Power Rankings: Man City, Man Utd, Spurs & Liverpool suffer

Mark Holmes
Jose Mourinho: Another bad result for Chelsea against Bournemouth

Jose Mourinho: Another bad result for Chelsea against Bournemouth

None of Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham or Liverpool are in the top four of the Power Rankings, with Chelsea bottom.

In Power Rankings, we award points from 0.5 to 10, decided by an algorithm based on bookmaker odds and winning margins.

It helps, particularly in the early stages of the season, before every team has played all the others, to highlight the real value of the points won and lost.

West Ham, for example, have 23 points in the actual Premier League table but have a massive 52 in the Power Rankings having followed up their wins at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City with a draw at Old Trafford.

For the Irons, this alternative table highlights the true value of the points they’ve won – points that relatively few other teams will get – but also leaves them wondering ‘what if’, with bonus points on the road tempered by home defeats to Leicester City and Bournemouth.

Week 15

Bournemouth – 10: Chelsea are proving to be the source of lots of Power Rankings points this season. Bournemouth became the latest team to profit, claiming a memorable 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to earn a maximum 10-point haul and climb off the bottom of the Power Rankings into 16th, with Jose Mourinho’s bewildered Blues replacing them at the foot of the table.

Newcastle United – 8: Having won 6-1 at Southampton in midweek, Liverpool were tipped to rack up another big score at St James’ Park on Sunday. However, Jurgen Klopp’s side were outfought and outplayed by Newcastle, who have saved their best performances for the biggest opponents this season having also earned draws against Manchester United and Chelsea.

Stoke City – 7: Such was the level of Stoke’s dominance against Manchester City that Mark Hughes’ side will have left the field disappointed they only won 2-0. It was still enough for eight points, however, which moves the Potters up to joint third in the Power Rankings. They have already beaten Chelsea, drawn at Tottenham and claimed away wins at Aston Villa, Swansea City and Southampton.

Leicester City – 5: Of the current top 10, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Watford are the only sides Leicester have beaten this season. It explains why the Premier League leaders are still well behind West Ham, who have won at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City this season. Still, the Foxes continue to beat the majority of the teams they come up against and are now up to second in the Power Rankings after a 3-0 win at Swansea City which earned them five points.

Watford – 4: The bookmakers continue to underestimate Watford. Even in a home game against struggling Norwich they were not odds-on, allowing Quique Flores’ men to chalk upanother four points with a 2-0 victory which was far more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.

West Ham – 4: They are having a fine season, but this table must frustrate West Ham fans more than it does please them. The Irons have taken 12 Premier League points from trips to Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, also beating Chelsea at the Boleyn Ground, yet they are only sixth having picked up only three points from games against West Brom, Watford, Sunderland, Norwich City, Bournemouth and Leicester City. The Power Rankings table highlights that ‘what if’ should be the overwhelming response to their season so far.

Aston Villa – 3.5: The Premier League’s bottom side, meanwhile, are also now joint bottom of the Power Rankings, despite a credible 1-1 draw at Southampton. If there is one benefit to being a poor side, it’s that backing your team with the bookies is likely to return a big profit whenever they eventually do win.

Arsenal – 3: It was far from convincing, but Arsenal kept their Premier League title challenge on track amid another injury crisis with a 3-1 win over Sunderland which earns them a routine three points in the Power Rankings.

West Brom – 2: Seriously, Tony Pulis would love this. ‘Extra points for a draw against a superior team? Sold!’ It was a decent result for West Brom against Tottenham, though, and keeps them ticking along nicely, well clear of a relegation scrap.

Crystal Palace – 1.5: Romelu Lukaku stopped Palace from claiming an impressive away win at Everton on Monday night, but it was still a credible draw for Alan Pardew’s men. It moved them up to sixth in the Premier League and back up to second in the Power Rankings.

Everton – 1: There is no shame in being held by Palace these days, hence Everton claiming a point to keep them in sight of a European place.

Manchester United – 0.5: One of three teams to drop half a point for a draw, United managed 21 shots against West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday but tested Adrian with only one of them. Their lack of goals explains why, despite being in the top four of the Premier League, they are down in seventh in the Power Rankings.

Southampton – 0.5: It was perhaps inevitable that Southampton’s incredible progress in recent years would eventually stall; results like Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at St Mary’s added to the feeling that this will be the season in which they take a step back.

Tottenham – 0.5: Mauricio Pochettino’s side are now 14 games unbeaten, but eight of those games have ended in draws. The latest one, at West Brom, added to dropped points against Swansea City, Everton, Leicester City and Stoke City, explaining the north Londoners’ mid-table position in the Power Rankings.

 

Power Rankings

Team Power Rankings Points Official Points
1. West Ham 52 23
2. Crystal Palace 39 23
3. Leicester City 38.5 32
4. Stoke City 38 22
5. Manchester City 34.5 29
6. Everton 33 22
7. Manchester United 31 29
8. Arsenal 30.5 30
9. West Brom 30.5 19
10. Tottenham 29.5 23
11. Watford 29 22
12. Liverpool 28 23
13. Newcastle 28 13
14. Southampton 25 21
15. Sunderland 21 12
16. Bournemouth 19.5 12
17. Norwich City 18.5 13
18. Swansea City 18 13
19. Aston Villa 13 6
20. Chelsea 13 15