The Premier League takes a break for the next two weeks as the international break see their players travel all over the world. So, ahead of their return from national duty and the onset of the Christmas schedule, it might be worth taking a mid-term look at how the sides are faring in the table with under a third of the season complete.
Pierre Sage is the favourite among managers to not make it back from the international break and their position in dead last explains it. However, anyone who saw Palace’s performance against Liverpool the last day will be scratching their heads as to how a side with such quality is in the position they’re in. Europe and domestic congestion is hitting a paper-thin depth Eagles hard.
A big win over Chelsea last Sunday has thrown a lifeline to the Black Cats and boss Regis Le Bris, who like Palace are finding Europe and Premier League commitments hard to juggle.
Not even Michael Carrick haters (there are a few) could have imagined how bad United’s season start has been. As eight straight games without a domestic victory edged into nine in the weekend game against Villa. Talk that Carrick would not survive the international break came true yesterday. And we now await the announcement of Mauricio Pochettino as Carrick’s replacement. Will he be a success? Maybe, but experience would indicate unlikely with the current owners. Beating Liverpool when they meet straight after the break would be the best of starts to his job in Old Trafford.
Frank Lampard side’s recent recovery in the Premier League has run out of steam in the last few games, with only one win in their last four. But they have done better than expected and the next few games will be vital.
No win for five games and then they go and beat Man City. Such is the Dr Jekyll-like character of Nottingham Forest. Oliver Glasner’s side only reserve their wins for title contenders, as their only other win was against Villa this season.
The Cottagers are proof that having a good side is no guarantee of success. Consistency is the issue for Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, with finding a winning run proving difficult. But they should be too good to go down. Which is what has been said about many a relegated side before.
Only three league wins for Gary O’Neil’s side sees them near the drop zone, but seeing that they were one of the favourites to go back down to the Championship at the start of the season, they are doing well enough to have beaten the sides around them, i.e. Palace, Sunderland, and Fulham.
Two league and one EFL win in their first three games of the season, including a big opening day win over Man United (before we knew how bad United were), had fans dreaming of glory. Reality soon hit and they haven’t won since August 29. The Tigers are fighting on and are securing enough draws to keep them midtable.
: Patchy best describes the Magpies season so far. Early wins were wiped out by poor defeats in October. Defensive errors and a misfiring attack are not a great combo for boss Matthias Jaissle’s ‘meh season’.
Three wins in a row in October seemed to indicate that Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi had the side back on track after a very Spursy start to the season. The 1-0 defeat to Leeds last weekend points to some work still being needed.
Unai Emery again seems to have the worry of juggling his domestic and European campaigns across a squad lacking depth. On any given day they can beat anyone in the league but then are also open to sucker punches like last Sunday’s draw with Man United. Two goals up on two occasions they still managed to leave Old Trafford with only a share of the points.
Yet another side struggling to build on some good results. Daniel Farke is regarded as doing a great job, but a few bad results could see them drop down the table. But still also capable of bagging a surprise win here and there.
Only three defeats, to the likes of Liverpool, Sunderland, and high-flying Brighton at the weekend, is all that’s taken any of the shine off Keith Andrews continued amazing stewardship at Gtech Community Stadium. Push for Europe continues at a club where the players look like they’re having a lot of fun doing it.
The Cherries are still showing an amazing ability to stay in contention and compete despite losing talent on the field and their manager off it, with Andoni Iraola’s move to Liverpool. Marco Rose has had eight wins on the trot across all competitions dating back to early October. Amazingly maintaining form in both Europe and domestically.
Only beaten twice this season, in the back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Arsenal, the Toffees could have been in a far stronger position if their forwards were just a bit more deadly in front of goal. David Moyes is still doing a fine job as always against the odds and this season is shaping up to be one of their best in decades.
Still very much a work in progress for Xabi Alonso, with obvious progress been undermined by inexplicable defeats as in last Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of lowly but still dangerous Sunderland. Overall, progress is obvious to see whether Alonso gets the time at Stamford Bridge to get his project over the line.
But for a number of very dodgy VAR decisions in their games against Man City and Arsenal, Andoni Iraola would not have asked for a better start to his stewardship at Liverpool. New signings are bedding in nicely and off form players from last season are back in tune. The two home defeats are a genuine setbacks to their title aspirations but they are still in the mix, which is what most of the Anfield faithful would have hoped for in the Spaniard’s first season at the helm.
Three straight Premier League defeats indicate that the siege mentality, that brought so much success after the cheating guilty verdict, is now waning. Anyway, rumours have it that their punishment for those cheating charges will be released during the international break. The drop awaits.
The fairytale story of the 2026-27 season keeps rolling on and there are whispers of them being the next Leicester City moment. The Seagulls under Fabian Hurzeler are fearless as shown in their very impressive wins over Arsenal, Man City, and Man United. However, they are beatable as shown in defeat to Liverpool and Chelsea, where their opponents closed them down and limited their chances. If they should manage a Leicester, few would have an argument as their open and attacking style have endeared them to many.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners look like the side to beat again this season, and their defensive prowess remains the hardest key to unlock, with only Brighton and lowly Fleetwood Town (in the EFL Cup) being the only sides to breach their last lines successfully. And while Arsenal’s attack has underdelivered with just 15 goals in their 10 league matches, the rearguard has picked up the slack, conceding only five goals all season so far, and three of those were to Brighton in the one match. Championship-winning form once again.
