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Eight games into a campaign, patterns are supposed to emerge as teams begin to lock into midseason form. This season of the Premier League is no exception, except the pattern is a new one – expect chaos until further notice.
Several teams are experiencing a regression to the mean after rocky starts to the season, evidenced by the weekend's most notable games. Aston Villa are surging up the table after a 2-1 win over Manchester City, Bournemouth defeated Manchester United in style with a 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford and Tottenham Hotspur have gone from zero wins to two in a week, a 2-0 win at Chelsea their most impressive performance in months. Others are also putting their early season results behind them, but it feels like they are crashing back down to earth – Brentford were held to a 1-1 draw at Hull City, while Ipswich Town were unimpressive in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
A fascinating theme is beginning to emerge along the way. It feels like there are more midtable teams than usual, even if some sit as high as seventh (someone has to, after all). Then there are those that seem like relegation contenders but are several spots above the drop zone because, somehow, there are that many teams worse than them. There's a frenetic feeling to the Premier League table and, by extension, the latest edition of power rankings but the show must go on.
Here's how each Premier League team is looking after the latest round of games.
Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton was not glamorous but the Gunners won't care. They're level on points with Manchester City and well-positioned to compete for the title, much as they have been all season.
Manchester City's short-lived grip on first place is gone after their defeat to Aston Villa, one that raises questions about their ability to go the distance in Enzo Maresca's first season in charge.
Liverpool are slowly but steadily figuring things out with Andoni Iraola at the helm, a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion their most impressive result yet. A top-four spot feels like a realistic aim for this season, even if they are not the finished product just yet.
Fabian Hurzeler's side played a fairly even game with Liverpool, so their stock should not drop too much but the Reds did map out a plan to neutralize their attack-minded tendencies, which might be something opponents borrow from in the coming weeks and months.
This is where the extreme midtable energy of the Premier League comes in – Chelsea were deeply unimpressive against Spurs, unconvincing at almost every turn. Most teams in England's top flight, though, are worse off so the Blues hang onto fifth for now but they will be worth keeping an eye on.
Between a 3-0 win over AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League and their triumph at Old Trafford, it has been a fun week to be a Bournemouth fan. Those wins are a sign that things are finally clicking – they might be 13th in the league but they rank third on expected goal differential, a signal that things were always trending in the right direction.
Aston Villa's slow start is officially a thing of the past, Unai Emery's side smartly outmaneuvering City to prove just that. They are officially a team on the rise.
Leeds United's unstylish but effective consistency means they continue to hang out in the top half of the table but playing even against an unimpressive Sunderland side is not the kind of thing a team earns plaudits for.
There's no reason Brentford should not target a top-half finish but much like Leeds above them, an even game against relegation contenders Hull City is not indicative of the team's overall qualities.
Manchester United really have their hearts set on scaling down the table as fast as they can, don't they? The Red Devils should be better than this but their mistake-prone nature continues to be costly.
A win over Coventry City is one thing but a victory at Chelsea is another. More specifically, it's the kind of thing that ensured Spurs would dig themselves out of their early season hole and perhaps sets them up for some more normal results in the short-term.
There is no shame in losing to the reigning champions but Everton did not make much of a dent in the match, the Toffees seemingly resigned to being permanent residents of the middle of the Premier League's table for the foreseeable future.
For all their faults, Fulham have done well enough to pick up the points expected of them, the latest coming in a win over Coventry City. Barely cracking 0.5 expected goals along the way, though, is not something to write home about.
Conventional wisdom suggests that the other shoe will drop for Hull City but it hasn't yet, especially after picking up a well-earned point against Brentford.
Add Nottingham Forest to the list of anomalies this season, sitting firmly in the relegation zone despite ranking fifth in the league on expected goal differential. Case in point – they tallied 2.29 expected goals to Ipswich's 0.46 but tied 1-1 anyway. Until they solve that problem, they are doomed to less-than-ideal spots on the table.
Ipswich were lucky to pick up a point against Forest but the early season success is a thing of the past for them, too.
Eighth-place Newcastle United seem to be riding their luck – they rank 19th in the league on expected goal differential – but creating a five-point cushion above the drop zone by way of a win over Crystal Palace counts for something.
Sunderland will value the point they picked up against Leeds but they are in the midst of an unexciting season, which is hardly a position of strength for a team in desperate need of points.
Palace will take some solace from the fact that they outplayed Newcastle but in their case, the results actually reflect their form.
Coventry were neck-and-neck with Fulham on expected goals in defeat but considering the Cottagers put up a paltry number, there's not much the newly promoted side can brag about.
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