Here are the first Premier League power rankings of the 2026/27 Premier League season after Tottenham Hotspur’s shock defeat to Brentford, Chelsea’s huge win over Fulham, and Manchester United getting embarrassed by newly promoted Hull.
20. Coventry
19. Nottingham Forest
18. Crystal Palace
Coventry looked completely overmatched on Friday night, and while that was nothing less than expected against reigning champions Arsenal, it was still pretty jarring to see.
Nottingham Forest have quite a bit of talent, but they did not look up for it, while Crystal Palace, on the other hand, may have lost too much talent to be able to truly compete in the Premier League this season.
17. Sunderland
16. Ipswich
15. Hull
14. Leeds
13. Aston Villa
12. Tottenham Hotspur
11. Manchester United
It is a Murder’s Row of opening day flops, as each of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa tried to outdo each other in successive matches. Man United got trounced by newly promoted Hull, Tottenham then laid an egg at the Gtech with a 3-0 loss to Brentford that even Thomas Frank would be embarrassed of, and then Aston Villa got shredded so badly by Brighton that they may never recover.
Villa are in the most worrisome position after losing Morgan Rogers and now with Ollie Watkins set to demand an exit to the Saudi Pro League, but with Bruno Fernandes potentially hitting a wall, Man United are at real risk of fading, too.
As for Spurs, who knows what to expect? But at least they still have not brought in their big attacking signings and will be getting more important players back soon, such as Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven.
10. Everton
9. Bournemouth
8. Fulham
7. Newcastle
6. Brighton
Brighton were so impressive against Aston Villa that you just might think everything is finally starting to click for this talented, young team. They and Fulham are real dark horses to watch, and even though the Cottagers lost, this new look team played gorgeous football under the massively underrated Alvaro Arbeloa.
Bournemouth are headed for a let down without Andoni Iraola coaching them, but let’s not forget, they are playing without Eli Junior Kroupi and did not lose by much to Manchester City.
5. Liverpool
4. Brentford
3. Chelsea
2. Manchester City
1. Arsenal
Brentford sneak into the top five after destroying Tottenham, and while that had a lot to do with how terrible Spurs were, let’s not forget to give credit to Brentford, who looked young, athletic, hungry, and awfully clinical.
Arsenal remain the team to beat in the Premier League after what they did to Coventry, and they look ten times more dangerous with the end product Christos Tzolis provides. Now imagine what this team can do if they sign Julian Alvarez.
Chelsea are above Liverpool right now. Xabi Alonso is a top, top coach, and with Morgan Rogers, the Blues have probably found their missing piece to being a top five team again.
Purveyor of footy since the 90s. Favor the Premier League and old school Serie A with a touch of Bundesliga. More than a touch. Professional writer for 20 years, covering every sport but now focused on the Premier League and world football. You won’t be able to guess my favorite team.