The theme of our most-recent Premier League report cards is: Stars.
Or at least stars in this small sample size of seven games, as we’re picking a standout performer from each team in addition to dealing out grades from A-F for their performances thus far.
MORE — Premier League schedule | Premier League standings
After three weeks, our grades included a heaping helping of what we had learned about their transfers and how they built their teams.
After seven games, it’s more simple — how are you performing?
We’re adding some weight to recent weeks, but this is a grade for the season so far as the Premier League hits the October international break. As you’ll learn below, a few teams may have their season outlooks reshaped by their fixture lists between their return in two weeks and the November break.
Away we go!
What we learned about all 20 Premier League teams through Week 7
Arsenal — Grade: A-
First place must feel pretty vindicating to Mikel Arteta, who drew ire from all corners after a defensive approach to presumed title race duels with Liverpool and Manchester City. Yet the truth may be more about the big picture. Arsenal have dealt with injuries to Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, William Saliba, and Martin Odegaard while playing five of their seven games against clubs that qualified for Europe last season. They are the only team to be top five in xG and xA, and they’ve been good while new attackers Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze have been good but are yet to find peak form. As for a standout player, let’s highlight Riccardo Calafiori. He’s doing what Liverpool have done with Trent Alexander-Arnold and City with John Stones, and the fact that comes from the left side seems off-putting to opponents. A goal and two assists from the Italian.
Aston Villa — Grade: C-
Unai Emery took the handbrakes off, and Villa are moving back up the table. Now, keep in mind that handbrakes might’ve played a part in Villa salvaging three draws from their winless five-game run to start the season, but really this was about Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, and a misfiring attack. To that end, Villa’s clean sheets in scoreless draws with Newcastle and Everton are looking better each week. Villa needed their back-to-back wins entering the break because things are about to get more difficult for the Premier League’s fourth-best possession team. They’ll need more from recent standout Boubacar Kamara, who has chipped in a couple of assists to go with an intimidating and dominant presence in the duels. Evann Guessand has also shown glimpses of stardom. But Villa return to a run of Spurs, Man City, and Liverpool with a trip to the Netherlands in the Europa League thrown into the bunch.
Bournemouth — Grade: A+
The Cherries have impressed in replacing three-fourths of their back line, and it’s tempting to talk about one of those players or USMNT man Tyler Adams in keeping the team solid in and out of possession. That would be a bit naive, though, because Antoine Semenyo is the guy. The 25-year-old might’ve skipped town this summer and his retention is screaming off the page as Bournemouth’s best success. He has six goals and three assists in 630 minutes, playing every second for Andoni Iraola and showing a commitment to defending and winning the ball back that makes a star into a superstar. And behind him, they can be the Premier League season’s surprise top-four contender.
Brentford — Grade: C-
What is a successful season for the Bees after replacing legendary boss Thomas Frank while selling Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, and Christian Norgaard? It’s starting to feel like safety would be an achievement for Keith Andrews, but not on account of the attack. Igor Thiago isn’t going to score 35 goals and make up for Wissa and Mbeumo but there’s a lot to like about his game, enough so that it’s not silly to think one of Wissa or Mbeumo would still be with the club had Thiago not been limited to eight games — seven of which were sub outings — between big knee injuries last season. That said, the Bees’ 66 goals last season took attention away from a disappointing back line. As their possession languishes in 19th at a brutal 38.7%, Brentford have to be hoping to get to the November break with their table footing above the bottom three — West Ham, Liverpool, Palace, and Newcastle are next up on the Premier League docket.
Brighton & Hove Albion — Grade: C
A perfect preseason had the Seagulls hoping that Joao Pedro’s exit wouldn’t be deeply felt at the Amex Stadium. And sure enough, Brighton have only been blanked once through seven matches in league play, a 2-0 setback at Everton. One of seven teams to hit seven goals so far, the worry is that they’ve been cobbling together those goals with only one player — Yankuba Minteh — able to claim three goal contributions. Stefanos Tzimas has flashed in very limited minutes and Brajan Gruda’s advanced stats say there’s more to come there, too. Right now, though, you’d want to point to one of the Seagulls’ two center backs. Lewis Dunk’s been solid as usual but Jan Paul van Hecke‘s last two outings are why the Seagulls claimed a win over Chelsea and draw at Wolves. His range of passing has been good in addition to the standard defensive stuff — blocks, clearances, general orneriness.
