MANCHESTER CITY STARS OF THE SEASON’S FIRST HALF WEST BROMWICH ALBION
As the Premier League enters the second stage, Richard Jolly offers his assessment and predicts how things will go for each club in England’s top flight
Guardiola’s record-breakers and Dyche’s Burnley are among those to have impressed so far, but it has been a disappointing campaign for the likes of Swansea City.
ARSENAL Current position: 6th
Excellent at home, abject away, where a lack of goals and wins could come at a cost. Arsenal have given the sense that potential has only really been fulfilled when they beat Tottenham Hotspur, but are nevertheless in top-four contention. Alexis Sanchez has been largely disappointing. Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, Aaron Ramsey and Sead Kolasinac have offered highlights in flashes but some of Arsene Wenger’s selections have been odd compromises in the search for the optimum formula.
Star so far: Shkodran Mustafi – Defensive record is excellent when he plays.
Prediction: May just miss out on Uefa Champions League qualification – unless they win the Europa League.
BOURNEMOUTH Current position: 18th
The toughest of their three Premier League campaigns to date. Bournemouth made a slow start and, after recovering, have had a difficult December. A side that promised goals, especially with Jermain Defoe’s arrival, has averaged under one a game, with Joshua King struggling to replicate last year’s prolific form. Their home form has been unusually poor. At least the defence have been decent against their peers.
Star so far: Charlie Daniels – Scored a spectacular goal against Manchester City and part of the improving defence.
Prediction: Will be touch and go if they stay up.
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION Current position: 12th
Confounded expectations when an autumn run took them into the top half, but a subsequent slump has provided an unwanted reality check.
A well-organised side were boosted by the arrival of an excellent creator, in Pascal Gross, but while Glenn Murray had a flurry of goals, they lack a scorer.
Brighton have only conceded more than two goals once, to Liverpool, a sign of their competitiveness, but they can be the masters of the respectable 2-0 defeat.
Star so far: Shane Duffy – Excelled at the heart of the defence alongside the similarly defiant Lewis Dunk.
Prediction: If they don’t get a goalscorer in January, they may return to the Championship.
BURNLEY Current position: 7th
Outstanding. Set the tone with their shock win at Chelsea and their away form has been a dramatic improvement on last season’s.
Their brilliant defensive record and top-seven status makes it all the odder no one has poached Sean Dyche. Jack Cork has been a superb signing as Burnley now have a technically better midfield, but the number of 1-0 wins show how narrow the margins are, yet also how good they have been at pivotal points.
Star so far: James Tarkowski – Stepped up wonderfully to replace the departed Michael Keane in defence. Prediction: May fall away a bit but should finish in the top 10.
CHELSEA Current position: 3rd
A title defence that ended early.
The opening defeat to Burnley was a sign Chelsea have lost the consistency that made them so formidable. The highs have nevertheless been high – the wins against Tottenham and Manchester United, Eden Hazard’s sparkling best, moments when Alvaro Morata has looked high-class, Andreas Christensen’s precocious form and Marcos Alonso’s scoring habit, but hampered by some of their summer business and with David Luiz relapsing, Chelsea have regressed.
Star so far: Cesar Azpilicueta – The most consistent defender is also high in the assists charts.
Prediction: Should finish third in what may prove Antonio Conte’s final season.
CRYSTAL PALACE Current position: 16th
Made history of the wrong sort by becoming the first team to lose their first seven Football or Premier League games without scoring.
The experiment with Frank de Boer was brutally aborted and Roy Hodgson has brought a dramatic turnaround. Instead of being cast adrift, Palace are out of the relegation zone, despite not scoring away until December. They could do with more goals from Christian Benteke, though.
Star so far: Wilfried Zaha – Unstoppable at his best.
Prediction: After that nightmare start, should stay up, perhaps comfortably.
