when the ball is lost. And Andoni Iraola knew that and exploited it. — Andy Edwards
Chelsea struggling with lack of belief vs the big boys
- BRUNO: ‘I apologized to Ten Hag’ for firing
- Man Utd vs Chelsea player ratings
- JPW: Three things we learned from Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea
- MORE: Big questions for Amorim at Man United
Look, Chelsea, are really young. They’re also really good. They’ve gone toe-to-toe at home with Man City, away to Liverpool, and now versus Man United at Old Trafford, and they’ve impressed in all three games against the ‘big boys’ so far this season. But they have just one point to show for it from those games. The next step for Enzo Maresca’s young side is to truly believe they can beat these big teams with big-name, more experienced players. United were there for the taking on Sunday but Chelsea never really put them under sustained pressure. They had good moments and looked lively in midfield but when they got the ball into the final third they lacked belief and that extra swagger to finish off chances. That will come in time and Chelsea are truly heading in the right direction. If they’re going to finish in the top four this season they need to beat some of the teams around them and they get a chance to do that next weekend. They currently sit one place above London rivals Arsenal who they host next Sunday. That is the game to really make a statement about what they intend to do this season. They can do it. They just have to fully believe it. — Joe Prince-Wright
Swashbuckling Spurs grab pivotal win to provide a blueprint
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Aston Villa
Tottenham saw themselves behind after an even first half but they didn’t panic. They stuck to their principles and their intensity and creativity overwhelmed Villa in the second half. Dejan Kulusevski ran the show in midfield and his clever ball found Dominic Solanke, who consistently made great runs in-behind the Villa back line, to finish superbly for the crucial second goal. Tottenham needed this win. They had to get closer to Villa, who will be challenging alongside them for a spot in the top four. Ange Postecoglou’s side are still dealing with injuries as well as teething issues with their balance in midfield but they’ve gone all-in on his swashbuckling style. Their midweek League Cup win against Man City gave them confidence and the fact they only had Son available for 55 minutes, Maddison was dropped to the bench, Timo Werner didn’t come on, and Micky van de Ven is out injured shows you the depth of their squad. Tottenham are far from the finished article but the way they dismantled and discombobulated a usually solid Villa side in the second half proved that on their day, when it all clicks, few can stop them. The next crucial step for Tottenham is consistency but the balance is improving with Kulusevski masterfully linking midfield and attack. If you love goals and entertainment, Spurs are for you. Will that style win them a trophy? Perhaps not this season. But they’re on the right path under Ange and have to stay patient, just like they did in this game. — Joe Prince-Wright
Another brilliant defensive display carries Forest to easy win
Nottingham Forest 3-0 West Ham United
- Shots: 19-4
- On target: 6-2
- xG: 2.08-0.16
That counts as a good, old-fashioned whopping on the stat sheet, but it looked even more lopsided as it played out in real time. Nuno Espirito Santo’s teams have always defended well (or at least tried to, which is more than can be said for some sides — ahem, Hammers). But have they ever done it this well?. Only Liverpool’s six conceded goals are fewer goals than Forest (seven) through 10 games, which is truly a spectacular feat after finishing bottom-6 in the league with 67 goals conceded last season. We’ll wait another month or two before having the “Are they really Champions League contenders?” conversation, but after finishing 16th and 17th in their first seasons back in the Premier League, coasting to safety before Christmas is perhaps the best give a football club can give its fans. — Andy Edwards
Tractor Boys endure more grueling work for a lesser harvest
Ipswich Town 1-1 Leicester City
If you told Kieran McKenna and Ipswich’s supporters that they’d only lose five of their first Premier League fixtures, they might’ve taken it even if it meant no wins, but here’s the brutal part — the Tractor Boys have held leads several times this season only to not win, and look at the opponents to whom they’ve split points. Ipswich have now added bottom-half Leicester to a list that includes Southampton, Brighton, Fulham, and Aston Villa. There are at least two points there you wouldn’t have expected, but also two that flummox you because they aren’t three. Throw in losses to Everton, Brentford, and West Ham, and the Tractor Boys are making a messy bed with decent linens. We learned with Burnley last season that you have to find wins more than promising performances if you can’t find both. There are only so many moral victories to go around in draws and losses. With Spurs and Man United next, it’ll be December before the next realistic run that could help McKenna get clear of the bottom three (Forest, Palace, Bournemouth, Wolves will be next on the docket). If that goes poorly, Christmas gifts might not be enough to lift them out of trouble. — Nick Mendola
Tricks for the teams, treats for the neutrals
Wolves were home against a Palace team who have struggled with injuries in defense and the midfield. Crystal Palace were visiting a winless Wolves team who have the Premier League’s worst xG and even worse actual goals (The latter being more important). Of course both teams woke up Saturday hopeful of favorite status and big wins. So, naturally both Wolves and Palace showed up and put up cement-booted first halves that left us wondering if goals were on the menu. The good news is that when the waiter got to the table, he brought the order back in record time. Nineteen of the game’s 30 shots and 75% of the expected goals came in a second half which delivered offense, drama, and fun. Neither Gary O’Neil’s hosts nor Oliver Glasner’s visitors will vibe with the single point, nor should they, but the viewing was good and a fitting end for a day that shook the Premier League table in all directions. — Nick Mendola
Saints finally find some luck as Ramsdale proves his worth
It wasn’t pretty, at all, but Southampton grabbed their first win of the Premier League season to ease the pressure on manager Russell Martin. Late collapses at home against Leicester City and Ipswich Town had left Saints fans wondering if they were cursed but lady luck was on their side against Everton. Big time. When so many Premier League games are this tight, sometimes being lucky is better than being good. Beto hit the crossbar late from three yards out and 20 seconds later the ball was in the net at the other end through Adam Armstrong as Saints made the most of their reprieve. For most of this season they’ve been the team missing big chances and then being hit with a sucker punch. Add in Beto being marginally offside to deny Everton a late, late equalizer and it was just Saints’ day. It was also Aaron Ramsdale’s day, as the England international goalkeeper got his first clean sheet since joining Southampton from Arsenal. That was a big deal for him, and Ramsdale is on a huge deal at Saints as their marquee player. This will do his confidence the world of good and Saints’ attractive, open style of play means Ramsdale will get plenty of reps this season. His brilliant low save to deny Michael Keane at the back post was pivotal and he celebrated like he scored a goal. Ramsdale taunted Everton’s forwards after they tried to clatter into him as he claimed a cross deep into stoppage time. He is back in his happy place and so are Saints, who will be hoping their lucky has finally turned. — Joe Prince-Wright
Manchester United remain in the eye of the beholder
- BRUNO: ‘I apologized to Ten Hag’ for firing
- Man Utd vs Chelsea player ratings
- JPW: Three things we learned from Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea
- MORE: Big questions for Amorim at Man United
Manchester United locked down the middle of the field, brought plenty of adventure to the final third, but struggled putting the ball in the goal. Only the first part feels new at all, and that’s a result of new signing Manuel Ugarte working well with resurgent Casemiro. Everything else that happened Sunday under Ruud van Nistelrooy was something we’ve seen plenty of times under Erik ten Hag, and the Dutchman would’ve wryly watched this match and, perhaps even more so, the reaction to it. There wasn’t more spirit. There weren’t more chances. And there certainly weren’t more goals. But, if you want it, you got a solid defensive performance that was only broken down by a seeing-eye shot off a half-clearance. We’d argue that it’s more of the same, a point that could’ve been three, and that what Ruben Amorim brings to the final third will be as important as anything changes that come from his back three. — Nick Mendola
