Matchweek 3 of the 2024-25 Premier League season delivered plenty of drama and as the international action comes to a close, it’s time to focus on which directions teams are heading in.
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Two perfect teams remain in Manchester City and Liverpool, while seven teams remain unbeaten through their first three games of the season as a clear pack of achievers and strugglers is starting to emerge.
It’s still early days. There’s still plenty of time to surge up our rankings. Don’t panic.
Below we rank all 20 Premier League teams based on their current form.
The strugglers
20. Everton - Even
19. Southampton - Down 1
18. Leicester City - Down 2
17. Ipswich Town - Up 2
16. Wolves - Up 1
The Toffees are in a very bad place, as they coughed up a 2-0 lead late on to lose 3-2 at home to Bournemouth. Three defeats on the spin (conceding 10 goals in the process) will concern Sean Dyche greatly and the negative vibes are growing, on and off the pitch, as fans continue to demand answers about the ownership situation. Southampton played well, again, but were their own worst enemies as poor mistakes in possession saw them lose 3-1 at Brentford and they just keep missing big chances. A ruthlessness needs to arrive otherwise the Saints are only marching in one direction. Leicester have been plucky so far but back-to-back defeats against Fulham and Aston Villa show where they’re at. They’ll be competitive and solid but may just come up short due to the strength of their squad. Ipswich showed plenty of promise in their home draw with Fulham to get their first point of the season and Kieran McKenna’s side sat in, soaked up pressure and looked dangerous on the counter. That next step is being more clinical when big chances do arrive. Wolves battled to their first point of the season away at Forest and Gary O’Neil will be relieved with that as the pressure has eased a little. Still, the alarm bells are ringing quietly due to a summer dominated by losing key players.
The middling bunch
15. Nottingham Forest - Down 1
14. Manchester United - Down 5
13. Crystal Palace - Up 2
12. West Ham - Down 1
11. Fulham - Down 3
Forest are having a very decent start to the new season with five points on the board but the schedule has been kind to them. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have to start being more clinical, especially with tougher games coming up. Manchester United looked a mess against Liverpool as they made big mistakes and were punished. Erik ten Hag is under serious pressure already with two defeats from three and the likes of Ugarte and Garnacho will surely start this weekend, while Shaw and Hojlund coming back from injury will be a much-needed boost to calm things down. Crystal Palace are up and running with their first point of the season and they could’ve grabbed more against Chelsea. Yes, goalkeeper Dean Henderson played well but Palace’s main man Eberechi Eze scored a beauty and will drive them on to plenty of points this season. West Ham were competitive against Manchester City and made it interesting for a while, but Julen Lopetegui’s side were well-beaten in the end. Still, there’s plenty of promise around for the Hammers as new signings settle in. Fulham were okay at Ipswich and should have made more of their dominance of the ball, but Marco Silva’s side look very settled as a midtable team and have strengthened well this summer despite losing Joao Palhinha. Don’t worry about the Cottagers.
The contenders
10. Bournemouth - Up 2
9. Brentford - Up 4
8. Tottenham Hotspur - Down 3
7. Chelsea - Even
6. Aston Villa - Even
Andoni Iraola saw his Bournemouth side launch an incredible late comeback to win at Everton and the Cherries have looked hungry (don’t pardon the pun) and they should have more then five points on the board. Semenyo and Kluivert are a proper handful. Who needs Ivan Toney? Brentford don’t, as Wissa and Mbeumo were clinical against Southampton and the Bees were back to their aggressive best and created chances galore with their high-pressing style. Tottenham wasted plenty of chances in their defeat against Newcastle and it showcased some worrying signs as Spurs were again undone with their high-line defensively. Can Ange Postecoglou strike more of a balance with his tactics? Probably not. He also has the extra layer of complexity this season as he shuffles his relatively small squad around for Europa League action. Chelsea continue to be a mixed bag as they showed some brilliance in attack against Palace but were undone by some sloppy defending and coughed up two points. The Blues are still a work in progress but there are clear signs things are starting to click for Enzo Maresca. Patience, Chelsea fans. Patience. As for Aston Villa, two wins from two on the road to start the season sums them up as they’re brilliant on the counter and Unai Emery’s demanding personality continues to drag every ounce out of his players with midfielders Morgan Rogers and Amadou Onana set to be unexpected stars.
The top dogs
5. Newcastle United - Up 5
4. Brighton and Hove Albion - Down 1
3. Arsenal - Down 2
2. Liverpool - Up 2
1. Manchester City - Up 1
The Magpies showed their individual brilliance against Tottenham to bag a big win as Eddie Howe’s side have quietly picked up seven points from nine to start the season. They are yet to be at their fluid best but it seems like they’ve found a way past their defensive injuries and they’re looking more solid. With their man advantage for most of the second half, Brighton could have won at Arsenal but a draw was probably the right result. Fabian Hurzeler’s side are so fun to watch and just go for it and that will lead to plenty of goals and points this season. What a treat the Seagulls are. Arsenal move down in our rankings as they imploded a little with Declan Rice’s red card and the Gunners got sucked into the heat of the battle against Brighton. They still looked fluid and could have probably won the game with big chances missed in the second half. Ahead of a two huge games at Tottenham and Manchester City, the strength of Arsenal’s squad now needs to come to the fore. Liverpool looked absolutely mesmerizing against Manchester United as they sparked into life whenever an opportunity arose. Arne Slot’s side have the perfect combination of control and speed and they can mix it up whenever they want as Mohamed Salah’s summer of rest has done him the world of good. Even though he may not stick around at Anfield beyond this season. Have we been underestimating Liverpool’s title credentials for this season? Probably. Back atop our rankings are Manchester City as alongside Liverpool, they have won three from three. Erling Haaland secured back-to-back hat tricks to also flex his freshness after a chilled summer and City look hungry and determined to hush the storylines swirling about their impending hearing.