Manchester United are plummeting but the rest of the top six are consolidating their position within the upper echelons of the Premier League.
At the bottom, the three sides sitting in the relegation zone are not all that surprising, but in the middle of the table inconsistency continues to reign.
Who has performed better than others this past Gameweek, though?
Keeping tabs on all 20 Premier League teams is the Sport360 Stock Exchange (360SE), our season-long measurement for top flight sides as we track each club throughout the campaign and take into account their results to assign positions.
We initially used reputation and squad worth to determine the starting price but from Gameweek 2 onward, we’ve examine their output to create a new value.
The total points gained for the season are used as a tiebreaker but sides which have produced big wins against strong opposition get a big boost and vice versa.
Without further ado, here’s the rankings after GW7.
1. Manchester City: 536 / 540 / +4
Total for 2018/19: +40
While us mere mortals detect flesh and bone, Pep Guardiola sees pieces on a board. Indeed, the Catalan was ecstatic with his side, particularly their positional play, after a professional 2-0 win over Brighton at the Etihad Stadium. It’s now 13 games unbeaten in the league and 37 goals score during that run. They are getting better and better, Raheem Sterling symbolic of their progression, producing a performance brimming with vivacity and clinical touches in key areas. City will take some shifting.
2. Liverpool: 520 / 525 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +50
Daniel Sturridge rose from the bench and sent a breathtaking dipping strike just under the bar of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal to secure Liverpool a deserved point at Chelsea. Credit is due to his own goalkeeper Alisson for a string of solid stops but Jurgen Klopp will rue missed opportunities of their own, particularly Xherdan Shaqiri who fluffed his lines from close-range. However, the Reds showed they possess the championship trait of perseverance by getting a difficult point when it didn’t seem like it would not be their day.
3. Chelsea: 457 / 462 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +32
Eden Hazard is the best player in the Premier League right now. With Kevin De Bruyne out injured and Mohamed Salah out of form, there can be no doubt about his standing in English football. Hazard is operating at a different level to the rest and his opener in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool is a testament to that. The forward started the counter-attack and then finished it with a crisp strike of devastating accuracy. Chelsea are full of energy and zip, hallmarked by their bouncing Belgian.
Eden Hazard
4. Arsenal: 438 / 443 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +13
Seven straight wins in all competitions points to significant momentum for Unai Emery, yet dip under the results and there’s a growing characteristic we’ve seldom seen from Arsenal – resilience. Watford at times were pretty slick at the Emirates Stadium but the Gunners held in there and provided the timely blows to land a knockout. Fortunate with the opener as Craig Cathcart diverted into his own net but the second saw some marvellous team play finished off by a reinvigorated Mesut Ozil.
5. Tottenham Hotspur: 434 / 438 / +4
Total for 2018/19: +18
Harry Kane has appeared a man playing through fatigue after an exhausting World Cup campaign with England. Against Huddersfield, he looked closer to his best. The striker is always a goalscoring threat and so has kept his tally ticking over, but Kane inhabits the elite bracket of complete centre-forwards and he’s lost a little verve this season. On Saturday. he ran the channels well, passed with purpose and dropped in to set attacks while scoring two goals as well. It’s 145 goals in 221 Spurs games and plenty more are on the way.
6. Manchester United: 440 / 435 / -15
Total for 2018/19: -35
The damned United? For a club literally with the word ‘United’ in their name, the fissures in Jose Mourinho’s side are beginning to look beyond repair. The 3-1 loss to West Ham was seismic and the aftershock from the performance is still reverberating around English football. Mourinho inexplicably set up in a 3-5-2 with Scott McTominay at centre-half and it actually morphed into a five at the back with three in front. Beyond the tragic tactics, the lack of desire and motivation was embarrassing and it’s their worst start for 29 years to see them drop out of the top four in our rankings for the first time this campaign.
Jose Mourinho
7. Everton: 358 / 363 / +5
Total for 2018/19: -7
Marco Silva has come in for heavy criticism due to the perceived naive nature of his football philosophies. But the Everton boss remains married to his principles and was justified in doing so after ending a run of two defeats to sweep up Fulham at Goodison Park. Gylfi Sigurdsson, thriving in the No10 slot, made amends for a penalty miss with two sweet finishes, Cenk Tosun ending a barren run at home by sandwiching a finish in between. A Silva lining after a dark spell for Everton.
8. West Ham: 340 / 355 / +15
Total for 2018/19: -5
The Hammers hadn’t won at home this season and so when they beat Manchester United by two goals for the first time since 1982, the result was a huge shock. It perhaps shouldn’t have been, though, because United are in a crisis and West Ham are on the up. Marko Arnautovic was absolutely superb and is playing the best football of his career. Manuel Pellegrini can be delighted in his display but also the execution and hunger of his side.
