Man United have underwhelmed but are sixth, Man City look ominous and Newcastle have endured a mixed start… but how has your team fared?
- Wolves are on the up despite their performances not always equating to points
- Luton Town are beginning to show signs of resilience after a very shaky start
- It’s baffling why Guardiola sold Palmer to a rival club – It’s All Kicking Off
With twelve games being played already this season, the Premier League is nearing its halfway point.
Fans have seen some fascinating thrillers, including Chelsea’s pulsating 4-4 draw against Manchester City most recently.
But there has also been a fair share of poor play as a host of newly promoted sides sit towards the bottom of the table.
Mail Sport has assessed every Premier League side’s form in the early stages of the 2023-2024 campaign and graded how they have fared so far.
We have already kicked off our guide with part one – now read the second part that features the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs.
Newcastle midfielder Jacob Murphy has been suffering with a shoulder injury this season
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LIVERPOOL
Position: 2nd
Points: 27
After a disappointing fifth-placed finish last season, Jurgen Klopp’s side would have been raring to go when the league started in August.
With eight wins and only one loss in twelve games, it’s safe to say the Reds have come out of the blocks flying.
Liverpool now sit just one point behind Man City in first place and are undefeated in their last five matches.
The 2019-20 Premier League champions have the joint-third best attack this season, scoring 27 goals and have taken the most shots out of any side.
They also have the third best front-line in Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota who have recorded 18 goals and four assists this season.
Liverpool have enjoyed a fantastic start to the Premier League season and sit in second place
Nunez and Salah are also the best-ranked attacking duo in terms of creating the most assists and chances.
The pair have assisted each other five times so far this season, with Nunez providing four of them.
Pairing that deadly attack with the joint best defence in the league alongside Arsenal, having only conceding 10 goals this season , Liverpool are real title contenders.
However, Liverpool need to improve their finishing to push Manchester City for the title as the Reds are joint-third in the league for missing the most number of big chances.
Grade: A
The attacking duo of Darwin Nunez and Salah has been particularly potent for the Reds so far
LUTON TOWN
Position: 18th
Points: 6
After Luton Town defeated Coventry City on penalties in the Championship play-off final, the club secured promotion to the Premier League for the very first time.
Regardless of what their results have been this season, Luton fans are in dreamland as they get to see their side play against football’s biggest stars.
As it stands, Luton have secured just one win twelve matches – leaving them 18th in the Premier League table.
Luton have the fourth worst defence this season conceding 22 goals and the third most league losses.
They also have the joint second worst attack in the league this season, scoring only 10 goals.
Luton have struggled so far after they were promoted to the Premier League for the first time
To add to this, they have taken the sixth least amount of shots with 140.
But, while things have looked dreary at times, Luton did put on a valiant display in their win against Everton.
Rob Edwards’ men have also claimed draws against Wolves, Forest and, most impressively, Liverpool.
So while there is of course concern with Luton adapting to the pace of the Premier League, there have been signs of positivity.
Grade: C-
A win against Everton followed by a recent draw against Liverpool has lifted spirits however
MANCHESTER CITY
Position: 1st
Points: 28
Following a treble-winning season earlier this year, it’s no surprise to see Manchester City sat at the top of the Premier League table.
The Manchester side currently have the best attack in the league, scoring the most goals this season with 32.
They have also attempted the second most shots out of any side with 198 and have recorded the most passes.
To balance this, they have the second-best defence this season, conceding only 12 goals.
For the reigning champions, this is certainly enough to earn top grades so far for this season.
Man City’s Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez have been central to the side’s form so far
But, it has not all been plain sailing for Pep Guardiola’s side. A 2-1 loss at Wolves was quickly followed by a defeat to Arsenal.
Despite a derby-day thumping over rivals Man United, City then stumbled to a 4-4 draw against Chelsea.
With the side ranked sixth for the number of big chances missed this season, perhaps there might be concern over their finishing.
But as we all know with City’s depth in quality, this is really nitpicking. Guardiola and his men have made a fantastic start to this season.
Grade: A
City sit top of the table and have scored more goals than any other side in the Premier League
MAN UNITED
Position: 6th
Points: 21
For all the talk of crisis at Manchester United, Erik ten Hag’s side are somehow sat sixth in the league table.
United fans have been outraged with their club’s performances as the Red Devils suffered back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Brighton in September before falling short against Crystal Palace.
A home thumping by Manchester City in a fierce derby rivalry did little to help the matter- with many calling for Ten Hag to be sacked.
Man United’s attacking frontline of Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Antony have only recorded one combined goal and assist so far this season.
Both the goal and assist have come from Rashford – who scored 30 goals across all competitions last season for United. The wait goes on for Antony and Hojlund to get off the mark this season.
Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund is still waiting to score his first ever Premier League goal
They have the 14th best attack in the league and have managed only 13 goals so far, compared to City’s 32.
But with the joint-second most clean sheets so far this season, United have managed to scrape by with narrow wins.
This happened most recently against Fulham thanks to a Bruno Fernandes 90th minute goal.
Whether the Red Devils can turn their form around remains to be seen, but their start to the season so far has not been up to scratch.
Grade: C
United have struggled with their playing style so far but somehow still remain in sixth position
NEWCASTLE
Position: 7th
Points: 20
Newcastle fans were over the moon to have qualified for the Champions League last season following a fantastic fourth-placed finish.
With their spirits high, they enjoyed one of their all-time greatest performances against PSG at home where they won 4-1.
