The power rankings are back, and things are starting to look a bit settled... at least in terms of the Top Five.
[ ARCHIVE: Premier League club power rankings ]
20. Fulham — Claudio Ranieri and Aleksandar Mitrovic will be happy to see Newcastle on the fixture list, but can they solve Benitez’s sneaky good defense?
Last week: 19
Season high: 11
Season low: 20
19. Huddersfield Town —Four-straight losses have David Wagner’s men just a point off the very bottom.
Last week: 16
Season high: 16
Season low: 20
18. Burnley — What’s happened to Chris Wood? Just one goal this season. The Clarets now turn to stumbling Arsenal after a 1-0 loss to Spurs.
Last week: 18
Season high: 13
Season low: 20
17. Southampton — A four-game stretch in which three matches were against Top Six contenders, and Saints have managed four points. That’s cool, though the loss to Cardiff is still stinging a bunch.
Last week: 20
Season high: 13
Season low: 20
16. Cardiff City — There’s a lot of life in the Bluebirds, though the worries have looked more about their back line than their attack in recent weeks.
Last week: 15
Season high: 15
Season low: 20
15. Crystal Palace — Selhurst Park is often a tough place to play, and even in strife the Eagles have held up their end of the bargain at home in recent weeks.
Last week: 17
Season high: 6
Season low: 17
14. Bournemouth — A real test with Brighton, in that the Cherries have done poorly against good teams but mostly fared well against the bad. Here’s a team on their proverbial level.
Last week: 12
Season high: 6
Season low: 14
13. Newcastle United — The only explanation for their run of form given the sad lack of investment in the squad is that Rafa Benitez is a warlock.
Last week: 13
Season high: 13
Season low: 19
12. Leicester City — Perhaps no team needs a break more than the Foxes given their season on-and-off the pitch. Unfortunately we’re set for the festive season.
Last week: 9
Season high: 7
Season low: 13
11. Watford — Predicting the Hornets is about as straight-forward as the maze from “The Shining,” so let’s just ask how much better they’d be had they not loaned Dodi Lukebakio to RB Leipzig.
Last week: 13
Season high: 4
Season low: 14
10. Brighton and Hove Albion — Hung tough with Chelsea, and can get redemption for the Burnley loss by beating up a struggling Bournemouth.
Last week: 11
Season high: 9
Season low: 19
9. Manchester United — Nothing to see here, just pure and unbridled humiliation against your rivals.
Last week: 6
Season high: 4
Season low: 14
8. Everton — No shame in losing at Man City, especially because Everton deserved better than the 3-1 score line, but we’re still remembering that disappointing draw with Watford.
Last week: 7
Season high: 5
Season low: 13
7. Wolves — Three on the bounce ahead of a Friday afternoon test with Liverpool... and we know Wolves have been known to hang with the big boys.
Last week: 10
Season high: 5
Season low: 13
6. West Ham United *New season high* — Four-straight league wins, all with multiple goals and two of them on the road. We knew the fixtures were setting up for the Irons to make a run, but Manuel Pellegrini’s men are making it look easy. Now a test: A visit from a Watford side capable of great football.
Last week: 11
Season high: 9
Season low: 20
5. Arsenal — Losing to Southampton is a surefire way to drop, but it’s difficult to slip them behind West Ham. That said, the Gunners have been largely disappointing since their North London Derby win.
Last week: 5
Season high: 2
Season low: 9
4. Chelsea — A nice win at Brighton, even if that sort of thing is expected from the Blues.
Last week: 4
Season high: 1
Season low: 5
3. Tottenham Hotspur — In five games across all competitions, only Ousmane Dembele has found a way to score on Mauricio Pochettino’s men. Not too shabby. Oh, and a bit of vengeance.
Last week: 3
Season high: 2
Season low: 8
2. Man City — The 3-1 defeat of Everton was not nearly what the scoreline says. Could Man City really be creeping toward a season low? A visit from Palace is next.
Last week: 2
Season high: 1
Season low: 2
1. Liverpool — Six-straight league wins is nice, but humiliating your rival and getting one of the most infuriating managers of all-time fired? That’s memorable stuff.
Last week: 1
Season high: 1
Season low: 4