Another weekend of action is in the books in the Premier League, and there were plenty of surprises and emerging storylines from Matchday 33.
Manchester United dropped more points against Bournemouth, while Tottenham got absolutely walloped 4-0 by Newcastle. But the most surprising results were the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace by Liverpool, having watched Manchester City dispose of the Eagles 4-2 the previous weekend. Then, Arsenal gave Man City another title race gift by losing 2-0 to top-four contenders Aston Villa.
Here is an updated prediction for the top half of the Premier League table after both Liverpool and Arsenal stumbled in the title race, while Manchester City took care of an easy opponent in Luton Town with a 5-1 victory.
10. Manchester United
Manchester United may slide further to their worst-ever finish of the Premier League era, which was seventh set in the 2013/14 season after Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.
The draw with Bournemouth isn’t a disaster, but it shows just how many issues this team has defensively. They cannot prevent Andre Onana from facing an absolute onslaught of shots, which is an untenable situation for the new goalkeeper.
Furthermore, the Man United attack is anemic and carried almost entirely by Bruno Fernandes at this point, which is far from ideal. There isn’t much to like about Man United or the job Erik ten Hag is doing.
9. West Ham
West Ham are currently in eighth and sit just two games back of Man United for the Conference League slot, which is the competition they won in the 2022/23 season despite having a down year in the Premier League.
The thing is, West Ham have a game in hand on Man United and three games in hand on Chelsea. They aren’t finishing strong, as David Moyes is dealing with job security questions of his own, given how lethargic the Hammers have looked in some of their matches. The Kalvin Phillips signing has been far from the boost to the midfield they were looking for.
8. Brighton
Despite all the injuries they have faced, Brighton are pushing for a European place and may end up with one by the end of the season, though it seems like the burden of absences will be too much for Roberto De Zerbi to overcome.
The Seagulls showed that they are now a far cry from the top teams in the English first division, as they were blown apart by Arsenal last weekend. Brighton are missing that special ingredient they had in the 2022/23 season when they made it to the Europa League.
7. Chelsea
There seems to be a buzz in the air around Chelsea, and while they will have to show they can be consistent this Monday against Everton, you’d fully back them to take care of a spiraling Toffees side.
Chelsea have a new air about them because of Cole Palmer, who has been legitimately one of the best players in the Premier League this season with 25 total goal contributions.
Palmer’s unforgettable heroics against Manchester United last week will forever live in Chelsea lore, because those kinds of game-winning individual performances mean that much more in a tumultuous season.
The former Manchester City prospect is breathing new life into the Chelsea Blues, and Palmer, the best player they’ve had since the days of Eden Hazard, may be enough on his own to bring the club back to some level of European football.
6. Newcastle
Newcastle made quite the statement with their 4-0 blowout victory over Tottenham at St. James’s Park, and despite a slew of season-ending injuries in defense, the Magpies are showing the resiliency that made them a Champions League side this season.
With Anthony Gordon performing like an elite Premier League winger and the up-and-down Alexander Isak looking very much like an “up” in front of goal these days, you’d have to back the Magpies to secure a Europa League place. They certainly look like they are in a better position than Manchester United.
5. Tottenham
As bad as they looked against Newcastle, Tottenham are still one of the five best teams in the Premier League, though the defeat at St. James’s Park serves as a wake-up call to remember that the resurgent Magpies are lurking over their shoulders.
It has been a banner year in North London for Ange Postecoglou, and while Tottenham do need some tactical and personnel fixes, they should be able to survive until the summer.
A Champions League berth is far from written off either, as Spurs are very much in the mix despite the drubbing at the hands of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle. There is a lot to like about this team.
4. Aston Villa
There is also a lot to like about Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, as the Europa League specialist exacted revenge on his former employers who are in the Champions League quarterfinals this year.
Aston Villa grabbed two late goals, courtesy of top-class forwards Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, to put Arsenal down in their own Premier League title race.
The three points mean just as much to Aston Villa, too, because they are competing with Tottenham, Manchester United, Newcastle, and maybe still others for a spot in the Champions League. At this point, it’s truly a two-horse race between Aston Villa and Tottenham, but it is a mighty close one that favors the Lions despite their own blowout loss to the North Londoners.
3. Liverpool
Liverpool looked drab and dire for a second straight match, first getting shut out by Atalanta in a Europa League humiliation on Thursday night and then laying another attacking goose egg against a Crystal Palace side that gifted four to Manchester City the previous weekend.
Although Liverpool improved by leaps and bounds from the 2022/23 season after making huge upgrades to their midfield, maybe they aren’t quite on the level of Manchester City and Arsenal right now.
Overreacting to three poor results, including last weekend’s 2-2 draw with rivals Manchester United, isn’t the best policy, but Liverpool are surely feeling the heat after this result. They looked listless up front and cannot accept these displays going forward. The margin for error is too slim in the Premier League title race.
2. Arsenal
Arsenal did maintain Liverpool’s margin for error somewhat by laying their own goose egg on offense just hours later, only furthering calls from the fanbase to add multiple attacking standouts this summer to help the cause.
Despite Kai Havertz’s attacking breakout in recent weeks, something still feels off about the Arsenal offensive output. There isn’t enough strength up top or efficiency in front of goal.
Ivan Toney will continue to be a hot topic with the transfer market coming up, but the Brentford star isn’t going to save Arenal in this title race. Mikel Arteta is going to have to get creative with using his star wingers if he wants to avoid blowing another Premier League title to Manchester City.
1. Manchester City
Once again, it is Man City that seems to be rising above the crowd in the Premier League title race, and the English top flight very much seems to belong to Pep Guardiola and his ever-consistent squad.
The rich got richer this offseason with the signings of winger Jeremy Doku and world-class defender Josko Gvardiol, whose mid-week wonder-strike against Real Madrid is still getting airtime.
Man City won’t accept too much praise for disposing of Luton Town, but it is the way they are scoring goals against Crystal Palace, Real Madrid, and Luton Town that is so impressive. This multi-faceted, high-octane attack does not care who you are; they are equal-opportunity goal-getters.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.