Burnley — Grade: C-
The fixture makers weren’t very nice to Burnley, but that’s just fine at the moment due to sensational veteran Martin Dubravka. There’s an argument to be made he was just as good as Nick Pope at Newcastle, and he’s behind a back line that has conceded almost 100 shot attempts in open play through seven games. But there are a lot of players who could become stars this season. Jaidon Anthony’s production has grabbed headlines with four goals and an assist, but Quilindschy Hartman looks the part and Josh Cullen has been so influential, too. Scott Parker’s men are defense-first but have also shown flashes, especially at home where they are 1-1-1. With Leeds, Wolves, and West Ham on their fixture list before the November break, their season hopes will be re-evaluated come November 8.
Chelsea — Grade: B
A team with so many injury challenges at the back and up top has been fantastic in the midfield. Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez have do so much to justify their price tags and your team is rarely going to struggle when they’ve got elite players making the middle of the park a pit of despair. Shout outs to Reece James, Malo Gusto, and Marc Cucurella for their contributions as well. And how about a moment or three for Trevor Chalobah aside from his red card. Still... the answer is Caicedo. He leads the team in goals, tackles per 90, and interceptions for 90. This is an elite player just entering his prime, someone who could enter that rarefied midfield air breathed only by players the caliber of Toni Kroos, Rodri, and N’Golo Kante.
A neat little side story — when I covered the Premier League Summer Series a couple of summers ago, Caicedo was in the midst of his protracted move from Brighton to Chelsea. As the Seagulls headed through the mixed zone in Philadelphia, a number of their players surrounded Caicedo to protect him from media like us hopeful for a quote about whether he wanted a move. It struck me then because here’s a player potentially skipping town and his teammates cared enough to have his back. Watching his teammates celebrate his goal against Liverpool this week with pure joy and individual love, it made me think that wasn’t an aberration — Caicedo is a key figure wherever he goes (Look out, World Cup?).
Crystal Palace — Grade: A-
Oliver (bleeping) Glasner, everybody. The Eagles boss has kept this team over-performing despite exits (Eberechi Eze) and near-exits (Marc Guehi). Palace’s depth feels like it cannot possibly keep up their European pace thanks in large part to additional European matches this season, but if the Eagles can stretch this squad into January, who knows? Daniel Munoz still looks like a Premier League Best XI full back, Adam Wharton continues to earn huge praise, and Ismaila Sarr, Maxence Lacroix, and Chris Richards are the best they’ve been in their senior careers. Yet how Marc Guehi has performed and carried himself after this summer’s near-move to Liverpool should be celebrated in the same manner in which it haunts Liverpool — big time. He’s the straw that stirs their drink.
Everton — Grade: A
The Toffees have been over-performing so far this season, and David Moyes deserves so much credit for the efforts he’s coaxed out of his key components. If Everton were getting even average finishing from the center forward spot, they’d be entering the international break inside of the top four. The low usage of Dwight McNeil is a head-scratcher, too, but that gets most of the negatives out of the way. This team will only improve with a healthy Jarrad Branthwaite, and Moyes has so many players like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who are very much in his image. Let’s be real, though: this season is the Jack Grealish renaissance. The Premier League’s assist leader attacks like a man unleashed from Pep Guardiola’s system armed with the wisdom he gained from years with the best to ever design a team. Health will be wealth to Everton’s hopes of a long-sought European return, but the pieces are there to make that leap.
Fulham — Grade: C
Back-to-back 3-1 losses in which Fulham won the xG battle have really colored the perception of Marco Silva’s early season, but in reality the Cottagers have been the definition of mid-table. They created as many chances as they concede and simply haven’t gotten good enough production from their attackers. Silva has limited time on the field for Samu Chukwueze and Kevin while forcing young Joshua King to learn through 504 minutes. He’s an impressive talent but Fulham have traded their season’s potential for his reps so far. The player who deserves the most praise is one who is often overlooked as a star defender at two London sides now. Joachim Andersen is class and is well-complemented by Calvin Bassey.
Leeds United — Grade: D
You need luck and savvy to stay up as a promoted team, and Daniel Farke’s gotten the former and delivered the latter early in the season. Leeds are out-producing their opponents in open play this season and the recipe for success involves finding their best attack along the way. Noah Okafor is certainly part of it, but someone from the bunch of Jack Harrison, Joel Piroe, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha, and Brenden Aaronson has to find some of that lethal stuff in the final third because Anton Stach looks like a player who is going to win the ball and feed them the ball in chance-making places. He has good size, works in all of the grimy areas, and is an opportunistic producer with the ball. He’s the sort of player who makes the backs and the forwards more comfortable in what they need to do. With Burnley, West Ham, Brighton, and Forest next, it’s not exaggerating to say that we’ll know by the November break whether Leeds’ season will be one of desperation or improved ambition.
