The Premier League season is entering its final quarter and it’s all business now.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal just keep on winning as one of the greatest title races in PL history is in full flow, while the top four scrap keeps on taking twists and turns and the relegation picture is fraught with danger.
It’s brilliant.
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Remember, even fifth place could be a Champions League spot this season as Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United scramble for the top five, while there are so many clubs (Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham, Brighton and Wolves) who are hoping for European qualification too.
At the bottom the situation looks desperate for Burnley and Sheffield United, while Luton have hit a bad run of results at the wrong time but Nottingham Forest, Everton and Brentford just can’t drag themselves away from danger as Forest and Everton have the added tension of a potential points deduction between now and the end of the season to further complicate their survival hopes.
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Below you will find out Premier League Power Rankings based on the current form of all 20 clubs.
Premier League Power Rankings - Week 27
The strugglers
20. Sheffield United - Even
19. Burnley - Even
18. Luton Town - Even
17. Nottingham Forest - Even
16. Everton - Down 3
Another home hammering for Sheffield United, this time 6-0 at the hands of Arsenal, proves Chris Wilder’s side are totally out of their depth in the Premier League. They may go down as the worst PL team in history. Burnley aren’t far behind them either as they were comfortably beaten by Bournemouth at home and both the Blades and Clarets look destined for an instant return to the Championship as confidence levels have hit rock bottom. Luton have lost four on the spin as the Hatters fought so hard to get back level against Aston Villa but switched off late on and that game summed up their season as they lost yet another close encounter to a top six team. Everton haven’t won in 10 and although they created plenty against West Ham they were punished for not taking those chances (story of your season, right Evertonians?) and missed a good chance to move further clear of the bottom three.
The scrappers
15. Crystal Palace - Down 1
14. Brighton - Down 5
13. Brentford - Down 1
12. Bournemouth - Up 4
11. Chelsea - Down 3
Palace were undone late on by Tottenham and Oliver Glasner’s side aren’t out of relegation trouble but with Eze back fit they should be absolutely fine. Brighton’s European dreams have faded and the Seagulls haven’t won back-to-back PL games since September. They were hammered 3-0 at Fulham with Roberto de Zerbi’s side perhaps having one eye on their Europa League last 16 first leg at Roma as they put in an error-strewn display. Brentford coughed up a late goal to deny them a big win against Chelsea as Thomas Frank’s side remain in the relegation scrap. With Wissa, Toney and Maupay up top, they will surely score enough goals to stay out of trouble but the main issue has been keeping them out at the other end. Bournemouth finally got the win their positive performances deserved as they made light work of Burnley and are set for a comfortable spot in midtable. Chelsea will probably be finishing in midtable too as the pressure mounts on Pochettino as they were lucky to get a draw from their trip to Brentford and fans have turned on Poch and co-owner Todd Boehly. It is getting ugly for the Blues as they continue to be so inconsistent, especially defensively.
The promising bunch
10. Newcastle United - Up 5
9. Manchester United - Down 3
8. West Ham United - Up 3
7. Fulham - Up 3
6. Wolves - Down 1
Are Newcastle back? It certainly felt that way in their 3-0 win against Wolves as Eddie Howe’s side finally went back to being a counter-attacking team and it worked a treat. We will probably see a lot more of those tactics between now and the end of the season as they push for a top six finish. Manchester United were pretty woeful against Manchester City in their derby defeat as the gap between them and a title race was abundantly clear. Yes, Erik ten Hag’s side have big injury problems but they still have a lot of quality players. The problem is, they don’t seem to believe in what ETH wants them to do and he doesn’t seem to have a clear idea of what he wants. West Ham surged to victory late on at Everton after a solid display but they had goalkeeper Areola to thank for keeping them in the game. Fulham are genuinely surging with three wins from their last four as they breezed past Brighton and Muniz finally looks like the man who can replace Mitrovic. Wolves had an off day at Newcastle but Gary O’Neil’s side are still having a fine season and they badly missed Hwang and Cunha up top.
The leading lights
5. Tottenham Hotspur - Up 2
4. Aston Villa - Even
3. Liverpool - Down 1
2. Manchester City - Up 1
1. Arsenal - Up 1
Spurs used their quality in attack to surge to yet another late win, this time against Crystal Palace, as Ange Postecoglou’s side are so dangerous and can go on a run to push Villa all the way for fourth. Speaking of Villa, they escaped Luton with a win after dominating the first half and if they can sort out some of their defensive frailties they look nailed on to qualify for the Champions League given the form Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey are in. Liverpool snatched a dramatic late win at Nottingham Forest after a stodgy display, which was to be expected given their fixture load and injury problems. Jurgen Klopp’s side just have that air of inevitability about them and they do have key players returning from injury ahead of their huge game against Man City this Sunday. Speaking of City, they were sloppy in giving chances away to United on the break but they dominated 90 percent of the derby and were deserved winners as Phil Foden continues to carry their title hopes on his supremely talented Mancunian shoulders. City would usually be top of our rankings but how can Arsenal not be there? Seven straight wins now for the Gunners who have outscored their opponents 31-3 in that run. Mikel Arteta’s side are in full flow and so many players are stepping up and they also have key players returning from injury for the run-in. They are red-hot.
