Grading every Premier League club’s 2023/24 season so far | OneFootball

Blink and you’ll miss it! Although the 2023/24 Premier League has reached its half-way point, it seems as if it was only yesterday that Manchester City and Burnley locked horns in the division’s curtain raiser, one which finished 3-0 in favour of the former.

Much has happened since then. A quartet of sides: Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Aston Villa are all embroiled in a title race, while Tottenham Hotspur are not too far behind amid the injury crisis. Manchester United have enjoyed glimpses of joy, but their inconsistency has been their Achilles' heel during Erik ten Hag’s second season at the helm.

Both Bournemouth and Everton have endured their difficulties, but the respective brilliance of Andoni Iraola and Sean Dyche has shone through, with the duo thoroughly enjoying life in the Premier League. The less said about Chelsea, though, the better. With all that said, we’ve placed each team, based on how their campaign is going thus far, into one of five different categories ranging from ‘Absolutely Awful’ to ‘Outstanding’.

Before we delve in – here’s a quick caveat to how GIVEMESPORT came to their rankings. All teams were placed in one of the five categories based on how well they have been playing, their Premier League standing (as of 01/01/24) and their expectations before the 2023/24 campaign had got underway. Got it? Without further ado, let’s crack on.

Outstanding

Aston Villa, Liverpool

If someone had told you that Unai Emery would have led Aston Villa to a title race mid-way through the season before a ball was kicked, you would have laughed - and rightfully so. The Villans sent shock waves right through the spine of the Premier League after securing back-to-back wins over Arsenal and Manchester City, and they bounced back from a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United with a 3-2 win of their own against Burnley.

Whether their rich vein of form can continue into 2024 remains to be seen. But if the likes of Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby can continue to fire on all cylinders, Liverpool will be checking their shoulders to see them hot on their tail.

Talking of the Merseysiders, they’re back to their best, aren’t they? Long gone are the days of lacklustre midfields, suspect defending and relying heavily on Mohamed Salah. Well, the latter may still be slightly true, with him still one of the best wingers in the league today, but overall, the Reds are a much better outfit. Having lost just one game from their opening 19 domestic meetings, Jürgen Klopp will be pleased with his side’s simply ‘outstanding’ improvements on the back of a dire 2022/23.

Great So Far

Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United

North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur deserve to be in this category thanks to being there or thereabouts at the summit of the top flight. The Gunners are, perhaps, unlucky not to get in the tier above, but their on-field performances are not as well-drilled as last season, with many last-minute goals needed to snare victories over the likes of Luton Town, Manchester United and Brentford. Disappointing losses West Ham and Fulham only prove that they're a little short of the 'outstanding' category.

Their north London rivals have also enjoyed a great start to the campaign, especially given how hindered by injury woes they have been. Spurs enjoyed a brief period of success at the start of the season and went 10 games unbeaten in the league. Having the likes of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven side-lined has dampened the spirit of Ange Postecoglou’s squad, though they are still ahead of Manchester United in the table. With the Tottenham board willing to back their manager in the January transfer window, the Lilywhites could push on in 2024.

West Ham United have shown their non-negotiable resilience with positive results against Manchester United and Arsenal, both of which ended 2-0 to the Hammers. David Moyes has forged a brilliant squad full of naturally gifted gems and will most likely secure European football in some form come the end of the campaign. Everton might also have managed to if they hadn’t received a 10-point deduction earlier in the season. Dyche has got his men into a groove of winning games in recent times, all while in the face of adversity. The Toffees should definitely have no trouble avoiding relegation if they keep their fine form up.

Decent

Bournemouth, Fulham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers

A ‘Good Effort’ for Manchester City seems a tad odd, but given they won a treble last season, what’s changed? We’ll tell you what: Kevin De Bruyne has been injured. Pep Guardiola’s side have struggled to hit their high standard in the Belgian’s absence and are currently sitting in fourth spot, albeit just two points off table-topping Liverpool.

Joining them are bottom-half trio Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers who, in the grand scheme of their squad personnel, have done fantastic jobs of seemingly avoiding the drop, particularly the former given they seemed destined to be relegated earlier on in the season. The Cherries had gone on a streak of seven games without losing before their match against Tottenham, but could break into the top half in the New Year.

Manchester United, much like their blue counterparts, are in the ‘Good Effort’ tier. With the money spent in the summer and on the back of their Carabao Cup-winning season in 2022/23, plenty believed that it could be their year. Crashing out of the Champions League was not on the agenda for Ten Hag, yet they still find themselves in the hunt for the Champions League qualification for 2024/25.

Despite being involved in a relegation dogfight, Premier League minnows Luton Town look the most likely, out of the promoted trident, to evade the drop and retain their status as a top flight team. Rob Edwards’ side are inches away from Everton and could achieve the unthinkable of staying up following their first year in the Premier League.

Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United have both flattered to deceive this campaign, albeit still in the top half fighting for the European spots. A little more consistency from the pair could see them climb the rankings, but they are not showing that they’re worthy of securing European spots any more than Bournemouth, Everton and Fulham – just to name a few.

The Magpies duly crashed out of the Champions League at the earliest possible stage, with their focus now solely on ensuring they secure qualification for the second season on the bounce. That said, Eddie Howe’s lot have lost four of their last five domestic fixtures and look a shadow of the typically well-drilled side that has been so impressive. With former player Chris Wood bagging a hat-trick against them for Nottingham Forest, there is certainly room to improve.

As for Brentford and Palace, neither side has looked especially impressive so far this season. The Bees, having finished in the top half last season, were expected to push on up the table, but they instead find themselves 16th at the time of writing, with just one win in their last eight games. Thomas Frank will want to see more from his squad, as will Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park. Palace, while not having aspirations of qualifying for Europe this season, have two wins in their last 10 games. They are just four points above the drop zone, and fans will desperately want to see improvements in 2024. That being said, with quality players like Michael Olise and Eberchi Eze to call upon, the Eagles should avoid relegation.

Absolutely Awful

For all of their mouth-watering expenditure over the last couple of years, plenty expected Chelsea to be hustling and bustling with the league’s elite this season – instead, they’re 10th with as many losses as wins under their belt. A squad brimming with so much talent and many big names should be enshrined in a constant top four race, not busting a gut to remain in the top half.

Sheffield United and Burnley have become permanent fixtures of the drop zone as it seems as if the Championship is calling their name. Proceedings may start to change for the Blades given that Chris Wilder, a chief enjoying his second stint at the club, is back at the helm and keen to keep them afloat, while Vincent Kompany’s side have struggled to adapt to the trials and tribulations of the top tier – they’ve experienced a wake-up call, so to speak.

Joining them in the ‘Absolutely Awful’ category is Nottingham Forest, who are at severe risk of dropping into the relegation slots. Similarly to Sheffield United, a managerial shift may change their fortunes as they head into 2024, and it looks to be already paying dividends, with Nuno Espírito Santo guiding them to an impressive win over Manchester United recently. However, their performances as a whole have been so substandard for a Premier League-proven side that the bottom category was just the most fitting.