Our Premier League Power Rankings from Matchweek 16 are here and it continues to be absolutely chaotic to try and make sense of the current situation in the Premier League.
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Title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal both dropped points, Manchester City imploded again, there were big wins for Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea and the likes of Newcastle and Nottingham Forest are going to push for a top six finish, at the very least. We also had managerial sackings, late comeback wins and so much drama.
Based on all of that, and following the chaos of the weekend of Matchweek 16, below are our latest rankings.
Premier League rankings, Week 16 — December 17, 2024
The strugglers
20. Southampton — Even
19. Wolves — Down 1
18. Leicester City — Down 5
17. Ipswich Town — Up 2
16. West Ham — Up 1
Both Saints and Wolves fired their managers after damaging defeats and it was coming. Russell Martin’s style of play wasn’t going to work in the Premier League with these players, while Gary O’Neil’s time at Wolves was clearly up as they’ve been on the slide for a long time. Can both make the right decision to give themselves a chance of staying up? Leicester were absolutely clobbered at Newcastle as Ruud van Nistelrooy’s attacking style is risky and the Foxes are clearly struggling at the back. Ipswich pulled off an amazing late win at Wolves after withstanding heavy pressure, then grabbing their second win of the season to boost their hopes of staying up. West Ham drew at Bournemouth as Julen Lopetegui has finally got some balance defensively but they did look sluggish going forward.
The middling bunch
15. Aston Villa — Down 3
14. Everton — Even
13. Crystal Palace — Up 3
12. Brighton and Hove Albion — Down 3
11. Manchester United — Up 4
Villa suffered a disappointing defeat away at Forest late on as Unai Emery’s side really haven’t looked like themselves over the last few months. Everton dug deep and had Jordan Pickford to thank for a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, as they had very little in attack but Dyche masterminded a solid defensive display. Crystal Palace were excellent in their big win away at Brighton as Glasner finally appears to have turned the corner. Brighton are going in the opposite direction with just two wins in their last eight under Fabian Hurzeler as the Seagulls look pretty lackluster in attack. For most of the Manchester derby that was the case for Man United too, but Amad Diallo took over late on and Ruben Amorim’s side picked up a big win to give them some confidence. There is a clear plan and identity building around United already.
The contenders
10. Brentford — Down 3
9. Manchester City — Down 3
8. Nottingham Forest — Up 3
7. Tottenham Hotspur — Up 3
6. Bournemouth — Down 2
Brentford put up a good fight, as they always do, but lost at Chelsea as their poor away form continues. Manchester City totally collapsed, again, and never looked like they believed they would beat Man United despite being 1-0 up with two minutes to go. What on earth is going on!? Nottingham Forest roared back to win late on against Villa and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are solid, reliable and are back to doing the basics well. Tottenham are back to scoring goals for fun as they hammered lowly Southampton to ease some of the pressure on Ange Postecoglou. Bournemouth snatched a point late on against West Ham and Andoni Iraola’s side are deservedly right in the hunt for European qualification and are horrible (this is meant as a huge compliment) to play against.
The top dogs
5. Newcastle United — Up 3
4. Fulham — Up 1
3. Arsenal — Even
2. Liverpool — Even
1. Chelsea — Even
Are Newcastle back? They smashed Leicester and if Isak is fit and firing, they have a real chance of getting properly involved in this wild top four battle. Fulham move up in our rankings and should have won at Liverpool but couldn’t make the most of being up a player for over 70 minutes. Still, they give Liverpool a huge scare, Antonee Robinson is the best left back in the league and they are full of confidence. Arsenal did everything other than score against Everton in a 0-0 draw. A worrying trend is starting to build as they give the ball to Saka and Odegaard and expect magic and when that doesn’t quite work there isn’t much else, other than set pieces, to bail them out. Liverpool were bailed out against Fulham as Diogo Jota scored a beauty on his return and Arne Slot’s side dug deep to grab a point at home after Andy Robertson was sent off early. They’re stumbling a little but still top of the table. Chelsea remain top of our rankings and are just two points behind Liverpool. Enzo Maresca’s side beat Brentford and have won five in a row, as they still won’t admit they’re in a the title race but they clearly are. They have so many attacking options and are always a threat in the final third.
Premier League rankings, Weeks 13-15 — December 9, 2024
The strugglers
20. Southampton — Even
19. Ipswich Town — Down 4
18. Wolves — Down 9
17. West Ham — Down 4
16. Crystal Palace — Up 2
The middling bunch
15. Manchester United — Down 5
14. Everton — Up 3
13. Leicester City — Up 7
12. Aston Villa — Up 4
11. Nottingham Forest — Even
The contenders
10. Tottenham Hotspur — Down 5
9. Brighton and Hove Albion — Down 5
8. Newcastle United — Down 2
7. Brentford — Up 5
6. Manchester City — Up 1
The top dogs
5. Fulham — Up 3
4. Bournemouth – Up 10
3. Arsenal — Even
2. Liverpool — Down 1
1. Chelsea — Up 1
Premier League rankings, Week 12 — November 26, 2024
The strugglers
20. Leicester City — Down 1
19. Southampton — Up 1
18. Crystal Palace — Down 2
17. Everton — Down 3
16. Aston Villa — Down 3
The middling bunch
15. Ipswich Town — Even
14. Bournemouth – Down 3
13. West Ham — Up 5
12. Brentford — Even
11. Nottingham Forest — Down 4
The contenders
10. Manchester United — Even
9. Wolves — Up 8
8. Fulham — Down 4
7. Manchester City — Down 1
6. Newcastle United — Down 3
The top dogs
5. Tottenham Hotspur — Up 4
4. Brighton and Hove Albion — Up 4
3. Arsenal — Up 2
2. Chelsea — Even
1. Liverpool — Even
