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25 August, 2014

Power Rankings: City Snatch the Top Spot


1. Manchester City (2): Manchester City earn the top spot following their 3-1 win over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.  Stevan Jovetic threw his own premier league coming-out party, further adding to the lethal stock of forwards Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal.  Liverpool made their mistakes, but for the most part were simply outplayed by the champions.  

2. Chelsea (1): Business will start to pick up for Jose Mourinho's men who will visit Goodison Park next weekend after two routine wins to start the season.  Diego Costa now has two goals in two games, a sign of promise for the East Londoners.  Next weekend will be a stern test for the Blues.  

3. Tottenham (5): Have Tottenham finally found a manager they can keep for a whole season?  Mauricio Pochettino is finding life at White Hart Lane easy so far, the North Londoners registering six points from six in two games.  Eric Dier scored again, while Erik Lamela could finally be living up to his price tag.  

4. Arsenal (4): Arsenal were slow out of the gates in their first away game of the season.  Everton were by far the better team, but the spirit the Gunners showed in their comeback was outstanding.  Arsene Wenger hailed the comeback effort, which saw Olivier Giroud prove his worth in a result-changing appearance at halftime.  

5. Liverpool (3): Liverpool scored an astounding 48 goals on the road last season, much of it having to do with Luis Suarez.  In their 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, Liverpool were less opportunistic than they are accustomed to being with the Uruguayan in the lineup.  Alberto Moreno was asleep for Jovetic's opener, and will need time to acclimate himself with the speed of the league.  Even more reinforcements are on the way for Liverpool, who played under the eyes of new signing Mario Balotelli today.

6. Swansea (7): Gary Monk proved he belongs in charge of Swansea after sustaining the form showed last weekend at Old Trafford in a 1-0 win over Burnley.  Monk will not be pleased with how his side were outplayed in the second half by the new boys Burnley, but a clean sheet and a win won't keep the Swansea manager up at night.  

7. Southampton (6): Still recovering from the exodus of players out of the South, the Saints were put to the test by a stern West Brom defense.  Even though the match ended 0-0, one has to be optimistic that Ronald Koeman knows what he is doing and will see the club out of such a stressful transfer window.  Expect this squad to keep improving as the new players integrate.  

8. West Ham (17): The biggest leap in the rankings belongs to West Ham this week, who scorched Crystal Palace 3-1 away from home.  Sam Allardyce delivered an impressive performance when he needed to, taking advantage of the shellshocked Golden Eagles who are still in the hunt for a new manager.  

9. Sunderland (12): Earning two points from a road game to West Brom and a home game to United bodes well for Gus Poyet and the Black Cats.  Sunderland look comfortable playing at the Stadium of Light, and new boy Jack Rodwell scored the equalizer for the first goal of his career under Poyet.  

10. Everton (9): Roberto Martinez will be ecstatic for how Everton outplayed Arsenal for most of the game.  Two late defensive errors allowed the Gunners to steal a point at Goodison Park, but the form Everton showed in the first half is indicative that this team should be just fine without Ross Barkley for now.  

11. Manchester United (8): Angel Di Maria and Marcos Rojo are both excellent additions, but how much do they really improve Louis Van Gaal's squad?  The away point to Sunderland isn't the worst thing that could have happened on Sunday, but there is still much work to be done in the transfer market and on the training field for the Red Devils.  

12. Hull City (10): Steve Bruce has to be happy with the start 1-0-1 start in the premier league, but were unlucky not to have six points after Sunday's controversial draw with Stoke City.  Steve Bruce was furious after the game, and rightfully so; the mid-table clashes are most important for teams like the Tigers.  

13. West Brom (16): The away point at Southampton will be an important point for the Baggies in the long run.  Southampton, who impressed in their opening loss at Liverpool, couldn't break open the stout West Brom defense who limited the Saints to only a few chances.  

14. Aston Villa (11): One would have expected more at home from Aston Villa, who could only manage a 0-0 draw against ten-men Newcastle.  Carlos Sanchez made his debut in a substitute appearance, and "La Roca" should add a security blanket in front of Paul Lambert's back line.  

15. Burnley (18): Burnley still have yet to register a point in the top flight this season, but the second half against Swansea was more than encouraging for the Clarets.  They travel to Old Trafford next week, but the unforgiving premier league schedule gets easier for the new boys on the block.  

16. Newcastle (14): Really not much to see from the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, with Michael Williamson sent off for the Magpies.  In another poor performance, Alan Pardew's men have yet to appease St. James park, regardless of the loss of several key players in the offseason.  

17. Crystal Palace (13): Surely things will turn around for Crystal Palace who are still manager-less after last week's media firestorm with Malky McKay.  A club who fought so hard last season and retained so many key players over the summer deserves better, especially coming off an impressive performance at the Emirates in which they were lucky not to see any points.  

18. Leicester City (15): Kasper Schmeichel logged an excellent shift in the face of Chelsea's stellar attack, and Leicester City shouldn't be too discouraged from losing 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.  One has to give credit to the newly-promoted club, but it remains to be seen if they can knick points off the mid-low table teams.  

19. Stoke City (19): After a home loss to Aston Villa, the Potters put in an equally flat performance at Hull City.  The Potters had a man advantage for 76 minutes and were lucky to have escaped with a point after a controversial equalizer from Ryan Shawcross.

20. Queens Park Rangers (20): Harry Redknapp's return to White Hart Lane was not a pleasant one, the QPR manager seeing his Rangers' side walloped by an impressive Tottenham side.  It's imperative that Redknapp doesn't let morale slip any lower for his side who have put in two embarrassing performances thus far.  
 

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