Crippy Cooke
The Premier League big-six currently occupy the top-six positions in the table after 17 games and the Football Faithful HQ have looked at which sides have struggled the most against them.
Manchester United of course are one of them, but they miss out on our list by virtue of having picked up two points this season. Here are the seven clubs without a single point against the Premier League big-six.
Bournemouth
- 1/9/18: Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth
- 3/11/18: Bournemouth 1-2 Man Utd
- 25/11/18: Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal
- 1/12/18: Man City 3-1 Bournemouth
- 8/12/18: Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Eddie Howe’s men have scored just three goals in their five games against the Premier League big-six, but the Cherries did have some close affairs in November. An injury time goal robbed them of a draw against United while another close encounter saw them fall short to Arsenal. They’re still mid-table despite the setbacks, but Howe would surely love to take a big scalp against a big-six side this season.
Burnley
- 2/9/18: Burnley 0-2 Man Utd
- 20/10/18: Man City 5-0 Burnley
- 28/10/18: Burnley 0-4 Chelsea
- 5/12/18: Burnley 1-3 Liverpool
- 15/12/18: Tottenham 1-0 Burnley
Sean Dyche’s men have struggling against nearly every opponent this season and such poor form has been reflected in their meetings with the big-six. Burnley have thrashed by Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, scoring only one goal against the big-six in 2018/19.
The Clarets did come close to breaking the duck, however, with only a late goal from Tottenham robbing them of a hard-earned point over the weekend.
Cardiff City
- 2/9/18: Cardiff 2-3 Arsenal
- 15/9/18: Chelsea 4-1 Cardiff
- 22/9/18: Cardiff 0-5 Man City
- 6/10/18: Tottenham 1-0 Cardiff
- 27/10/18: Liverpool 4-1 Cardiff
Neil Warnock’s side have shipped 17 goals in five games against the Premier League’s big-six. Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool have thrashed Cardiff this season and it’s left the Bluebirds in danger of the drop. City had five games against the big-six all in an eight-week period and suffered defeat in all of them. Brutal.
Fulham
- 18/8/18: Tottenham 3-1 Fulham
- 15/9/18: Man City 3-0 Fulham
- 7/10/18: Fulham 1-5 Arsenal
- 11/11/18: Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
- 2/12/18: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham
- 8/12/18: Man Utd 4-1 Fulham
Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham side are another team in a relegation dogfight and have been ripped apart by the big-six, conceding 19 goals in six games while scoring just three in reply. Arsenal put five past them in October while United hit the Cottagers for four earlier this month. Until Fulham can tighten their defence, they look to be heading back to the Championship.
Huddersfield Town
- 11/8/18: Huddersfield 0-3 Chelsea
- 19/8/18: Man City 6-1 Huddersfield
- 29/9/18: Huddersfield 0-2 Tottenham
- 20/10/18: Huddersfield 0-1 Liverpool
- 8/12/18: Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield
David Wagner’s Huddersfield side were on the wrong end of heavy defeats at the start of the season but have had much closer affairs of late. After a 3-0 loss to Chelsea, they were hit for six by Manchester City but have somewhat stemmed the tide since. A late goal from Arsenal cost Town a well-earned point while a single goal was the difference in their meeting with Liverpool. Huddersfield have improved but scoring only one goal in their five games isn’t good enough.
Leicester City
- 10/8/18: Man Utd 2-1 Leicester
- 1/9/18: Leicester 1-2 Liverpool
- 22/10/18: Arsenal 3-1 Leicester
- 8/12/18: Leicester 0-2 Tottenham
Claude Puel’s men have struggled against the big-six, but Leicester put in some brave performances earlier in the season. They held Manchester United to 1-0 score for 83 minutes until a second goal killed their chances of a comeback. Leicester even went ahead against Arsenal before conceding three goals. The Foxes have a tough double-header to come against Chelsea (December 22) and Manchester City (December 26).
Newcastle United
- 11/8/18: Newcastle 1-2 Tottenham
- 26/8/18: Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea
- 1/9/18: Man City 2-1 Newcastle
- 15/9/18: Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
- 6/10/18: Man Utd 3-2 Newcastle
Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle had a difficult start to the season with four of their opening five Premier League games coming against big-six opposition. The Magpies put in valiant performances too, with a late own goal against Chelsea costing them a point and a second-half effort costing them a draw with Manchester City.
Against Manchester United, Newcastle went 2-0 up before conceding three second-half goals at Old Trafford. Next up is a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on December 26.