As we head into another international break, the nascent Premier League season is already delivering so many storylines.
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Will Manchester United figure it out? Are Liverpool and Arsenal ready to push Manchester City all the way? Can the great entertainers of Tottenham really finish in the top four? Can Brighton and Aston Villa challenge the establishment again? How many teams are really in the relegation scrap?
Based on all of that, and following the chaos of Matchweek 7, below are our latest rankings.
The strugglers
20. Wolves – Down 1
19. Southampton - Up 1
18. Everton – Down 1
17. Ipswich Town – Down 4
16. Crystal Palace – Even
My oh my, Wolves are a mess. That conceded five goals at Brentford and have let in 21 in their first seven games of the season as they have just one point on the board. Gary O’Neil has an almighty job on his hands to turn things around and Wolves have three crucial games coming up which could decide the direction of their season. Southampton were pretty good at Arsenal as they took a shock lead but unravelled under late pressure from the Gunners. Russell Martin’s side have some huge games coming up too between now and the next international break in November. Saints badly need that first win to give them belief. Everton were pretty dour against Newcastle and had Jordan Pickford to thank for a point after his penalty kick save. The Toffees are looking more solid defensively and three games unbeaten is a nice little boost for Sean Dyche. Ipswich Town were hammered at West Ham as Kieran McKenna’s side were guilty of making big mistakes at the back and they still await their first win of the season too, and have some huge games coming up against fellow strugglers. The pressure is now on the Tractor Boys to make some of their promising play count against the teams around them. Crystal Palace didn’t turn up in the first half of their defeat against Liverpool but were much better in the second half. That sums up their season, as Oliver Glasner’s side are winless but have shown plenty of promise in spells during games.
The middling bunch
15. Leicester City - Up 3
14. Manchester United – Down 3
13. West Ham – Up 2
12. Bournemouth – Down 1
11. Brentford – Up 1
Leicester finally grabbed their first win of the season, as they battled to victory at home against Bournemouth. It isn’t going to be pretty from Steve Cooper’s side this season, but the Foxes have shown they can be resilient and have some dangerous players in the final third. Speaking of resilience, Manchester United showed that at Aston Villa to grab a 0-0 draw. It was a pretty lackluster in midfield and attack from United but Erik ten Hag’s side were solid and picked up a fourth clean sheet of the season. The way their attack is lacking fluidity, United will need plenty more clean sheets this season if they’re going to finish anywhere near the top four. But the pressure is still on ETH as new players continue to struggle to adapt. West Ham finally dazzled in attack as they demolished Ipswich to ease the pressure on Julen Lopetegui. When you look at the forwards West Ham have it was only a matter of time before this happened and they could have easily scored more than four as the balance was spot on. Bournemouth were unlucky not to leave Leicester with at least a point and it has been a frustrating start to the season for Andoni Iraola’s side. They’ve played much better than their points tally suggests. Brentford were also red-hot in attack as they beat Wolves 5-3 in one of the most chaotic Brentford-esque games imaginable. The Bees were dominant from crosses and set pieces and pressed Wolves in to making so many mistakes.
The contenders
10. Nottingham Forest – Down 2
9. Newcastle United - Down 1
8. Fulham – Even
7. Tottenham Hotspur – Down 3
6. Aston Villa – Even
What a battling point Forest got at Chelsea and even after having Ward-Prowse sent off they almost won it. Nuno Espirito Santo has instilled incredible spirit into this side and every single player knows what they’re doing in this system. Newcastle did everything other than score at Everton as Eddie Howe was left frustrated. The Magpies are badly missing Isak up top but at least they are looking much better defensively. Fulham gave Man City a real scare after taking the lead at the Etihad but they just came up short. Marco Silva’s side created plenty of chances and Jimenez, Traore, Iwobi, Smith Rowe and Pereira have real quality and complement each other very well. After leading 2-0 at half time, Tottenham collapsed to lose at Brighton to raise further question marks about the step forward they plan to take this season. Can Spurs really be in the top four with erratic displays like this always around the corner? They were so good in the first half but basically thought they had the game won and gave up in the second half. Ange Postecoglou called it unacceptable and it was. Aston Villa weren’t at their free-flowing best against Man United but still created big chances as Watkins and Rogers went close. Unai Emery’s side are balancing the heavy load of Champions League and Premier League action wonderfully but losing Konsa to injury is a big blow.
The top dogs
5. Brighton and Hove Albion - Up 4
4. Chelsea – Up 1
3. Manchester City – Even
2. Liverpool – Even
1. Arsenal – Even
What a comeback from Brighton, as Mitoma, Rutter, Welbeck and Minteh ran Spurs ragged in the second half. It’s true that they were poor in the first half but they always create chances and as soon as they scored their first goal, you knew they would win. There is a wonderful buzz around Brighton and all of these new players will only get better as they settle in under Hurzeler’s tutelage. Chelsea huffed and puffed against Nottingham Forest and created so many chances with Palmer, Sancho and Madueke such a handful. They should have won against Forest but came up against inspired goalkeeping and just being a bit unlucky. Still, there’s great belief growing within this young team that they can push for the top four this season. Manchester City were sloppy defensively against Fulham as they’re still coming to grips with losing Rodri. Pep Guardiola’s side always have the ability to outscore you and they may have to rely on that more than ever this season because they aren’t going to keep many clean sheets. Liverpool put in another controlled display to win at Crystal Palace. Arne Slot’s side dominated the first half and should have been out of sight, but they did let Palace get back in the game and hung on to win in the end. Still, if they can become more clinical then Liverpool look much better suited to sustain their title push this season. And sticking around at the top our rankings are Arsenal, who surged back to beat Southampton after falling behind in the second half. Arsenal’s injury-hit side beat PSG in midweek and had to be patient against a stubborn Saints side. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka led them to victory as they’ve taken their games to new levels this season and the Gunners continue to have that knack of getting the win anyway, anyhow.
