Analyzing the performances of the top 6 teams in the Premier League

Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur - The Big 6 of last season's English Premier League. These 6 teams have risen above the rest to stamp their authority on English football in recent times but how have they fared so far this season?

#1 Chelsea – The Defending Champions

2016/17 Season: With fast-paced, attacking football and a killer instinct that all champions possess, Antonio Conte’s Blue Army lifted the trophy at the end of the 2016/17 season.

Defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante starred for the champions with stunning displays week after week and was awarded the PFA Player of the Year. Teammates Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa also had great seasons and had an equal hand in Chelsea’s title-winning campaign.

2017/18 Season So Far: With 42 points from the first 20 games, Chelsea have had a respectable season but like everyone else, have been overshadowed by the brilliance of Manchester City. The team started the season on a sour note with a shocking 3-2 home loss to Burnley but bounced back there after winning 4 and drawing 1 out of their next five games.

Losses to Man City and Crystal Palace upset the rhythm and since then, Chelsea has turned a corner and have been in top form picking up lots of points and keeping on the coattails of Manchester United which is in second place.

Top Scorer(s): Alvaro Morata (10 goals)

Top Assister(s): Cesar Azpilicueta (6 assists)

Key Players: Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, N’Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta

#2 Tottenham – Runners-up

Kane has continued to bang in the goals for Spurs

2016/17 Season: Tottenham played some fine free-flowing football, scoring lots of goals. They were the top scorers in the league last season. It was quite unfortunate that despite playing some of the best football, Mauricio Pochettino’s men ended up second best.

Thanks to their dazzling front line of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Harry Kane, Tottenham racked up 86 league points, a tally that would have been enough to win the league in 8 seasons since the 1995/96 season when a 20 team league was adopted for the first time.

2017/18 Season So Far: A poor first 20 games means that Spurs’ title hopes have effectively ended. 21 points off the pace set by league leaders Manchester City, Tottenham will need to shift their attention to securing a top 4 spot. Spurs’ home form has been the reason for their early exit from the title race as they have accumulated just 20 points out of a possible 30.

A surprising downturn in the form of star man Dele Alli is also a major reason for Tottenham’s league woes. With their title challenge faltering, Spurs will have to quickly turn their attention to securing a top 4 place as they face stiff competition for the same, but with ‘Haz’ Kane returning to top form in splendid fashion by scoring 2 hat tricks to break Alan Shearer’s record for the most premier league goals in a calendar year, Spurs fans will be optimistic about their chances

Top Scorer(s): Harry Kane (18 goals)

Top Assister(s): Dele Alli (6 assists)

Key Players: Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli

#3 Manchester City – Third Place

City has destroyed every opposition in its path so far

2016/17 Season: Much was expected of Manchester City last season as one of the best managers in the world, Pep Guardiola, was tasked with the responsibility of bringing the title back to the blue side of Manchester.

Despite making some big money signings like John Stones, Claudio Bravo, and Gabriel Jesus, something just didn’t click for City.

Failure to pick up points against top 6 opponents was a reason for City’s season taking a turn for the worse.

2017/18 Season So Far: Scintillating, dazzling, beautiful, these are just a few of the words that can be used to describe the football being played by City this season.

With 19 wins and a draw from the first 20 games of the season, City is flying high and have lit up English football this season with their only firm title contenders being rival Manchester United, who they also beat 2-1 away from home in a crucial encounter.

Thanks to that win, City are now 15 points clear at the top of the table. There are some who believe that the title race is already done and dusted and that the rest of the season will a formality before the Citizens lift the cup.

City have scored the most goals in the league this season thanks to Sergio Aguero (12), Raheem Sterling (13), Gabriel Jesus (8) and Leroy Sane(6) who have scored a massive 39 goals combined, which is more than what 16 teams have managed so far.

Kevin De Bruyne has been in the form of his life for the Citizens, topping the assist charts (9) with teammates Leroy Sane and David Silva hot on his heels (8).

Apart from their front line, City’s defensive midfielder Fernandinho is playing like an absolute machine and new-signing Ederson Moraes has looked solid between the sticks for City this term.

