The Premier League returns this weekend following the international break, giving us a chance to evaluate every club’s start to the season.
Of course, there’s only so much you can clean from four weekends worth of action and there’s still a lot of football to be played – but let’s give all of the teams a grade anyway.
Arsenal: B-
An unbeaten start and a win over Manchester United is a pretty good way to open the campaign on paper – but Arsenal have failed to convince on the pitch. The performances will need to go up a few levels if they are to challenge Manchester City again.
7 – Arsenal have conceded from the very first shot they faced in a game in seven different Premier League matches in 2023, more than any other side. Concern. pic.twitter.com/GO80dmMsjk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 3, 2023
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Aston Villa: B-
A disastrous opening day against Newcastle United was followed by two convincing wins and qualification for the Europa League proper. Then Unai Emery made the exact same mistake against Liverpool that they did against the Magpies, allowing the Reds to skewer them on the counter. Still, Villa have shown enough to suggest they could be pretty good again this year.
Brentford: A
The biggest question mark hanging over Brentford heading into this season was, how they would cope in attack without Ivan Toney. The answer, so far, has been: not bad! They have the third highest expected goals (9.4 xG) and are unbeaten after four games. With some better finishing they would have turned some of their draws into wins.
Brighton: A
Would it be accurate to call Brighton everyone’s second favourite team? They are a joy to watch, playing the game the way it’s meant to be played, and their matches always have a sense of jeopardy about them – when they’re not putting up a huge score on the opposition. West Ham did expose their soft centre and an injury to Evan Ferguson is a worry, but they are the real deal.
Leading goalscorers in each of Europe’s top 5 leagues so far this season:
???????????????????????????? Brighton – 13 goals
???????? AS Monaco – 13 goals
???????? Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart – 11 goals
???????? Atletico Madrid – 10 goals
???????? Milan, Inter – 8 goalsClincal. ???? pic.twitter.com/iI5qIbggrR
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 10, 2023
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Bournemouth: C
It’s hard to judge Bournemouth’s start to the season as they’ve had one of the tougher schedules. But under new manager Andoni Iraola they so far shown an ability to create chances, if not prevent them at the other end. Two points from West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham and Brentford is a decent opening month.
Burnley: D
Of all the promoted teams, you would give Burnley the best chance of staying up. But it’s already becoming clear that that trio of clubs are the worst in the division this season.
Chelsea: C+
One win from four, and that came against Luton. Chelsea have shown more cohesion compared to last year, and have been a tad unlucky with their finishing, but Mauricio Pochettino still has work to do to get the club back to top six level.
Despite a difficult start to the season, Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea are aiming big ???? pic.twitter.com/xtDzX4Qoks
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 11, 2023
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Crystal Palace: B
You can just tell that Palace are going to have one of the stingiest defences this season. They have the fourth-best expected goals conceded (4.72 xGC) so far, despite facing Arsenal already. Roy Hodgson is doing his thing.
Everton – C
Results wise it’s been a rough start for Everton; no goals and zero points from their first three games, two of which were against potential relegation rivals. That was followed up by a draw with Sheffield United that could so easily have been a defeat were it not for Jordan Pickford’s heroics. And yet, the performances have not been as bad as the results. Sean Dyche just needs the ball to bounce his way for once.
Fulham – C-
Four points from four games is a good return, especially when two of those games were against Arsenal and Man City, but that masks the fact that Fulham have not been very good so far. They have been the victims of some of really poor refereeing, especially against City when they held the champions to just seven shots, but major improvements are needed to avoid a relegation battle.
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Liverpool – B
Liverpool were fortunate not to lose against Chelsea and Newcastle, and Bournemouth caused them real problems in the first half of their meeting at Anfield. And yet, they’re unbeaten and have 10 points on the board. The Reds were also dominant against Villa, and now that they’ve gotten midfielders through the door we should see an improvement in performance levels over the coming weeks.
Luton Town – D-
Like Burnley, Luton have only played three games after their game at Kenilworth Road was postponed, so it’s a bit unfair to grade them on the scale as everyone else. Then again, we can be pretty certain that they are the worst team in the Premier League.
Man City – A+
You can see that City are still figuring some things out in the early weeks of the season, but they’re better than everyone else at both ends of the pitch nonetheless
Man Utd – C
It’s been far from convincing from the Red Devils, who have won two and lost two so far. The performances have been disjointed, they were outplayed by Wolves at home, and their two defeats came to top four rivals.
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Newcastle Utd – C-
Look, Newcastle United have endured the toughest schedule to date, so losing three out of four isn’t the end of the world. But the worrying thing is that it does not seem like the Magpies have evolved all that much since last season. Considering the improvements they made in the transfer market, what was Eddie Howe up to all summer?
Nottingham Forest – B
There’s a pretty good chance that Forest are just a solid, mid-table team this year. Wild, I know, but so far they’ve faced three of the ‘Big Six’ and come out with a lot of credit. They pushed Arsenal to the final whistle, came so close to shocking Man United, and beat Chelsea on their own patch. They seem to have put their away day blues behind, having already won twice the amount of road games as they did last term.
Sheffield Utd – D
The Blades look like a Championship squad that are ready to take the Premier League money and accept relegation. Yo-yo club vibes.
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Tottenham – B+
Ange Postecoglou has already ingratiated himself to the Spurs faithful with a slick, attractive style of play that has been so successful everywhere he has managed. Going out of the EFL Cup at the second round will have displeased many, but in the long run they will go places under the Australian – and will be so much fun to watch along the way.
“I love a challenge!” ????????????
“The fact that the club hadn’t had a lot of success was a big attraction for me.”
Ange Postecoglou reveals what made him excited to take on the #THFC job. ????⚪️ pic.twitter.com/ofsLVeaNGH
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) September 12, 2023
West Ham Utd – B+
After experiencing a real slump in the Premier League last season, which almost cost David Moyes his job, West Ham have bounced back with a bang since winning the Uefa Europa Conference League. They (eventually) had a good transfer window, they’re unbeaten after four games, and the vibes are good in east London.
10 – This is West Ham’s joint-highest points tally after their opening four games of a Premier League season, having also earned 10 points in 1999-2000. Moyesiah. pic.twitter.com/60UCoF62qM
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 1, 2023
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Wolves – C-
Like Everton, Wolves’ results do not reflect their performances thus far. They were the better side against Man United on the opening weekend and had their chances against a more clinical Brighton side. The defeat to Palace was deserved, but the win over the Toffees could be huge for their season.
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