Liverpool — Grade: B+
In seven games they’ve faced just one outright, unquestionably-big underdog in Burnley, so give Arne Slot’s men a bit of a break. Actually, don’t — the amount they spent this summer demands more than blood-pressure stressing affairs. Liverpool should be much better, even as Virgil van Dijk writes a bit of revisionist history. Mohamed Salah’s slow start to the season has compromised the analysis of Florian Wirtz, who hasn’t been great but has produced more than enough to have a handful of assists on the scoreboard by now. We’ve said this before but the Reds spent so much time absorbed in the Alexander Isak drama that they waited too long to grab Marc Guehi or another center back and now they are left hoping Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate don’t break. And that’s a lot of negatives for a team that is 5-1-1. So let’s be positive. Cody Gakpo has been wonderful as has Ryan Gravenberch. Georgi Mamardashvili is as good as No. 2 goalkeeper in the league as Alisson Becker remains elite. And who knows how often he’s upset behind the scenes, but Dominik Szoboszlai is an absolute force. An elite level midfielder, Szoboszlai is showing that he could be one of the world’s very best fullbacks had he been asked to train at that position. His free kick is the reason they beat Arsenal, and his big minutes at right back have helped offset the underwhelming time spent there by Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.
Manchester City — Grade: A-
Apologies if you’ve come here for the negatives, because Manchester City is unquestionably a Premier League title contender once again. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by their historic, world-beating sides and this team certainly isn’t that, but there are monsters right up the middle that make this group a different kind of scary for opponents. Gianluigi Donnarumma has been a revelation in goal, an imposing, box-controlling presence that has been better with the ball than advertised/feared. Ederson was elite and Donnarumma is the same in a different style. Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol are a perfect match and Rodri — fitness-pending — is still a top player and is going to be deployed only in the most important games as he continues to refind his Ballon d’Or form. Erling Haaland is a freak show who will likely soon be the fastest player to ever score 100 Premier League goals, and the team will be complete when Rayan Ait-Nouri is healthy enough to run up their important left back minutes. As Guardiola noted Sunday, he needs more production from his wingers but he’s got a few weeks to work on that before matches with Everton, Villa, and Bournemouth ready City for a monstrous November 9 match with Liverpool at the Etihad.
Manchester United — Grade: C
Believe it or not, we were tempted to deliver Ruben Amorim’s team a higher grade. Yeah, we know! Man United have taken 40 more shots in open play than their opponents yet have conceded nine goals while scoring just five in that situation. Make it make sense, you say? Well, United have been opening up decent-sized chances at the break and that’s led to concessions without saves from their keepers (Senne Lammens has given them hope through 90 minutes), Really, though, they have just not cashed-in their chances. Man United’s 13.97 expected goals are nearly five more than they’ve put over the line. Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko are 16th and 34th in goals scored but fifth and sixth in expected goals. Bryan Mbeumo is 56th and 16th. Meeting Arsenal, Man City, and Chelsea over your first seven games and about to include Liverpool in your first eight is a tough start, too. Fernandes has been the team’s best player but the standout has been Amad Diallo. People would really be talking about his performances if United had delivered a few more results. He’s all over the right side, very comfortable cutting inside, and looks like a player primed to hit big in Amorim’s system.
Newcastle United — Grade: B
There have been a lot of “What ifs?” this season and perhaps none are more interesting that what might’ve happened had Newcastle pulled the trigger on selling Isak and buying Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade earlier in the window. The Magpies give up almost nothing at the back, as Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman have impressed as a duo with Dan Burn also delivering with Fabian Schar out of the team. Woltemade is a lot of fun and Bruno Guimaraes may well be on pace to future statue status on Tyneside, yet it’s another member of their possible PL-best midfield who deserves his flowers after a dicey start to life on Tyneside. Sandro Tonali right now looks like a player who could have a role in any of Italy’s best national teams. The definitive glue guy, he has at least one moment per game where he reads a complex development as if he had the Cliffs’ Notes. Newcastle seem unlikely to have the depth to compete on all fronts this year but they’ll be able to make their case to ownership if they can get to the January window in the top-four picture with their Champions League hopes in tact.
