With 11 gameweeks gone and the final international break of 2025 underway, the Premier League table is starting to form a true representation of where teams stand.
Sunderland’s hot start has turned into sustained success after their draw with title chasing Arsenal, while Liverpool’s downfall is more than just a blip.
Opta have ranked every team in the top flight by game state, or how much time they spend playing from behind in matches, and it’s more bad news for Arne Slot…
Rank
Team
Percentage of mins played losing
1
Crystal Palace, Chelsea
13%
2
Man City
14%
3
Arsenal
17%
4
Newcastle United
18%
5
Sunderland
21%
6
AFC Bournemouth
22%
7
Everton
24%
8
Aston Villa & Man Utd
26%
9
Fulham
30%
10
Brentford, Tottenham, Leeds, Nottingham Forest
32%
11
Brighton
35%
12
Burnley
36%
13
Liverpool
37%
14
West Ham
47%
15
Wolves
58%
1 Chelsea and Crystal Palace
It has been a promising start to the campaign for both Chelsea and Crystal Palace, with Enzo Maresca’s side potentially still in a position to mount a title challenge, given that they are currently just six points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Palace, on the other hand, continued their unbeaten run from last season into the ongoing campaign, which ultimately came to an end after a record 19 matches, with Everton emerging 2-1 winners at the Hill Dickinson Stadium at the start of October.
Both London clubs have just spent 13% of their matches in losing positions, with the Eagles very much on course to mount a push for Europe, having taken 17 points from their opening 11 games.
2 Manchester City
Man City have also emerged as title contenders, with their most recent victory undoubtedly their most impressive to date, dispatching of reigning champions Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Having won six of the last eight Premier League titles, City can never be written off, and they have spent just 14% of their matches trailing up to this point, with Erling Haaland in the form of his life, scoring a whopping 14 goals in the Premier League alone.
3 Arsenal
Having finished in second place three years on the spin, Mikel Arteta will be hoping this is finally the Gunners’ year, and the early signs have been very positive, having opened up a four-point gap at the top of the table.
Arsenal have had to show resilience at times, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring a stoppage-time equaliser against Man City back in September to cancel out Haaland’s early opener, which earned them what could prove to be a vital point in the Premier League title race.
Arteta’s side were also behind for the majority of the game against Newcastle United, but late heroics from Mikel Merino and Gabriel secured a 2-1 win.
Some other victories have been much more routine, however, battering Leeds United 5-0 back in August, while also recording a comfortable 2-0 win at Burnley earlier this month, which means the north Londoners have been in a losing position just 17% of the time.
4 Newcastle United
Newcastle, on the other hand, won’t be feeling anywhere near as positive about their start to the campaign, currently sitting in 14th place, seven points behind bitter rivals Sunderland, despite only spending 18% of their games trailing.
That is largely because the Magpies have developed a very bad habit of conceding late goals, with Rio Ngumoha scoring a dramatic late winner for Liverpool in August, while Gabriel’s 96th-minute winner ensured Arsenal secured a 2-1 victory in September.
Should Eddie Howe’s side be able to cut out conceding late on, however, there is still plenty of time to have a successful season, as the European places remain within touching distance.
5 Sunderland
Few would have predicted Sunderland to be flying high near the top of the table, but it has been a fantastic start, having made the Stadium of Light a fortress, most recently holding Arsenal to a draw, courtesy of Brian Brobbey’s late heroics.
Having taken 19 points from their opening 11 matches, the Black Cats are already nearly half-way to the magic 40 point mark, which would almost certainly secure Premier League safety.
There are some tricky fixtures on the horizon, with trips to Liverpool and Man City penciled in for December, but Regis Le Bris will no doubt be delighted with how things are going, with his side spending just 21% of their matches in a losing position.
6 AFC Bournemouth
Having lost some key players in the summer, including Milos Kerkez, Ilya Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen, Bournemouth may have been expected to struggle, but that certainly hasn’t been the case.
The Cherries are once again looking like they could mount a push for Europe, as one of five teams currently on 18 points, having spent just 22% of their matches trailing.
7 Everton
It has been a solid, if not spectacular, opening 11 games for Everton, taking 15 points, which leaves them firmly in mid-table, exactly where they were probably expecting to be.
The Toffees have been chasing the game just 24% of the time, which is respectable, given that they have had some very tricky fixtures, already travelling to both Anfield and the Etihad Stadium.
8 Aston Villa and Manchester United
Both Aston Villa and Man United were very poor at the beginning of the campaign, with Unai Emery’s side failing to score in any of their opening four games, while the Red Devils suffered a 3-0 defeat in the Manchester derby and a disappointing 4-2 loss at Brentford.
However, since then, the Villans have gone on to win eight of their last ten matches in all competitions, and things are also looking up at United, having taken 11 points from their last five Premier League games.
A European push could be on the cards for both sides, who have been in losing positions 26% of the time.
9 Fulham
Marco Silva has managed to stabilise the Cottagers in the Premier League, but the manager is now under serious pressure, with his side just one point above the relegation zone following the 2-0 defeat at Everton last time out.
It is still too early to panic, but the early signs certainly haven’t been positive for the west Londoners, who have spent 30% of their matches in a losing position.
10 Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest
The Thomas Frank era is now well underway, but Tottenham are still yet to put a consistent run together, with victories on the road against the likes of Manchester City and Everton being cancelled out by disappointing home defeats against Aston Villa and Chelsea.
That said, despite being one of four clubs who have spent 32% of their matches behind, Spurs are currently fifth in the standings, two points above Brentford, who have arguably surpassed expectations under the helm of new manager Keith Andrews.
Things aren’t looking quite as rosy for Leeds, who are now just one point above the relegation zone, as a result of losing four of their last five matches, while Nottingham Forest are already on their third manager and currently sit in 19th place.