Chelsea take the top spot in this weeks power rankings, while Stoke City and Aston Villa made the biggest leaps following their impressive wins at the weekend.
1. Chelsea (2): Jose Mourinho’s men flexed their muscles at Goodison Park on Saturday, blowing away Everton at the tail end of a 6-3 thriller. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas have taken this team to the next level, while players already at the club have improved as well. They’ve been the best team going into the international break, and are 100% deserving of the top spot.
2. Liverpool (5): Many thought Sunday’s contest with Tottenham would be an even contest, but Liverpool stormed the gates of White Hart Lane to a 3-0 win. There are always room for improvements, and it will take time for Mario Balotelli to re-acclimate himself with the league. But, as Brendan Rodgers said this morning, Liverpool is not the Balotelli show, and they showed it.
3. Manchester City (1): As surprising as the result was for Manchester City, it’s not shocking to see this team go missing for almost an entire game. This happened several times last season in their road to the championship. However, Manuel Pellegrini will have to go back to the drawing board in order to get his high-octane offense going once again.
4. Swansea (6): Gary Monk has enjoyed nine points from nine for Swansea City to start the season. Going into the international break, Nathan Dyer has given Roy Hodgson something to think about next time around; the winger was a revelation on Saturday, linking up nicely with Wilfried Bony, whose form and power make Michu a forgotten man in Wales.
5. Southampton (7): For all the work he’s put in in the first three fixtures, there wasn’t a man more deserving of a goal than Graziano Pelle. The Italian finished off a 3-1 road win at Upton Park which saw Morgan Schneiderlin pick up a brace that will surely ease the pain of being left behind to face the music at Southampton. James Ward-Prowse is making this team click with his precision long-balls and ability to control the tempo of the game.
6. Arsenal (4): A flat performance from the gunners saw them drop two points to new boys Leicester City. The loss of Olivier Giroud is still having an impact on the team, but Danny Welbeck’s arrival should ease pressure off of Alexis Sanchez and the flailing Yaya Sanogo to produce goals from the tip of the attack.
7. Tottenham (3): Just when we all thought Tottenham were for real, Liverpool came to town and swept them away 3-0 at White Hart Lane. After two wins to start the year, Mauricio Pochettino has some thinking to do over the international break. The talent is there for Spurs, but they must figure it out as a unit.
8. Aston Villa (14): In a matchup of damage control after two respective mid-week losses, Aston Villa were the more resilient side against Hull City. Andy Weimann continues his excellent start to league play, and Paul Lambert can rest easy during the international break. Tom Cleverly will improve the side as Carlos Sanchez settles into life in England.
9. Manchester United (11): I had to move Manchester United up in the rankings despite the disappointing away draw to Burnley because of what they did in the dying days of the transfer window. Angel Di Maria was the Red Devils’ best player on the pitch Saturday, while Daley Blind and Radamel Falcao should further improve the starting XI.
10. Stoke City (19): Going into the matchup, finding Jim Morrison alive would be more likely than Stoke City snatching all three points from the Etihad. Thanks to some excellent organization and defending, especially from Ryan Shawcross, Stoke were able to pull off the deserved shocker against the holders.
11. Everton (10): Everton were brutally exposed by Chelsea, but it shouldn’t deter Roberto Martinez’ men one bit. Chelsea put six goals past Tim Howard, but there are plenty of positives to take from a match in which Everton wouldn’t stop clawing back. The Toffees will look to bounce back in a fortnight when they head to the Hawthornes to take on West Brom.
12. Crystal Palace (17): Times are looking up once again for Crystal Palace. New manager Neil Warnock was rewarded a point against Newcastle by new signing Wilfried Zaha, who looks to re-vamp his post-United career.
13. Burnley (15): Similar to Leicester City, Burnley had a chance to inflict damage on an already hurting club in the confines of their own stadium. The point against United is a good one, but like their fellow new boys will regret not snatching three shocking points from a doable fixture.
14. Hull City (12): Hull City endured a poor week, losing mid-week in the Capital One Cup, then falling 2-1 to Aston Villa. Things could have been much worse for Steve Bruce, who say his Tigers thoroughly outplayed in the first half.
15. Sunderland (9): Gus Poyet will regret not seeing his team go ahead early on, as they dominated the first portion of the match with QPR. Overall, a disappointing result against a team who has scored one goal in three matches thus far this season.
16. Leicester City (18): There are two sides of the coin to take from Sunday’s match with Arsenal. Leicester City should be somewhat satisfied with a point against the Gunners, but will rue the opportunity to snatch three points against a top four team at home.
17. West Ham (8): Sam Allardyce will not be happy with the atrocious defending on Southampton’s second goal, which saw the Saints catch the Hammers off guard from a corner. After a big week two, West Ham are among the biggest fallers in this week’s rankings.
18. Newcastle United (16): On the bright side, Rolando Aarons has arrived and could be a pleasant surprise for the Magpies this season. On the not so light side, a late goal conceded cost Alan Pardew two valuable points in an otherwise outstanding contest from a neutral perspective.
19. Queens Park Rangers (20): The highlight of the game was probably new signing Leroy Fer’s cannon off the crossbar, but other wise a huge step in the right direction for QPR. Three points will ease pressure on Harry Redknapp, but more work is to be done if they are to stay in the league next season.
20. West Brom (13): West Brom were thoroughly outplayed by Swansea City on Saturday, and because of it have fallen to the bottom of the rankings. Swansea are off to a miraculous start, but the usually tough and physical Baggies were overrun by Gary Monk’s men.
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