Top Scorer(s): Raheem Sterling (13)

Top Assister(s): Kevin De Bruyne (9)

Key Players: Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane

#4 Liverpool – Fourth Place

Salah has been exceptional for Liverpool this season

2016/17 Season: Inconsistency was the reason for Liverpool’s 4th place finish in the league last term. Although they posted good results against the top 6, Liverpool performed poorly against lower placed opposition. Losses to Bournemouth, Hull, Swansea, and draws against Sunderland, Southampton, West Ham serve as evidence of their underperformance.

Liverpool’s old goalkeeping woes continued in the 16/17 season as new signing Loris Karius failed to live up to expectations. However, a bright spot for the Liverpool was their deadly frontline of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, and Roberto Firmino. The trio scored a combined 37 goals for the Reds last season. They were well assisted by Adam Lallana (8), James Milner and Divock Origi (7 each).

2017/18 Season So Far: The new season hasn’t gone fully to plan for the Reds because they are, in all likelihood, out of the title race. Despite that, thanks to some magic from summer signing Mohamed Salah (15), Liverpool are well in contention for a Champions League finish. Liverpool’s weak defence is haunting them this season, with the only impressive defender being young Joe Gomez, although the record signing of Virgil Van Dijk will excite the Reds faithful.

Top Scorer(s): Mohamed Salah (15)

Top Assister(s): Philippe Coutinho (6)

Key Players: Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino

#5 Arsenal – Fifth Place

The Gunners have blown hot and cold as usual this season

2016/17 Season: The 16/17 season wasn’t a happy one for Arsenal as they were the only English team in the top 6 to miss out on the Champions League.

Bar a few games, like the losses to Crystal Palace and West Brom, Arsenal had no trouble beating the lower placed opposition.

However, the Gunners had a very poor record versus Top 6 opponents, dropping a massive 21 points out of a possible 30.

Alexis Sanchez was at the top of his game last season, top scoring for the Gunners with 24 goals in the league, but, sadly for Arsenal, their inconsistencies overshadowed Alexis’ brilliance.

2017/18 Season So Far: New season but the same old story for the Gunners. A very poor start to the league has seen Arsenal fall 21 points behind the league leaders.

Mesut Ozil’s return to top form has gone in vain thanks to his teammates' disappointing performances.

Last season’s star man Alexis Sanchez has been abysmal this season and at times even looked disinterested while playing, which perhaps indicates that a switch of clubs seems likely for the Chilean.

Top Scorer(s): Alexandre Lacazette (8)

Top Assister(s): Aaron Ramsey (6)

Key Players: Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Alexandre Lacazette, Alexis Sanchez

#6 Manchester United – Sixth Place

United have done well, its just that Manchester City has been far better

2016/17 Season: Last season was a strange one for Manchester United as they finished as low as 6th place, but still bagged 2 trophies including the Europa League which secured Champions League football for next season.

Chances were being created at Old Trafford but finishing was the issue for the Red Devils last season despite the presence of the talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic. United scored just 54 goals last season, lower than 9th-placed Bournemouth.

In addition to that, Zlatan and United led the ‘Big Chances Missed’ table last season with 18 and 50 respectively. However, fans were delighted by the improved quality of play and team synergy, compared to previous seasons.

2017/18 Season So Far: Not as good as City - that is the summary of Manchester United’s season so far. A points tally of 41 from the first 18 games would have been enough for United to top the table in each of the last ten seasons, but the Red Devils find themselves second best so far this term. Pogba has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 3 and assisting 5 in just 8 appearances this season, but United’s over-dependence on him has proved to be harmful as all but 4 of their dropped points have come from matches that the Frenchman had missed through injury and suspension.

Back to back draws against Leicester and Burnley have severely harmed United’s title chances as they have fallen 15 points behind Man City.

Young guns Martial and Rashford have also excelled this season with the duo bagging 10 goals and 8 assists combined. The month of December has seen a sharp upturn in the form of Jesse Lingard, with the Manchester boy scoring braces against Arsenal and Burnley to take his season tally to 6 goals and 4 assists.

New signings Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku have been in good form with the former anchoring the midfield and the latter scoring 10 goals in the league. David De Gea has been absolutely sensational this season and has proven to the world that he is one of the best goalkeepers.

Top Scorer(s): Romelu Lukaku (10)

Top Assister(s): Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan (5)

Key Players: Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba, David De Gea, Nemanja Matic