EVERTON Current position: 9th
Contrived to spend a club record £140 million (Dh686.9m) without replacing Romelu Lukaku. Ronald Koeman paid the price for wretched results in both England and Europe. Improvement has come swiftly under Sam Allardyce.
Youngsters Jonjoe Kenny, Mason Holgate and Dominic CalvertLewin have impressed and Wayne Rooney has been more prolific than anticipated. Summer signings Davy Klaassen, Sandro Ramirez and Michael Keane are among the disappointments.
Star so far: Idrissa Gueye – The one outfield player to have been fairly consistent.
Prediction: Might just repeat last season’s seventh-place finish. Certainly top 10.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN Current position: 11th
Despite a handful of abject displays, have overachieved hugely with the division’s lowest wage bill.
Memories were made with the opening win at Crystal Palace and a first victory over Manchester United in 65 years, amid a remarkable atmosphere, and they have a knack of halting bad runs with vital wins. But went four months without scoring on the road and are very reliant on midfielder Aaron Mooy and strikers Laurent Depoitre and Steve Mounie for goals.
Star so far: Christopher Schindler – The giant German has been a rock at the back.
Prediction: Huge achievement if they stay up – and might just.
LEICESTER CITY Current position: 8th
Apart from one shock result against Crystal Palace, their only defeats have come to the top six, yet Craig Shakespeare was still sacked.
Claude Puel was a surprise appointment, but he made an immediate impact and Demarai Gray and Riyad Mahrez have shone under the Frenchman.
Vicente Iborra is settling well and Shinji Okazaki has added goals to his game while Wilfred Ndidi continues to excel.
Star so far: Harry Maguire – A terrific signing. Slotted in seamlessly in the heart of the defence.
Prediction: May end up the best of the rest. Top half at the least.
LIVERPOOL Current position: 4th
Some things have changed. Jurgen Klopp has rotated the most of any manager and, a 4-0 thrashing of Arsenal apart, Liverpool have lost their knack of beating the best.
Some have not: they still play scintillating football, with Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to the fore.
Some may done: the defensive record has improved after earlyseason embarrassments, though Liverpool let in three at Arsenal.
Some need to stay the same: Liverpool have to retain their topfour status.
Star so far: Mohamed Salah – The signing of the season. Hugely prolific.
Prediction: Should just hold off the challengers for fourth.
MANCHESTER CITY Current position: 1st
Almost immaculate, dropping only two points and going on a run of 17 straight league wins.
They have turned a potentially competitive title race into a onehorse affair. Victories at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford are obvious highs, along with demolitions of Liverpool and Tottenham. Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and Nicolas Otamendi are competing to be the most improved player, Kyle Walker and Ederson to be the most influential signing.
Star so far: Kevin de Bruyne – Some astonishing passes and outstanding performances.
Prediction: Champions – the questions instead surround how many more records they will break.
MANCHESTER UNITED Current position: 2nd
It started so well with Romelu Lukaku scoring, Paul Pogba starring and Henrikh Mkhitaryan creating chance after chance.
The sheen has come off the season since, even though United topped their Champions League group, have a fine defensive record and are a demonstrably better side than last season. Such is the effect of their neighbours’ excellence. Mkhitaryan’s fall from grace and Lukaku’s more inconsistent form nevertheless highlight the sense all is not well.
Star so far: David de Gea – And not just for his extraordinary display in the win at Arsenal.
Prediction: Second. The more intriguing part may be how they fare in the Champions League.
NEWCASTLE UNITED Current position: 15th
Briefly, it looked as though Rafa Benitez’s strategic skills could compensate for his players’ individual deficiencies and a frustrating transfer window.
Losing eight of nine games before Saturday’s win at West Ham United has proved otherwise and made a second relegation in three years a real threat. Mikel Merino, Matt Ritchie and Ciaran Clark have offered cause for optimism, but poor goalkeeping, Jonjo Shelvey’s stupidity and the lack of a top-class striker are issues.