Nottingham Forest — Grade: D
It feels like Nottingham Forest’s leadership and perhaps even some of their fans have an identity problem. Forest went on a dream run last season, going from relegation fodder into the Conference League. Their owner then helped engineer a promotion to the Europa League and all of that gets a chest puffed out pretty far. But all that misses something: Forest were a bottom-half xG side last year with midtable defending that overproduced their xG and xA to the tune of a combined 15 goals. That’s insane, and so struggles to start the season weren’t reason to rub Nuno Espirito Santo the wrong way and they don’t really justify the surprise in adjusting to Ange Postecoglou’s system. Chris Wood is performing at his level — two goals on 2.07 xG — but few others are joining him and there’s a risk to scapegoating the Kiwi alongside his Greek-Aussie boss. Wood had a glaring miss against Newcastle but the ex-Magpie is one of three former Newcastle players who are thriving this season. Matz Sels kept the Tricky Trees in the game versus Newcastle and Whitley Bay native Elliot Anderson continues to deliver the goods as a PSR buy last season. Forest are out-producing the opposition but have to stop giving up huge chances and they should be fine. A return to health and form for several defenders would sure help Forest.
Sunderland — Grade: A
Regis Le Bris has really impressed with his organization and tactical plans, and the Black Cats success in steering clear of the bottom three early comes down to complete team effort. Yet we need to highlights the guys who are carrying the water here. Granit Xhaka so far is one of the best buys by a promoted club this decade, as his leadership and happiness at being a focal point is screaming off the pitch. Dan Ballard has impressed when available, Nordi Mukiele is a star, and Wilson Isidor’s three goals aren’t too shabby. But, guys, it’s Robin Roefs. He hasn’t been mistake-free, but the 22-year-old Dutchman is recalling Jordan Pickford’s performances as a young Sunderland backstop. Roefs has a Premier League-best 2.3 post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed mark. He’s also amongst the league leaders in crosses stopped (2nd), sweeper actions (6th) and saves per 90 minutes (4th).
Edit: I initially graded this a B+ but realized I was showing some bias after picking them to be a surprise team. The Burnley loss is a little disappointing but come on — 3-2-2 as a promoted team?
Tottenham Hotspur — Grade: A
Thomas Frank’s best attribute on display this season is his planning and in-game ingenuity. It almost has to be when you are without Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison. Spurs are high up the table despite having to scrap for every yard of midfield space. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has has been very good if not great and center back duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven is the envy of many a side. Mohammed Kudus is delivering assists and certainly a star, but how about a word for Joao Palhinha? It shouldn’t be a surprise that the former Fulham midfield muckraker didn’t lose his skill in his time abroad, but what a signing he’s proved to be for Frank. Only Moises Caicedo and Tyrick Mitchell have amassed more tackles than Palhinha’s 26, and each player has played 116 more PL minutes this season. When Kulusevski comes back, his life will be better because of Palhinha.
West Ham United — Grade: F
West Ham are bad right now, and they’re not going to get whole lot better with this group of players. Hiring a surprisingly available Nuno Espirito Santo to replace Graham Potter may turn out to be justified in terms of defensive improvement, but this group has problems. A return-to-health for Jean-Clair Todibo will definitely help and the team could come together as Soungoutou Magassa and Mateus Fernandes get more familiar with their new club, but those things could’ve happened under Potter, too. With Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen, that doesn’t mean they’ll be relegated but they aren’t going to be hearkening back to their recent runs to Europe. One bright spot has been Malick Diouf, who looks the part of an all-world fullback. He’s gone 90 minutes in all seven PL games while chipping in three assists. His physical attributes are a dream, too.
Wolverhampton Wanderers — Grade: F
This is another team who need to be greater than the sum of their parts. Vitor Pereira made that happen last season but Wolves’ lack of true game-breakers is again on display this early season. Ladislav Krejci and Jackson Tchatchoua have shown promise but the outright star quality of individuals is wanting outside of Jorgen Strand Larsen, maybe Andre, and the standout player we’ll mention here. How about Santiago Bueno? Wolves are 0-4 when he doesn’t start, 0-3 when he doesn’t play, and have two draws and a 3-2 loss to Everton when he’s in the XI. He also went 90 minutes in Wolves’ two League Cup wins over top-flight foes, and Pereira really doesn’t have a choice but to run with him for a bit, right? Right?
