Another international break is on the horizon and the Premier League gave us plenty of reasons to be upset at another stop in the action after an entertaining Gameweek.
Sides in the top six lost pace with leaders Manchester City while there were crucial victories for teams toward the bottom as well.
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 examined 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 GW12.
1. Manchester City: 560 / 568 / +8
Total for 2018/19: +72
A 44-pass move which ended with Ilkay Gundogan elegantly plucking out of the air and tucking past David De Gea hallmarked City’s 3-1 win over Manchester United. It served as an example of their superiority over a bitter rival and the rest of the league.
Patient and punishing, the chasm of quality between the two sides is stark. David Silva and Sergio Aguero scored two other glorious goals and aside from just talent, City also have the mental traits of desire and determination. A frightening outfit indeed.
2. Liverpool: 539 / 541 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +66
Liverpool are a peculiar side at the moment. They rebounded from the disappointment of a midweek defeat to Red Star Belgrade by beating Fulham. But again it was far from their fluid best.
Fulham had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside and Mohamed Salah scored seconds later. Xherdan Shaqiri doubled their lead and was a bright spot and it seems like Jurgen Klopp is purposely pulling back on his exhausting pressing style with his mind on a long and tiring campaign.
It”s been their best ever Premier League start, achieved by doing just enough and nothing more.
3. Chelsea: 484 / 484 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +54
Chelsea were frustrated after a fractious clash with Everton. Maurizio Sarri extended his unbeaten start as Chelsea’s head coach to 12 matches and established a Premier League record.
That was about the only positive note for the Italian. A 0-0 draw at Everton is not the type of result which will see them maintain title pace with Liverpool and City. It’s difficult enough as it is and they are making it much harder for themselves.
4. Arsenal: 456 / 458 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +28
Unai Emery has been hailed for his tactical flexibility this season but his decision to stick with a 4-2-3-1 against Wolves’ 3-4-3 system was disappointing. It’s not just that they were outplayed by the visitors, but rather that the opponents have a predictable style and Emery didn’t execute a plan to stop it.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s cross found the back of the net in the 86th minute and they managed to escape and extend their unbeaten run of games. For that, a small increase in their value.
5. Tottenham Hotspur: 444 / 446 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +26
It was a wretched evening of weather at Crystal Palace and Spurs largely matched the backdrop with a somewhat fortuitous 1-0 win. Juan Foyth was the man responsible for the three points with the winner and man-of-the-match performance having been the player liable for two Wolves penalties last weekend.
He was calm amid the chaos of the apocalyptic rain and stood brave against the Palace bombardment. Second week running Spurs only gain a slight stock increase.
6. Manchester United: 451 / 446 / -5
Total for 2018/19: -14
United are a paradox wrapped up in confusion. Against City, they attempted to play on the counter but then didn’t have a midfielder who could play penetrating passes into the final third. When they opted to go long, there was no-one to target outside of Marouane Fellaini.
Fortuitous results had masked their deficiencies but the problems from the outset remain and do not look like being fixed anytime soon. The gap between United and City is 12 points after 12 games and it will only stretch further between now and May.
Jose Mourinho
7. Everton: 374 / 378 / +4
Total for 2018/19: +7
Jordan Pickford and Yerry Mina were resolute and outstanding as Everton repelled Chelsea at Goodison Park to gain a very credible point. “We took a good step today towards challenging teams like Chelsea in the future,” boss Marco Silva assessed.
They did so on the day but a touch more quality and perhaps that may well be the case over the course of a campaign.
8. Leicester City: 358 / 360 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +10
Leicester have managed an emotional few weeks magnificently. In their first assignment at the King Power Stadium since the tragic helicopter crash which took life of the club’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, they earned a credible point against Burnley.
Naturally, the contest was an incredibly poignant one and the players committed every ounce of energy in trying to secure victory. It was about paying respect and they did just that, honouring their owner with total class.
9. West Ham: 358 / 358 / 0
Total for 2018/19: -5
Club-record buy Felipe Anderson is finally proving good value after notching his third goal in two games to hand West Ham a point away to Huddersfield. The Brazilian started and finished a fine move in the second half to cancel out Alex Pritchard’s early opener.
However, West Ham’s erroneous play out from the back should have been punished further in the first half and they improved after the break. It’s nothing gained or lost in terms of stock value from a game they should have been viewing as an easy avenue to three points.
10. Wolves: 334 / 339 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +41
A tactical victory, if not the three points for Nuno Espirito Santo. Their 3-4-3 system was perfectly suited for Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 with the forwards seeing plenty of joy on rapid counter-attacks and particularly in the left channel. Credit to Wolves because they have an aggressive philosophy and a positive way to play which is enforced no matter the opponent.
They were more dangerous, created better chances and should have scored more than just Ivan Cavaleiro’s opener. Still, it’s a positive stock increase which sees them move into the top 10.