9. Leicester City: 348 / 353 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +3
Harry Maguire is a beast in both boxes. Granted, Newcastle effectively rolled over and had their belly tickled by the Foxes but the defender was influential defensively and in attack to help seal a routine win away from home. He was a battering ram from corners, earning the penalty for the opener from one and emphatically heading home their second from another. The England international was cool and collected to easily quell any threat from the hosts at the other end.
10. Wolves: 330 / 336 / +6
Total for 2018/19: +36
It’s apt Wolves wear orange because they’re as zealous and bright as their kit. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have been a breath of fresh air and the way they confidently move the ball across the pitch is a joy to behold. They picked up another three points and a stock boost thanks to a 2-0 win over Southampton at Molineux. The Premier League newcomers were so effective down the flanks and both goals arrived from their overloads of the right channel with Ivan Cavaleiro and Jonny both prospering.
11. Bournemouth: 302 / 307 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +37
Eddie Howe’s side probably just about deserved their three points against Crystal Palace in the Monday night fixture. They move up to seventh after Junior Stanislas calmly lifted a last-minute penalty to capture a 2-1 win. On the balance of play, they just about edged it but were guilty of profligacy through Callum Wilson and Dan Gosling. Still, the Cherries are within two points of the top four and that is a decidedly sweet outlook for Howe’s men.
12. Watford: 294 / 294 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +44
You feel a degree of sympathy for Watford because they created clear-cut chances and possessed bags of endeavour at Arsenal. Javi Gracia deserves tremendous credit for implementing an aggressive style of football and his midfield four are particularly impressive. They were invariably let down by poor finishing, however, continue to play the way they have so far this season, and their stock is only going one way.
13. Crystal Palace: 294 / 294 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +4
It’s been said before and will be said again but outside of Wilfried Zaha, Palace really lack a cutting edge and that came back to bite them against Bournemouth. They sit on seven points and so have some breathing space away from the drop zone for now, yet it’s hard to see how Roy Hodgson’s limited side won’t avoid being sucked back in if they continue to struggle.
14. Fulham: 294 / 289 / -5
Total for 2018/19: -1
Ryan Sessegnon battered the crossbar when he should have bulged the net in the first half of Fulham’s defeat to Everton and had that gone in, perhaps the result could have been different. As it is, the complexion is one of disappointment for Slavisa Jokanovic who cut a dispirited figure on the touchline. They are still far too open defensively and the glaring holes which have been apparent all season are still yet to be plugged.
15. Burnley: 278 / 285 / +7
Total for 2018/19: -5
Burnley are on the rise. Johann Berg Gudmundsson was the man at the heart of their win over Cardiff, scoring the first and setting up the winner for Sam Vokes. The home side will feel justifiably hard done by in not securing at least a point as Burnley were admittedly pretty poor. Joe Hart was instrumental in between the sticks and then from their two shots on target, Burnley scored twice. It’s a welcome three points even if the route to them wasn’t exactly straightforward.
16. Newcastle United: 289 / 285 / -4
Total for 2018/19: -5
Rafael Benitez is becoming part of the bigger problem for Newcastle. The Spaniard has largely escaped denunciation for his side’s awful start to the season with owner Mike Ashley the man chastised. However, after a limited and quite frankly wretched display against Leicester City, Benitez was booed. Confidence has been siphoned from the team and left in its wake is a flat mess. His substitutions have drawn derision and after losing 2-0, Newcastle have made their worst ever start to a Premier League season and own just two points.
Rafa Benitez
17. Brighton: 270 / 270 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +20
When you’re playing sides inhabiting the top six, all it takes is one mistake and you are punished. Brighton actually started solidly enough against Manchester City, but in one moment, they lost their shape and the hosts countered in devastating fashion to open the scoring. After that, it was a case of damage limitation and Mathew Ryan was a source of strength to ensure the scoreline remained respectable at just 2-0. Just two wins in their last 16, though, and when you’re battling at the bottom, the currency is points not pride.
18. Southampton: 272 / 270 / -2
Total for 2018/19: 0
One win in seven league matches and the pressure is mounting on Mark Hughes. “Frustration is the emotion we feel,” he said after their 2-0 loss to Wolves. “It was a decent away performance but at the end of the day you have to get your reward, you have to go take it. We’re not quite getting the elements of the game right.” It’s threatening to turn really dire for Southampton.
19. Huddersfield Town: 214 / 214 / 0
Total for 2018/19: -6
If you want an indication of how concerning the landscape is for Huddersfield then check out this startling statistic: Harry Kane (four goals) is their top scorer at home since returning to the Premier League. Granted they had chances and were spirited against one of the league’s top sides but that really will only get you so far and it’s not safely away from the relegation zone.
20. Cardiff City: 200 / 198 / -2
Total for 2018/19: -2
Cardiff’s value slips below the 200 mark and it really isn’t all that surprising. They deserved more from a 2-1 reverse at home to Burnley but in a cut-throat business, Neil Warnock’s side simply have to be sharper in key areas. No one will be shocked to see they’re in the bottom three both here and in the league because they have only two points from their first seven games and it’s incredibly difficult to see where their first win will come from.