Star so far: Jamaal Lascelles – The captain has brought solidity at the back and a couple of vital goals.
Prediction: Depends on how they fare in the transfer window.
SOUTHAMPTON Current position: 13th
All rather underwhelming. Mauricio Pellegrino’s side have proved too similar to Claude Puel’s team, struggling to score but getting worse results. The Argentine was too slow to recognise that Charlie Austin is his best goalscorer. Keeping Virgil van Dijk, while a statement, has reaped too few dividends, and Fraser Forster has been error-prone again, but Mario Lemina looks an excellent addition. Now the test is to find a winning formula.
Star so far: Ryan Bertrand – Consistently good for a side who have not been consistent enough.
Prediction: Have the talent to get into the top half, but underachievement means they may not.
STOKE CITY Current position: 14th
August’s win over Arsenal looks a false dawn. After that, Stoke have gone on the worst run of Mark Hughes’ time at the club and conceded the most goals in the division, which is made all the more damning because they have the personnel to do better and because goalkeeper Jack Butland has excelled at times. Stoke’s board have so far taken the brave step of persisting with Hughes.
Star so far: Xherdan Shaqiri – Scored spectacular goals and been more consistent.
Prediction: Have the players to stay up, but Hughes must prove he is the right manager.
SWANSEA CITY Current position: 20th
A shocking season. Paul Clement was sacked with his side bottom of the table and the lowest scorers, but others are also culpable.
Selling Gylfi Sigurdsson and not replacing the Icelander left them shorn of creativity, with the result goals have been a rarity. It has not helped that signing Renato Sanches has been a disaster. The next manager needs a stunning second half of the season.
Star so far: Lukasz Fabianski – A reason why the defensive record is respectable.
Prediction: Would be a shock if they did not go down.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Current position: 5th
Seismic achievements have come in the Champions League, beating Real Madrid and topping a tough group. The Premier League has brought fewer great feats. Predictably, Spurs have found Wembley tougher than White Hart Lane. While Davinson Sanchez has been a fine signing, injuries a reason why their defensive record has deteriorated while Dele Alli’s loss of form has reduced their attacking threat. Apart from hammering Liverpool, results against their peers have been poor.
Star so far: Harry Kane – After a barren August, kept on scoring.
Prediction: Look likely to miss out on the top four.
WATFORD Current position: 10th
It began so well, with a flurry of goals and an excellent away record. The last month has been more dispiriting, with defeats marked by indiscipline. Marco Silva’s initial exploits drew interest from Everton and, while Watford kept him, the sheen has come off. Nathaniel Chalobah’s injury has been a blow and the defensive record is an increasing issue.
Star so far: Abdoulaye Doucoure – A midfield powerhouse with an eye for the goal.
Prediction: May make their annual descent into the lower half of the table.
Current position: 19th
Joint top after winning their first two games.
Sadly, they have not won since on a club-record run that cost Tony Pulis his job.
Appointing Alan Pardew has not brought a new-manager bump. That their top scorer, Salomon Rondon, has just three league goals is one issue for a side lacking creativity; another is Albion’s inability to get Grzegorz Krychowiak to show his Sevilla and Poland form.
But a decent defence offers a platform for revival.
Star so far: Ahmed Hegazi – Has done a fine job of replacing Gareth McAuley at the back.
Prediction: Once they finally get a win, could climb to safety.
WEST HAM UNITED Current position: 17th
Looking proof that sacking managers can work.
West Ham were shambolic at times under Slaven Bilic and disastrous defensively.
David Moyes has added solidity, after dropping Joe Hart, resolve and conjured fine performances from the previously unimpressive Marko Arnautovic and Arthur Masuaku.
The next challenge could be to get Javier Hernandez back to his predatory best and to earn himself a longer-term deal.
Star so far: Manuel Lanzini – Showed more class than anyone else.
Prediction: Ought to climb to the safety of mid-table.