The 2023-24 Premier League season has been chaos so far and the table is beautifully congested as we head into the busy festive season and shocks galore are keeping us on our toes.
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How do we make sense of it all? If only there was another way to rank how teams are getting on...
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There are a few outliers overachieving, or underachieving as the Premier League continues to provide shocks, while we look to have an extremely tight title race between and there is an almighty scrap to not be sucked into a relegation battle.
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Below are the Power Rankings for all 20 teams based on what they showed us in Matchweek 16 and their current trajectory. Get ready for plenty of moves up and down this ranking in the weeks, and many months, to come.
Premier League Power Rankings - Week 16
The strugglers
20. Crystal Palace - Down 3
19. Nottingham Forest - Even
18. Burnley - Even
17. Sheffield United - Up 3
16. Chelsea - Down 1
Palace are really slumping under Roy Hodgson as they continue to struggle to score goals and although defensively they improved against Liverpool, they have a very tough run of games coming up and have won just once in nine as confidence is very low. Forest are also struggling with one win in their last 12 but they did battle to draw away at Wolves as the players want Steve Cooper to remain in charge. Burnley are doing the same for Vincent Kompany as they remain in the relegation zone but goalkeeper James Trafford shone as they held on for a big point away at Brighton. Sheffield United got a huge win against Brentford as Chris Wilder’s re-appointment has galvanized the Blades and they have enough quality to stay within reach of safety. And then we have Chelsea, who lost at Manchester United and Everton last week and were so poor in both games. Mauricio Pochettino is already talking about spending big in January and eyebrows everywhere were raised because $1 billion spent on new players later, it seems like Chelsea are no closer to regaining their status as a top four contender.
The scrappers
15. Luton Town - Up 1
14. West Ham - Down 3
13. Wolves - Down 1
12. Fulham - Up 2
11. Brentford - Down 2
My word, Luton come out of their home defeats to Arsenal and then Manchester City with huge credit. When they took the lead against City just before half time the dream was on for Rob Edwards’ team. But their squad just isn’t quite deep enough to sustain their incredible energy levels even though they’re impressing week in, week out against the big boys right now. West Ham were hammered at Fulham 5-0 and it was a woeful defensive display from David Moyes’ side as their win at Spurs was also quite lucky. Everyone has an off day but West Ham are one of the the most unconvincing teams in Premier League to have 23 points from 16 games and be fighting for European qualification. Wolves were held by Forest but Gary O’Neil continues to do a fine job but scoring goals remain the issue. Fulham have surged up the table thanks to back-to-back 5-0 wins as Marco Silva has all kinds of players chipping in with goals and Raul Jimenez is leading the line superbly as we can all finally stop talking about Aleksandar Mitrovic. And Brentford, hit by a raft of injuries to key players all season long, are predictably running out of steam and can’t wait for January to come for new arrivals and to potentially see Ivan Toney in a Bees shirt (if he’s not sold) once again.
The promising bunch
10. Manchester United - Down 4
9. Everton - Up 4
8. Brighton - Down 1
7. Bournemouth - Up 3
6. Newcastle - Down 1
Oh, Manchester United, what are you playing out? The ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team were torn apart on the counter by Bournemouth and Erik ten Hag can’t get any consistency out of his stars. Strangely they’re still in the top four hunt but this has been a season full of disappointments and the manner of the home shellacking to Bournemouth was perhaps the lowest point yet. Everton are heading in the opposite direction as they battered Chelsea with a second half blitz and Sean Dyche’s side, fuelled by their perceived injustice of their 10-point deduction, are out of the bottom three and are a real handful to play against with midfield runners causing so many problems. Brighton were held to a disappointing draw against Burnley but did everything they could to win it late on as Roberto De Zerbi applauded the usual classy display from his squad, while along the South Coast Bournemouth are purring under Andoni Iraola. The red-hot Cherries got a famous first-ever win at Manchester United and they scored three but could have scored more as they’re one of the most efficient and dangerous teams with their perfectly timed counters. Newcastle’s injury-hit side ran out of gas away at Tottenham as Eddie Howe keeps rolling the same lineup out there but at least he has a few players returning. Newcastle still had chances on the counter but haven’t been at their clinical best and if their away form doesn’t improve it will stop them from finishing in the top four of the Premier League this season.
The leading lights
5. Tottenham - Up 3
4. Manchester City - Even
3. Liverpool - Even
2. Arsenal - Down 1
1. Aston Villa - Up 1
The way swashbuckling Spurs dismantled Newcastle and created chances galore will delight Ange Postecoglou as his side finally got back to winning ways. Son, Kulusevski, Johnson and Richarlison were excellent, while the duo of Sarr and Bissouma were dominant in midfield as Spurs are still in the top four hunt and a good festive period ahead of key players returning from injury will get title talk going again. Manchester City squeezed past Luton as they ended their poor run in unconvincing fashion as Erling Haaland remains out injured. Liverpool were also not at their best but their late comeback win at Crystal Palace, sparked by Mohamed Salah’s landmark goal, gave Jurgen Klopp’s side a familiar feeling as they keep fighting back to win games and that trait is enhancing their title credentials. Arsenal’s title hopes took a hit as they were blown away early on at Aston Villa. They should have at least drawn the game but couldn’t finish chances, especially in the second half, as more late VAR drama had Mikel Arteta seething. As for Aston Villa, well, they have to be top of our rankings. To win 15-straight Premier League home games is an incredible achievement and Unai Emery’s side are massively punching above their weight as they’ve now beaten Man City and Arsenal in back-to-back games. Can they stay in the title race? Probably not. Are they going to be a nuisance to the big boys and stay in the top four scrap? Absolutely yes. And the Premier League is a much better place for it as a sleeping giant has finally awoken in England’s second city.
