Top Four Starting To Take Shape

Just five games into the season and the top four is beginning to take a very familiar shape.

There is one team keeping up their surprising early season form and that is Leicester City who moved into second place with an excellent comeback win at home to Aston Villa. I am not sure how much loanee midfielder from Swansea Nathan Dyer will know about his winning goal but the battling qualities were impressive.

Elsewhere, Arsenal returned to the top four with a win over struggling Stoke as did Manchester United who defeated rivals Liverpool with some valuable input from debutant Frenchman Anthony Martial. The blue side of Manchester kept up their great early season form by just about seeing off Palace but they needed injury time to do so.

A Payet double no doubt pleased fantasy owners on Monday night, including myself, as West Ham United sent Newcastle United to the foot of the table below their rivals Sunderland who were narrowly beaten by Spurs.

Big winners this week were Everton who are the latest to take all three points off champions Chelsea. Losing is not something they are used to but in a peculiar twist of fate, Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic had to leave the field early on to be replaced by hat-trick hero Steven Naismith.

In the battle of the new boys, Norwich City saw off a Bournemouth side that turned out in their new pink third kit, some of the proceeds for the sale of which will be donated to the charity Breast Cancer Care. Very well played by the south coast club. Meanwhile, the other newly promoted side Watford were busy beating Swansea City at Vicarage Road.

The least interesting game of the weekend was played out at the Hawthorns between West Bromwich Albion and Southampton in a dour goalless draw but the hosts should have arguably been awarded a penalty so can rightly feel a little hard done by.

We were treated to some excellent goals at the weekend. Both Villa goals were in vane but equally as good as each other. The first goal from West Ham’s Payet is also worthy of a mention but the two stand out strikes were from the same game. The terrific consolation for Liverpool from Benteke and the third for United scored by newboy Martial.

Results

• Arsenal 2-0 Stoke City
• Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City
• Everton 3-1 Chelsea
• Leicester City 3-2 Aston Villa
• Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool
• Norwich City 3-1 Bournemouth
• Sunderland 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
• Watford 1-0 Swansea City
• West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Southampton
• West Ham United 2-0 Newcastle United

Premier League Table

The game of the weekend has to be the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal but on form it is 4th place plays 17th bizarrely enough. On that basis the game between leaders City and West Ham at the Etihad is perhaps the one that should awarded that tag.

Regardless, another loss for Chelsea will likely see then drop into the bottom three in the table which would be quite a fall from grace even after six games of the season. The most intriguing match up looks to be the one between Everton and Swansea City. Two teams playing well but the Swans are coming off a defeat to newly promoted Watford so will be interesting to see how they react. Elsewhere, Leicester could keep hold of second place with a win at lowly Stoke City.

Fixtures

• Chelsea v Arsenal
• Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion
• Bournemouth v Sunderland
• Chelsea v Arsenal
• Liverpool v Norwich City
• Manchester City v West Ham United
• Newcastle United v Watford
• Southampton v Manchester United
• Stoke City v Leicester City
• Swansea City v Everton
• Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace