Five weeks into the 2023-24 season and the Premier League is already starting to divide itself into clearly defined tiers up and down the table.
There are a few outliers overachieving, or underachieving, as the Premier League keeps providing shocks galore up and down the table. A couple of giants have had pretty slow starts to the new season which always stirs up plenty of emotions. Fans are a notoriously level-headed bunch, right?
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Below are the Power Rankings for all 20 teams based on what they showed us in Matchweek 5. Get ready for plenty of moves up and down this ranking in the weeks, and many months, to come.
Premier League Power Rankings - Week 5
The strugglers
20. Luton Town - Even
19. Everton - Down 2
18. Burnley - Up 1
17. Bournemouth - Up 1
16. Wolves - Even
Luton are improving but just can’t find that bit of quality in both boxes when it matters most, as they’ve lost all four games so far this season. Everton have yet to win too and they were pretty woeful in their home defeat to Arsenal as the 1-0 scoreline flattered them. Burnley were better away at Forest and could have easily won but picked up their first point back in the PL. Bournemouth showed improvement as their draw at home against Chelsea saw them work hard and proved they can grind out results and be a solid unit. Wolves have lost four of their first five games but they were excellent in the first half against Liverpool but then lost confidence in the second and were totally overrun.
The slow starters
15. Sheffield United - Even
14. Manchester United - Down 3
13. Chelsea - Down 1
12. Nottingham Forest - Up 1
11. Fulham - Up 3
Quite how Sheffield United lost at Tottenham is a mystery as they were 1-0 up in the 98th minute but lost 2-1 in dramatic fashion. The Blades are their own worst enemies but they are working hard and the fine margins keep going against them. Chelsea are creating chances but can’t finish them and they have now won just one of their first five games under Mauricio Pochettino. To be fair to Chelsea, a host of injuries has hit them hard but they have to start scoring goals and picking up wins soon to ease the pressure on Poch. Staying in west London, Fulham ground out a win against Luton and are doing okay after a tumultuous summer, while Manchester United are not doing okay. So many issues off the pitch have snuck on to the pitch and although Erik ten Hag has had injury issues to deal with, United aren’t taking their chances and the balance in transition is totally off. Their 3-1 home defeat to Brighton at the weekend summed this all up.
The promising bunch
10. Crystal Palace - Even
9. Brentford - Even
8. Newcastle - Even
7. West Ham - Down 1
6. Aston Villa - Up 1
The Eagles went ahead at Aston Villa but late goals saw them lose 3-1, as a controversial penalty kick was the only reason they didn’t get anything from Villa Park. The same could be said for Brentford as they were unlucky not to leave Newcastle with a point as a soft second half penalty kick saw them suffer their first loss of the season. With the Champions League in mind, Newcastle rotated their lineup a little against Brentford and it showed but they just about got the job done for their second win of the season. West Ham went ahead against Manchester City as James Ward-Prowse continues his fine start to life in east London but they were simply outclassed by City. No shame in that. And as we mentioned, Villa beat Palace but left it very late as Unai Emery’s side (like Newcastle and West Ham) now have European action to focus on too. Can these teams get the midweek to weekend balance right?
The leading lights
5. Liverpool - Down 2
4. Tottenham - Even
3. Arsenal - Down 1
2. Brighton - Up 3
1. Manchester City - Even
After an awful first half, Jurgen Klopp reminded us just how good he is as his tactical and personnel tweaks saw Liverpool surge back to win at Wolves. It looks like getting as many attacking players on the pitch as possible is going to be Klopp’s plan this season. The same can be said for Tottenham as they sealed an incredible comeback win at home against Sheffield United. Ange Postecoglou’s side trailed in the 98th minute but ended up winning 2-1 as Richarlison equalized and assisted on Dejan Kulusevski’s winner amid delirium at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Staying in north London (oh yeah, there’s the small matter of a derby this weekend...), Arsenal made hard work of their win at Everton but got the job done and looked very solid defensively. Brighton move up to second in our rankings as they demolished Manchester United thanks to their devastating clinical finishing at Old Trafford. The Seagulls squad is so strong and they even rotated players out of the lineup. Incredible. And talk about incredible, Manchester City’s juggernaut rolled on away at West Ham as Pep Guardiola’s side fought back from a first half deficit to win comfortably as Jeremy Doku scored the crucial equalizer to start the comeback and he looks like a pretty sensational addition.
