Call it the calm before the storm: Liverpool and Chelsea face winnable matches at home while No. 1 Man City tries to navigate the Manchester Derby.
[ ARCHIVE: Premier League club power rankings ]
And we’ve got a new bottom team on our rankings with few signs of improvement at Craven Cottage. How long will Fulham stay 20th?
20. Fulham *New season low* — The Cottagers held the opposition to less than two goals for the first time since Sept. 22, but that’s not achievement against the anemic attack of Huddersfield Town. Losing 1-0 is comparable to its 4-2 loss to Cardiff City. Bad, bad games to lose.
Last week: 18
Season high: 11
Season low: 20
19. Huddersfield Town -- Monday’s win was very nice, but we’re not going to break out the party horns and streamers because a goal was scored against Fulham. A result against visiting West Ham would have us at least Googling where to find said celebratory items.
Last week: 20
Season high: 18
Season low: 20
18. Cardiff City -- Kudos to the Bluebirds for their classy handling of a difficult occasion in Leicester City’s visit following the death of Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. A visit from Brighton is a different sort of test.
Last week: 16
Season high: 16
Season low: 20
17. Southampton -- Had its moments in a 6-1 loss to Man City, really, but has to take advantage when inconsistent Watford comes to town.
Last week: 15
Season high: 13
Season low: 17
16. Newcastle United -- And exhale (but only for a moment). Newcastle finally gets its first win of the season. The Magpies are better than their record suggests, but not by much. Getting a result from high-flying Bournemouth at St. James’ Park this weekend would be a nice respite for supporters heading into an international break.
Last week: 18
Season high: 13
Season low: 19
15. Burnley -- Three-straight losses to very good attacks, and Leicester City can score, too. Can Burnley stop its four-match winless run?
Last week: 17
Season high: 13
Season low: 20
14. Crystal Palace -- Losers of five of six in all competitions, with the sixth being a 2-2 draw at Arsenal. These Power Rankings’ patience with the Eagles is tooth floss thin.
Last week: 14
Season high: 6
Season low: 15
13. Wolves -- Have lost to Spurs, Brighton, and Watford since beating a Palace team we’ve already described as not quite there.
Last week: 12
Season high: 5
Season low: 13
12. Watford -- Javi Gracia’s men have a maddening way of disappearing, and they really should’ve found a way to a win at Newcastle. Those are the breaks when you’re on a losing run and, either way, when you give a team its first win of the season, you’re going to drop down our table.
Last week: 8
Season high: 4
Season low: 14
11. West Ham -- Manuel Pellegrini can start to aim higher on the table with a win at Huddersfield Town this weekend.
Last week: 13
Season high: 9
Season low: 20
10. Brighton and Hove Albion -- Chris Hughton’s men will hope the Everton loss was a blip on the radar of a well-run vessel. A visit to Cardiff City should help right the ship.
Last week: 10
Season high: 9
Season low: 19
9. Leicester City -- Finding a winner on such a wildly-emotional day at Cardiff City is wonderful, but how will the Foxes be able to perform in their return home from Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s funeral in Thailand? All our best to the LCFC family.
Last week: 11
Season high: 7
Season low: 13
Leicester City’s Demarai Gray celebrates scoring his side’s first goal of the game and reveals a shirt that reads ‘For Khun Vichai’ during the English Premier League soccer match between Cardiff City and Leicester City at the Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff. Wales. Saturday Nov. 3, 2018. (Simon Galloway/PA via AP)
AP
8. Bournemouth -- Losing to the cardiac kids of Manchester United is no shame, but a bounce back is necessary.
Last week: 7
Season high: 6
Season low: 12
7. Everton -- That’s a fine win over Brighton, and the Toffees are finally where we expected them to be this season. Now can Marco Silva and Co. claim a result at Chelsea?
Last week: 9
Season high: 5
Season low: 13
6. Manchester United -- It’s not sexy, but it’s working for Jose Mourinho. This first derby of the season is a big, big one for this Red Devils side.
Last week: 6
Season high: 4
Season low: 14
5. Arsenal -- No shame in drawing Liverpool.
Last week: 4
Season high: 2
Season low: 9
4. Spurs -- For as unimpressive as Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been from time-to-time, Spurs are three points off second place Chelsea and third place Liverpool. If they can get through the Champions League group stage without dipping too far off the Top Four, anything short of the title is possible.
Last week: 5
Season high: 3
Season low: 8
3. Liverpool -- For all the Reds’ struggles with mojo, Mohamed Salah finding his finishing boots is really all they need to challenge for the title. The Egyptian is finding loads of chances but just not putting them away.
Last week: 2
Season high: 1
Season low: 4
2. Chelsea -- They just kinda go about their business, don’t they? Won in Belarus on Thursday despite leaving much of the club at home.
Last week: 3
Season high: 1
Season low: 5
1. Man City -- Look out: For as good as City has been, a loss in the derby could easily see them third on the table.
Last week: 1
Season high: 1
Season low: 2