11. Bournemouth: 334 / 330 / -4
Total for 2018/19: +50
Second half they much better against Newcastle as they actually got on the front foot following a timid first half. Jefferson Lerma angled a header home to bridge the gap before the break but when chances arrived in the second half, an equaliser did not.
It’s a big setback for a high-flying Bournemouth who simply couldn’t handle home striker Salomon Rondon.
12. Watford: 298 / 300 / +2
Total for 2018/19: +50
A horrible game for the officials at Southampton, one decision in favour of the away side and one against. The first was Nathaniel Chalobah being blatantly clattered in the box with no penalty awarded. Then of course Charlie Austin’s wrongly-ruled out goal which would have put Saints two up.
The reality is Javi Gracia’s men got away with one and after Manolo Gabbiadini had given the hosts a first-half lead, left-back Jose Holebas equalised in the 82nd minute. A point away from home warrants a marginal stock gain.
13. Crystal Palace: 296 / 296 / 0
Total for 2018/19: +6
Palace had lost all 11 of their Premier League games without Wilfried Zaha in the side. A hamstring injury kept him out of the team to take on Tottenham and predictably they made that 12 sans their talisman.
To be fair, Palace didn’t play like a side without a goal from open play at home this season, or a team which has taken only five points from their last 30 available. However, a seventh league match without victory is grim reading for boss Roy Hodgson. He will hope his injury list after the international break is decidedly less bleak.
14. Brighton: 290 / 287 / -3
Total for 2018/19: +37
The game started well enough for Brighton at Cardiff when Lewis Dunk put them in front. It soon descended into misery when first Callum Paterson equalised, then Dale Stephenson was shown a warranted red card before Sol Bamba controversially scored from a late skirmish in the box.
Chris Hughton was suitably vexed at the officials but will be equally annoyed by an opportunity that slipped away.
15. Newcastle United: 280 / 285 / +5
Total for 2018/19: -5
Two pieces of brilliant wing play, two first Newcastle goals for Rondon and two straight wins for Rafa Benitez’s side following a 2-1 triumph over Bournemouth. That old Magpies nursery rhyme was right after all, ‘two for joy’.
Indeed, Newcastle’s relegation is looking less black and white after moving up into 14th after the Venezuelan striker profited from first DeAndre Yedlin’s burst of speed and pick out on the right side, and then Kenedy’s delicious cross from the opposite flank. Another stock boost for the Magpies.
Salomon Rondon
16. Burnley: 272 / 275 / +3
Total for 2018/19: -14
Sean Dyche talked post-match about how the result didn’t matter on a moving afternoon at Leicester City. In truth, when it came to the football, Burnley had their opportunities, notably through Chris Wood, but equally they were indebted to Joe Hart and the home side’s profligacy as well.
It was no real surprise the game ended in a draw and after conceding 13 goals in their last three games, Dyche inside will be happy to have not conceded.
17. Southampton: 256 / 260 / +4
Total for 2018/19: -10
You’ll no doubt be aware of Austin’s enraged outburst after Saints were held to a 1-1 draw with Watford. “It’s a joke, mate,” Austin boiled. The striker was incensed after his legitimate goal was bizarrely ruled out for offside after officials claimed the ball struck Maya Yoshida who was in an offside position.
It didn’t and then the away side equalised through a grimly deflected Holebas strike late on. Talk about adding insult to injury, it’s no joke for a Southampton side languishing near the foot of the table.
18. Fulham: 262 / 260 / -2
Total for 2018/19: -30
Slavisa Jokanovic was left frustrated after Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header was wrongly disallowed for offside but they only deserved defeat at Anfield.
Fulham offered very little in terms of attacking intent apart from that one moment and the second half was played out at a pedestrian pace as they surrendered. They remain bottom of the league and slip into the bottom three in our rankings. Jokanovic’s luck and time is running out.
19. Huddersfield Town: 220 / 225 / +5
Total for 2018/19: +2
A ruthless streak would serve Huddersfield very well. Indeed, David Wagner’s men should have been enjoying a second straight win but were forced to settle for a share of the points with West Ham after failing to capitilise on several chances.
For a side which has struggled to mount a serious threat in recent weeks, creating opportunities is a definite plus point, but to get out of their relegation scrap and the bottom three of our rankings, they must display more composure. You fix one problem, and a new one emerges.
David Wagner
20. Cardiff City: 208 / 216 / +8
Total for 2018/19: +16
Neil Warnock conducted the joyous singing in the stands as he walked off the pitch following a priceless three points against Brighton. In his 100th game in charge of the club, a 2-1 win for a side widely predicted to go down, even by Warnock himself, was a pleasant reward.
Bamba made amends for dire marking of Dunk in the opener by netting a late winner, albeit from an offside position in the build-up. He didn’t get booked for taking his shirt off in celebration either, so when it’s you day, it’s your day.
