Power Rankings of who’s individually better are debatable, but is it fair to say we have a very clear set of tiers after 10 weeks of the Premier League season?
The three-time defending champions throttled their local rival away, the previous two seasons’ runners-up clobbered another bottom-half side, and Spurs are atop the table and boast results against two of the other three mentioned clubs.
So, yeah, right now there are four teams fighting for a title.
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After that? Aston Villa is begging us to be included in that talk but we’ll need to see a result against a top side after early season beatdowns from Newcastle and Liverpool. The aforementioned Magpies join Brighton in looking depth-challenged to compete on European and Premier League fronts, but are joined by Manchester United in the “next” tier. Chelsea’s probably there, too.
The third tier is frustrating West Ham — who has too much attacking talent to be played in David Moyes’ counter shell — with Brentford and Wolves.
That trio’s attacking firepower keeps them from the fourth tier, currently occupied by creatively-challenged but ornery Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Everton. Forest might be the only swing team in the joint, but we’ll trust that a healthy Taiwo Awoniyi will help them fight further.
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That leave the bottom four, where Bournemouth, Burnley, Luton Town, and Sheffield United look differing degrees of done-for when it comes to hoping for a comfortable season.
How did we get here? Let’s relive Week 10 with our writers Joe Prince-Wright, Nick Mendola, and Andy Edwards supplying analysis on the 10 games played in England’s top flight.
Liverpool a title contender and its best midfield combo may have arrived
Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Liverpool is doing what a team needs to do to be a part of a title fight, smashing lower level teams with a decent amount of abandon. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been waiting for their best dance partner in the Reds’ midfield, with Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones not quite there, Stefan Bajcetic green, Cody Gakpo inconsistent and better served up top, Thiago Alcantara injured, and Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch still new to the team. But Gravenberch has been scoring in Europe and he looked quite good on Sunday. More importantly, Szoboszlai was electric and Mac Allister solid with the Dutchman completing their trio. Liverpool drew at Chelsea and Brighton, beat Newcastle and Villa, and lost to Spurs, so the jury’s out against top competition; But against Bournemouth, Wolves, West Ham, Everton, and Forest? 5-0 with a 14-2 goal differential. Not too shabby (a cakewalk of a Europa League group has helped, for sure) - Nicholas Mendola
Mistakes by the derby dozen as shameful hosts controlled at Old Trafford
Man Utd 0-3 Man City | Erik ten Hag reaction + What’s next for Man Utd? ]
Look: Manchester City may be the best attack, possession, and defending team in the world, but this is Manchester derby at Old Trafford. It can’t be this bad. But it was. Erik ten Hag’s season may not be out-of-control on the Premier League nor the Europa League tables, but the performances are terrible and, really, unforgivable. The incredible growth last season has dissolved into a system-less shrug of guesswork on the pitch. And it was a mess from the get-go. Consider the risks Ten Hag took without much reward. Raphael Varane was left out of the side for Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans. Sergio Reguilon sat in favor of Victor Lindelof at left back. Also kept out of the XI: Combined $175 men Mason Mount and Antony And Jadon Sancho is still ‘learning lessons’ away from the team.
And what’s better for Manchester City than blowing someone out by five? Not sure, but it could be Manchester City just toying with a rival away from home. City was so organized in defense, limiting United even when the Red Devils managed exchanges that weren’t desultory. The champs out-attempted the hosts 21-7 and put 10 shots on target. xG was 3.93-1.03. It wasn’t close. - Nicholas Mendola
James Maddison freed from Leicester is even better than hoped
Maddison — as well as Heung-min Son — found more joy on Friday, especially after the halftime restart, and in the 53rd minute it was the former who almost singlehandedly caused the opening goal. After closing down goalkeeper Sam Johnstone into within an inch of a tragic goalkeeping blunder, settling instead for a desperate clearance and Tottenham throw-in. Spurs quickly won the ball back after the throw-in and eventually it fell to Maddison on the corner of the six-yard box. His shot was dragged wide, but hit with real venom — too quickly on defender Joel Ward that he could only shin the ball into his own net. Thirteen minutes later, Maddison’s fingerprints were all over the move that led to Spurs’ second goal, though again he didn’t receive credit for an assist. As substitute winger Brennan Johnson made a clever run into the left channel, Maddison found him with a deftly placed through ball. Johnson cut the ball back first-time with his left foot and found Son lurking on the edge of the six, completely unmarked. - Andy Edwards
Same old story for goal-shy Chelsea
The writing was on the wall for Chelsea once again: Mauricio Pochettino, his players, and the fans all knew what was coming. The first half played out how so many others have this season as they dominated possession, carved out chances, but snatched at them and were made to pay. Chelsea cannot keep missing these big chances and expect to win games. With Christopher Nkunku still out, they’re missing a clinical finisher. But even so, the chances which are falling to others have to be taken. They aren’t that difficult. With just 13 goals scored in 10 games, it seems to be more of a mental issue now as even in their impressive display against Arsenal last week, they should have been out of sight by half time. Chelsea have real quality in attack but Pochettino isn’t getting the best out of them and he needs someone to step up, fast. Armando Broja and Mykhailo Mudryk were missing and they will be straight back in when they’re back because Chelsea badly need players who are focused on one thing: shooting from anywhere and being direct. It is still early in the season but unless they can be calmer and more clinical in front of goal, their Champions League dreams may soon be over. - Joe Prince-Wright
