As we approach the end of 2018, the busy Christmas period is fast approaching and we begin to reflect on how our side is currently performing and where they may sit come May. The Christmas period is normally a good indicator of whereabouts your team will finish come the last game of the season and if your side is down the bottom, there may be a reason to worry. Let’s take a look at the current standings.
- Manchester City – 0
- Liverpool – 0
- Tottenham Hotspur ˄ 3
- Chelsea – 0
- Arsenal ˅ 2
- Everton ˄ 1
- Manchester United ˅ 2
- Bournemouth ˄ 10
- Watford ˄ 7
- Leicester City ˅ 1
- Wolverhampton Wanderers ˅ 1
- Brighton and Hove Albion ˄ 5
- Newcastle United ˄ 2
- West Ham United ˅ 6
- Huddersfield Town ˄ 4
- Crystal Palace ˅ 4
- Burnley ˅ 6
- Southampton ˅ 4
- Cardiff City ˄ 1
- Fulham ˅ 7
Three of the top four are currently as we had predicted them at the start of the season with Tottenham’s victory over London rivals Chelsea dropping the Blues down to 4th after their unbeaten start. The former have managed to keep up with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool and last weekends victory was arguably the best we’ve seen them play all season. As for their rivals, Arsenal, they have also been easy on the eye and currently only find themselves one point behind Chelsea.
These five teams are slowly pulling away and whilst still doing incredible when compared to what everyone thought they would achieve, Bournemouth and Watford are starting to slowly drop off. Their quality in their squad depth or lack thereof is beginning to be exposed – a harsh judgement considering how well they’re still doing. Due to the former clubs falling off the pace, the top seven teams are now what most would say is ‘normal’ with Everton and Manchester United sitting below the top five.
In line with our predictions, Cardiff City are the only team currently in the relegation zone, with Huddersfield’s recent wins giving them a much-needed boost. As for Bournemouth, who we have predicted to finish 18th, well we know about them and how far off this prediction is.
Currently, there are three main disappointments for us with Fulham sitting rock bottom whilst West Ham and Burnley are performing well below par. Despite this, it must be said that the bottom of the table is incredibly tight and three points can make a considerable difference. The bottom eight teams are within four points of each other, with Brighton and Wolves not too far off either and spectacularly, a single win for Fulham in bottom place could see them rise as high as 15th so it is all still to play for.
There are always some teams that buck the trend (Bournemouth and Watford so far this season), and with how close both the top and bottom ends are, just one right result is all that may be needed to disrupt the standings. To date, it’s been an extremely interesting season to follow.