But, in the league – the story has not been quite so dazzling for the Magpies.
The Geordie side claimed brilliant wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa at the start of the season.
Anthony Gordon has been one of Newcastle’s stand-out players so far this campaign
They’ve also recorded the joint-third best attack this season, scoring 27 goals and have the joint-first most clean sheets alongside Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
To add to this they have the fourth best defence in the league only conceding 13 goals.
But, a string of injuries involving Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak and now potentially Callum Wilson have halted progress.
Eddie Howe’s side lost 2-0 away to Bournemouth at the weekend with what looked a very tired side.
It appears Newcastle are battling to fight on all fronts and subsequently it has affected their start to this season.
Grade: B-
Injury troubles have hit the Magpies, however, who recently lost 2-0 to Bournemouth
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Position: 15th
Points: 13
Looking at Nottingham Forest’s position last season in 16th, the side are playing to roughly a similar level.
Steve Cooper’s men have enjoyed fantastic results, such as their win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and against Villa.
But, his team have only managed to keep three clean sheets so far as defensive fragilities look to be costing them.
With just three wins in twelve games so far, there is still time for Forest to kick on.
But with the level of quality they have in attack with Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga, they should be utilised more.
Nottingham Forest have only recorded three wins this season and sit in 15th position
Before their Villa victory, Forest were winless in six and failed to capitalise against Burnley or Luton.
Cooper will reluctant to leave things late like Forest did last season.
If they want to stay in the Premier League, they will quickly have to turn their form around.
Grade: C+
Steve Cooper’s side fell to a disappointing defeat to West Ham recently at the London Stadium
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Position: 19th
Points: 5
As one of the league’s newly promoted sides, it should be recognised it is difficult to immediately adapt to the Premier League.
But with just one win in 12 and as a team who has experience playing in England’s top flight, Sheffield United have been disappointing.
A recent win against Wolves and a defiant draw against Brighton away from home gives Blades fans hope.
But Sheffield have the second worst attack in the league this season having only scored 10 goals.
They have the second highest number of league losses with nine and have attempted the least amount of shots with 105.
Sheffield United have won just one game so far this season and sit 19th in the league table
They also have the worst defence in the league having conceded 31 times and have failed to keep a clean sheet.
So far, the Blades do not look like a side who will stay up, but there is still a long way to go.
Suring up their defence and making it difficult for teams to score against them will be key to any success they have this season.
Grade: D-
The Blades have the joint-second worst attack in the league this season, scoring only 10 goals
TOTTENHAM
Position: 4th
Points: 26
Prior to their eventful game against London rivals Chelsea, Tottenham were being touted as title contenders.
A disappointing defeat to the Blues was then followed by a disastrous loss to Wolves despite leading 1-0 in the 83rd minute.
Coupled with injuries to star players such as James Maddison and Micky Van De Ven who look to be out until January, things are looking bleak for the Lilywhites.
But when we look at their start to the season as a whole, we have to appreciate how fantastic they have been.
Tottenham enjoyed a fantastic start to the season before suffering back-to-back defeats
With the new manager Ange Postecoglu coming into an extremely unsettled side, he has completely turned things around.
Spurs have the joint-second most clean sheets so far this season and fifth best defence in the league as well, only conceding 15.
They have also attempted the third most shots out of any side with 192, behind only City and Liverpool.
Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have also have 20 combined goals and assists between them.
Grade: A
Brennan Johnson’s goal against Wolves was not enough to secure any points for Spurs
WEST HAM
Position: 9th
Points: 17
Last season the Hammers enjoyed one of their best ever campaigns as they touched European glory.
Despite finishing in 14th, West Ham fans were over the moon to see their side lift the Europa Conference League title.
This season, West Ham have been a mixed-bag as they sit in ninth position after winning five games and losing five.
They have only managed to keep one clean sheet this season and have the fifth worst defence out of any team, conceding 22 goals.
But, wins over Chelsea, Brighton and more recently Nottingham Forest have shot the Hammers up the table.
The Hammers are currently in the top half of the table and sit above London rivals Chelsea
With uncertainty surrounding whether David Moyes will remain as manager at the club, West Ham’s form could see a dip later in the season.
But with the addition of Kudus into the squad as well as Paqueta flourishing, things are looking good at the London Stadium.
And with their next games after the international break coming against Burnley and Crystal Palace, the Hammers will fancy themselves to pick up even more points.
Grade: B-
Jarrod Bowen has certainly been one of West Ham’s most important players this season
WOLVES
Position: 12th Points: 15
At the start of this season, many pundits and fans wrote off Wolves and predicted they would be relegated.
Julen Lopetegui was sacked after overseeing a 13th place finish and in a mad dash before the start of this campaign, Gary O’Neill was hired.
The former Bournemouth coach has since got this Wolves side playing some excellent football.
Despite losses to Sheffield United, Liverpool and Crystal Palace, O’Neill’s sides performances have warranted more.
Gary O’Neill’s side pulled off a remarkable late comeback against Tottenham on the weekend
That was showcased in their very first league game of the season where they were unlucky not to beat Man United.
While their league position isn’t necessarily impressive at the moment, Wolves are only four points off of eighth.
And after a fantastic result against Tottenham on the weekend after they won 2-1, things are looking up for O’Neill’s team.
Grade: B+
Wolves still remain in the bottom half of the table, however, and have won only four times
IT’S ALL KICKING OFF!
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.
It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.
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