Arsenal let loose on bottom half side in true formality
Possibly the worst team in the Premier League visited one of the unquestionable best, and shame on any of us who tried to envision it going any other way. Arsenal looked like a team that faced Lens, Chelsea, Man City, and Sevilla and was finally getting a break. The Gunners held nearly 70% possession and kept the Blades to an ungodly 0.03 expected goals total, taking 10 of the game’s 12 shot attempts. Arsenal’s midfield was terrific, as Declan Rice ran the show but Emile Smith-Rowe and Kai Havertz were lively in and out of possession. The Gunners pressure was too much for Sheffield United to handle, and few players will be happy with their days, but American back Auston Trusty was among the top performers and Vini Souza and Gustavo Hamer were scrappy on the left. - Nicholas Mendola
VAR controversy, questions arise again in big six-pointer
Just before the clock reached 90 minutes, Burnley briefly thought they had drawn level through Jay Rodriguez. What ensued was a five-minute goal check by the VAR. Rodriguez was initially ruled offside, then seemingly onside by video review, though the green line appeared to cut through his head on the still image. The lines were re-drawn and eventually, after fans of both sides grew tired of waiting and sang, “This is embarrassing,” inside the ground, Rodriguez was ruled offside. It was the right call, but if this happened in a higher-profile game we might be talking about it for weeks - Andy Edwards
David Moyes running out of time at West Ham
Given what he has achieved at West Ham, David Moyes deserves plenty of time to turn this poor run of form around. But, given that most of last season saw their hugely talented squad battle against relegation while producing turgid football and the fact that we’re seeing the same trend starting to repeat itself this season, Moyes doesn’t have much money in the bank with the West Ham fans. Even after winning the Europa Conference League last season and starting well in the Europa League this season, Moyes is starting to hear the boos grow louder. The loss of Declan Rice in the summer was a hammer blow (pardon the pun) but James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, and Mohammed Kudus were all excellent additions to negate that blow. Is Moyes the right man to take this West Ham forward? The fans clearly want a more front-footed coach and they’ve voiced that opinion for some time as they labored against Everton and have become very predictable. It is easy to imagine a more attack-minded manager getting more out of this squad of players than Moyes has on a weekly basis in the Premier League for the last 12 months. Still, be careful what you wish for, West Ham fans.- Joe Prince-Wright
Seagulls stumbling as fixtures pile up
This was always going to be the be the issue for Brighton this season. After doing so well to qualify for their first-ever European campaign, Roberto De Zerbi’s side are starting to show signs of fatigue and that’s normal. The same thing happened to the likes of Swansea, Leicester, Southampton, and West Ham when they’ve qualified for European action unexpectedly and the way Brighton play, Roberto De Zerbi demands high-pressing and incredible intensity. That’s fine if you have a big squad but Brighton are making so many changes week-in, week-out and there is a lack of a fluidity in their play as they faded badly in the second half again Fulham; The Cottagers overran them and that’s how they grabbed their equalizer. Again, we expected this. They’re coming off an emotional first-ever European win — against European giants who have fallen on tough times, Ajax — on Thursday and this grind of Europa League and Premier League action is relentless.. - Joe Prince-Wright
Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins are a unicorn duo
Villa’s good, a total team. Douglas Luiz is a borderline elite midfielder, the fullbacks get forward with gusto, and there’s a World Cup winner in goal. And the center backs are thriving even without Tyrone Mings. But what makes Aston Villa a threat to win every game in every competition is in electric megastar caliber forward Moussa Diaby and the fact that Ollie Watkins joins him as the complete forward setting up the store in a relative unicorn that is a team playing two men up top.
Either Diaby — 3 goals, 3 assists — or Watkins (5+5) has been on the score sheet in all but two Premier League matches this season: a win over Everton and a loss to Liverpool. And the dual threat nature of their attack is the primary reason that Villa can easily be a top four team if it figures out how to perform against bigger teams this season. Because the lesser squads aren’t even in the ball park. - Nicholas Mendola
Winning at rested Wolves too big an ask for weary Magpies
Wolves are decent team. Full stop. Gary O’Neil may make them even better but it’s difficult to see them dropping far off these standards any time soon. Yet the Wolves project isn’t quite good enough to expect a comfortable win over Newcastle, even when the Magpies are coming from a Champions League affair with Dortmund while carrying a fresh batch of injuries. Newcastle’s depth just isn’t here right now, especially given what’s ahead. In fact, Eddie Howe may need to rest key pieces against Manchester United at midweek or next weekend against Arsenal, prioritizing a trophy fight or top-four race at the moment. With Elliot Anderson injured and Sandro Tonali suspended, the Magpies could not opt for a midfield sub late and that might’ve swung things. Wolves, too, could not afford to deviate from their plan. As the late rains came, a fitting draw came from this slugfest that featured 28 total fouls. - Nicholas Mendola
