Everyone knows you can look at the table to see where clubs stand in a given season, but we do power rankings because we like to have fun with our beloved games and aren’t a wet paper towel on the shoe of sports.
A few grains of salt — or 300 — are always recommended when dealing with power rankings, and our Premier League club power rankings are intended to be a show of how the clubs look in both form and forecast at a moment in time.
[ MORE: Current Player Power Rankings ]
A new No. 1 and a fairly stagnant Bottom Five... will the real Burnley and Manchester United please stand up?
20. Cardiff City -- Picked up two points from a run of Bournemouth, Newcastle, Huddersfield despite the latter two having a man sent off. Now see Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Spurs, and Liverpool inside next seven fixtures.
Last week: 19
Season high: 19
Season low: 20
19. Huddersfield Town -- After opening with Chelsea and Man City, would’ve expected all three points from Cardiff’s visit. Instead, a 63rd minute red card to Jonathan Hogg and nil-nil.
Last week: 20
Season high: 18
Season low: 20
18. West Ham United -- Full-blown Manuel Pellegrini panic stations if the Irons cannot beat Wolves at the London Stadium and fall to 0-4.
Last week: 18
Season high: 17
Season low: 18
17. Southampton -- The club’s first lead of the season lasted just four minutes, then Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s red card had Saints scurrying to hold onto a point against visiting Leicester City. Harry Maguire’s stoppage time goal meant no points for the St. Mary’s set.
Last week: 14
Season high: 14
Season low: 17
16. Newcastle United -- Rafa Benitez set up to defend against Chelsea, and nearly came away with a point. Their tough start to the season now features a visit to stung Man City before Arsenal comes to St. James Park, and the supporters didn’t even get a cup respite: The Magpies fell 3-1 at Nottingham Forest.
Last week: 16
Season high: 13
Season low: 16
15. Burnley -- One point from three matches, and plenty of fans will be weighing the worth of continuing its improbable and amazing Europa League run. That could end without a significant win over Olympiacos at Turf Moor on Thursday.
Last week: 15
Season high: 15
Season low: 15
14. Manchester United -- Certainly the lowest they’ll fall considering a trip to fixture-battered Burnley comes next on Sunday, right? Or will the players’ lack of inspiration cost the club a match and a manager?
Last week: 8
Season high: 4
Season low: 14
13. Crystal Palace -- A real let down at in-form Watford, as the Eagles need to find offense from someone not named Wilfried Zaha. Alexander Sorloth found the score sheet in a League Cup win over Swans at midweek.
Last week: 7
Season high: 6
Season low: 13
12. Fulham -- Aleksandar Mitrovic is not only behaving himself at Craven Cottage, he’s scoring like his best days in a Newcastle United shirt. Good win over Burnley, but a point or more at Brighton would feel nice heading into Man City.
Last week: 17
Season high: 11
Season low: 17
11. Wolves -- The home draws against 10-man Everton and champions City are nice, and a point at West Ham on Saturday would reinforce preseason hopes of a top half finish.
Last week: 13
Season high: 10
Season low: 13
10. Bournemouth -- Eddie Howe’s got the Cherries flying, even with the 2-2 draw against Everton that featured a red card for each side. A visit to Chelsea is next.
Last week: 11
Season high: 11
Season low: 12
9. Brighton and Hove Albion -- Terrific little litmus test this weekend versus Fulham, which can help suss out the true table potential of the Gulls.
Last week: 12
Season high: 9
Season low: 19
8. Leicester City -- Claude Puel’s men are very quietly 2-1, and could be a perfect 3-for-3 had Jamie Vardy not stumbled out of the gates on Opening Day. Now a chance to make a statement when Liverpool comes to King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Last week: 10
Season high: 8
Season low: 11
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 18: Kasper Schmeichel of Leicester City and Ricardo Pereira embrace during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at The King Power Stadium on August 18, 2018 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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7. Arsenal -- Visits to Cardiff City and Newcastle allow Unai Emery a chance to further cement his system following a needed 3-1 win over West Ham.
Last week: 9
Season high: 7
Season low: 9
6. Everton -- No Richarlison for visits from Huddersfield and West Ham, then a trip to Arsenal is a concern, but the Toffees are so far quite legit under Marco Silva.
Last week: 5
Season high: 5
Season low: 8
5. Watford -- Unbeaten is unbeaten, but their spotless 3-0 record meets visits from Spurs and Manchester United.
Last week: 6
Season high: 5
Season low: 7
4. Chelsea -- Have scored multiple goals in all three wins to start the season, and weathered Rafa Benitez’s parked bus at St. James’ Park. A visit to Bournemouth should make for appetizing television on Saturday.
Last week: 3
Season high: 3
Season low: 4
3. Tottenham Hotspur -- What transfer window concerns?
Last week: 4
Season high: 3
Season low: 4
2. Manchester City -- Most certainly mortal, as 38-0 is no longer a possibility. It’s a poor week to be visiting Newcastle.
Last week: 1
Season high: 1
Season low: 2
1. Liverpool -- Jurgen Klopp is undoubtedly preening given the Reds’ spotless start, with three wins from three and not a single goal conceded by Alisson Becker. Visits to Leicester and Spurs will almost certainly end the latter, but is 5-0 on the horizon?
Last week: 2
Season high: 1
Season low: 2