Premier League Power Rankings – Week 6

Six weeks into the 2023-24 season and the Premier League is already starting to divide itself into clearly defined tiers up and down the table.

There are a few outliers overachieving, or underachieving, as the Premier League keeps providing shocks galore up and down the table.

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Below are the Power Rankings for all 20 teams based on what they showed us in Matchweek 6. Get ready for plenty of moves up and down this ranking in the weeks, and many months, to come.

The strugglers

20. Sheffield United – Down 5

19. Luton Town – Up 1

18. Burnley – Even

17. Wolves – Down 1

16. Bournemouth – Up 1

The Blades just have to move down to last place after that 8-0 hammering at home to Newcastle. The defending was shambolic and underlined just how big of a gap there is between the three new boys and the rest of the PL. Luton battled hard but couldn’t make the most of Wolves going down to 10 men, as the Hatters hit the post and missed some big chances but they showed plenty of spirit to grab their first-ever PL point. Burnley huffed and puffed against Man United but once again struggled to create chances as they remain winless, while Wolves didn’t impose themselves against Luton and were lucky to grab a point. Bournemouth played really well away at Brighton and just aren’t taking their chances as they took the lead but lost 3-1.

The slow starters

15. Chelsea – Down 2

14. Nottingham Forest – Down 2

13. Everton – Up 6

12. Brentford – Down 3

11. Fulham – Even

Man, Chelsea are a tough watch. They have so many injuries but it is all really clunky early on in the Pochettino era. Losing at home to Aston Villa was another blow as Malo Gusto was sent off and Chelsea just keep missing big chances. Surely that won’t continue, right? Forest were battered by City in the first half and even after playing the entire second half up a man, they couldn’t erase a 2-0 deficit. No shame in that. Everton were excellent in their 3-1 win at Brentford as Sean Dyche’s side played the ball, got runners in-behind Beto and finished superbly when they had chances. This is what we expected from them. Speaking of Brentford, they have some big injury issues and absentees to deal with and they had a real off-day. It happens. Fulham were as solid as ever in their stalemate at Palace but Marco Silva will be concerned with the lack of chances they are creating.

The promising bunch

10. Manchester United – Up 4

9. Crystal Palace – Up 1

8. West Ham – Down 1

7. Aston Villa – Down 1

6. Newcastle – Up 2

Okay, it wasn’t pretty but Manchester United got the job done 1-0 at Burnley. Erik ten Hag will be delighted with the defensive solidity and Bruno Fernandes delivered a moment of magic. United have a run of games now where they can replicate this type of performance to get results to get them back on track. Palace were solid but couldn’t break down Fulham as their threat in the attacking third has diminished without Zaha. West Ham put up a good fight at Liverpool but didn’t take their chances in the first half and were made to pay in the second. Villa hung in there at Chelsea and hit them on the counter to make the most of the Blues missing big chances, with Martinez sensational in goal and Diaby and Watkins providing the killer blow on the counter. Newcastle crushed Sheffield United 8-0 and it could have been more for Eddie Howe’s side as their movement, hunger and sheer multitude of attacking options overwhelmed the Blades.

The leading lights

5. Arsenal – Down 2

4. Brighton – Down 2

3. Liverpool – Up 2

2. Tottenham – Up 2

1. Manchester City – Even

The Gunners lost control of their north London derby draw against Spurs and badly missed Declan Rice when he went off at half time. Martinelli, Trossard and Partey are big misses too, but you expected Arsenal to kick on in the second half once they went 2-1 up but the opposite happened. Brighton won at home against Bournemouth but Roberto De Zerbi said it was one of their worst displays since he’s been there and it came off the back of heavy rotation and the disappointment of a home defeat to AEK Athens in their first-ever European game. The Seagulls will get better at managing the Thursday-Sunday grind but they have match-winners, this time Mitoma, to keep them ticking over nicely. Liverpool are humming along just great too as they got better as the game wore on in their 3-1 win against West Ham and despite defensive frailties and the balance in midfield still being a little off, they look unstoppable in attack. Tottenham are also showing they have signs of staying in the top four hunt this season as Ange Postecoglou’s side were very brave to play a high line and took risks at Arsenal but they were rewarded for that in their 2-2 draw and they could have even snatched all three points as the two goals they conceded were extremely unlucky. Manchester City remain the only perfect team so far, as they breezed past Forest thanks to a fine first half. But having Rodri needlessly sent off early in the second is far from ideal and that gives Pep Guardiola a headache to solve, especially for the game against Arsenal in two weeks’ time.