Premier League: 11/4 Brentford one of three bets as we analyse the bottom half of the table | OneFootball

English Premier League

Mike fancies Kieran McKenna's men to survive comfortably

Mike Norman concludes his seven-game analysis of the Premier League so far with a look at the bottom half of the table, which of coure includes Manchester United...

11. Brentford (10 pts)

Bees pack a powerful sting

It's been a good start to the season for Brentford thanks in large to their form at the Gtech Community Stadium. Thomas Frank's men are unbeaten on home soil this term, winning three and drawing one of their four Premier League games and they also beat fellow Londoners Leyton Oritent to progress to the next round of the EFL Cup. The concern perhaps is their away form, where they've lost all three games this season. But away from home the've faced Liverpool, Tottenham and Man City, and they weren't disgraced in any of those defeats. so hopes must be high that they can improve on the road.

Undoubtedly the key to their success will be to keep Bryan Mbeumo fit who has made a fine star to the campaign, scoring six goals in seven games. Up next for the Bees is hopeless Manchester United before back-to-back home games against Ipswich in the league and Sheffield Wednesday in the cup, so October really is a great opportunity for Frank's men to move into the top half of the table and progress further in a winnable cup competition. All in all, Brentford fans should be very happy, just as I am with the 11/4 for them to finish in the top 10 this season.

- Rating: 6/10

12. West Ham (8 pts)

Are Lopetegui's bubbles about to burst

Similar to Newcastle, I haven't been impressed with how West Ham have performed so far this term and the only difference between the Hammers and the Magpies is that Julen Lopetegui's men probably have the amount of points that they've deserved. Wins over Crystal Palace and Ipswich were to be expected, and to be fair the Hammers have faced some tough tasks already this season, but it's their performances more than anything that are of slight concern.

Lopetegui's men are odds-on to finish in the top half of the table but that's a price I'd be avoiding. When you consider the clubs that are virtually certain to finish in the top 10, and then add the likes of Brentford and Fulham to the mix, then there aren't many spaces left in the top half. Lose star man Jarrod Bowen for a decent spell and the Hammers could be set for a tough season, especially with clubs like Brighton, Brentford and Fulham, who all finished below them last term, seemingly better this campaign.

- Rating: 4/10

13. Bournemouth (8 pts)

Cherries around where you'd expect them to be

- Top 10 Finish: 11/4- Relegation: 9/1

Given that they lost star striker Domink Solanke during the summer Bournemouth's start hasn't been too bad, certainly in terms of points accrued and where they sit in the table, it's about what you'd expect. But the concern will be that the only wins they've achieved were against struggling Everton and Southampton, and on Saturday they lost to newly-promoted Leicester.

I think the Cherries will have enough to avoid the drop simply because they have goals in them, especially through Antoine Semenyo, but their next three games are against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man City, so expect them to be dragged towards the bottom end of the table in the next month or so before they embark on the final two thirds of the season that will mostly involve trying to keep above the relegation zone.

- Rating: 5/10

14. Manchester United (8 pts)

Less than perfect Ten

The warning signs were there before a ball had been kicked, when Erik ten Hag revealed that his squad wasn't ready for the start of the Premier League season. It was dispiriting to hear Ten Hag, who is never short of an excuse for his team's failings, getting them in early. The hope that followed last season's FA Cup final victory was already squandered. That performance a Wembley in the May sun seems long ago and now looks like an anomaly rather than the start of better things.

United are 14th in the table, with their worst ever record after seven games of a Premier League season, and they have scored a measly five goals. Some of the summer signings - Joshua Zirkzee, in particular - already look like bad buys to add to the long list of bad buys. Jim Ratcliffe and his team must decide whether to let this drag on or make a decisive change. Few would argue if they took the latter option and sacked Ten Hag in the current international break. Whoever is in charge, though, the players need to step up and apply themselves immediately, otherwise this will be another wasted season.

- Rating: 2/10

15. Leicester (6 pts)

Foxes with a chance to kick on

- Relegation: 8/11- To Finish Bottom: 5.4

It hasn't been a bad start at all for Leicester. Okay, they've only accrued six points but I suppose that's more than many people expected, especially given they've already faced the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Arsenal. The Foxes are comfortably above the drop zone - for now - and they're into the next round of the EFL Cup where you'd seriously give them a chance against a hapless Manchester United team.

But I dare says Leicester's biggest win this season was being told that they'll avoid a points deduction for an alleged breach of Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR), meaning they can fully concentrate on what they do on the field, knowing they won't have any points taken away from them. That's a huge relief, and with their next three league games being against Southampton, Nottm Forest and Ipswich they have a glorious chance to put some daylight between themselves and the teams below them.

- Rating: 6/10

16. Everton (5 pts)

We've been here before

- Relegation: 15/8- To Finish Bottom: 13.0

It feels like we've been here before with Everton, a few times in fact. Poor starts to the campaign feel like the order of the day with the Toffees and they haven't let us down this season. Sean Dyche's men were terrible in the first few weeks, losing heavily to Brighton and Tottenham. They at least managed to score four goals in two games against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, but they squandered 2-0 leads in both of those games and eventually lost, meaning they'd played four and lost four.

But the Toffees have been better in recent weeks, they're unbeaten in three league games and they've recorded their first win of the season, so at least they appear to be on an upward spiral, and with a trio of games against Ipswich, Fulham and Southampton after the international break October feels like a crucial month. Take five or six points from those games and Everton will be up to mid-table. Fail to win any and they'll be bang in trouble. But the gut feeling is that Everton will survive. They always do.

- Rating: 4/10

17. Ipswich (4 pts)

Tractor Boys have a proper goalscorer

There's an old saying in football that will always be true. If you don't score goals then you don't win games. Of course, take those words literally and it's 100% true, but in general it means that if you're not scoring regularly then you have little chance of winning enough games to do well. When it comes to Ipswich, I always fancy them to score goals. They've done so in three of their four away games this term including at Man City and at West Ham, and they scored two at home to Aston Villa. They're yet to win this season, but four draws in their opening seven games isn't a bad return at all.

Key to Kieran McKenna's men scoring goals are new signings Jack Clarke and Liam Delap. If those two can stay fit and play regularly then Ipswich have a real chance of winning games and avoiding the drop. Their next four home games are all against teams currently 14th or lower in the table so they have a massive chance to string a few wins together and put a bit of daylight between themselves and the relegation zone. If I'm being honest, I think they'll survive comfortably.

18. Crystal Palace (3 pts)

Who saw this coming?

- Relegation: 7/1- To Finish Bottom: 28.0

It's been a very poor start to the new season for Crystal Palace, perhaps made even worse by the fact that they finished last season so brilliantly. Oliver Glasner's men won six and drew one of their last seven Premier League games last term. They were the in-form team, and few would have expected them to make a win-less start to this campaign. True, the departure of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich was a massive blow, but they retained the services of Eberechi Eze and brought in striker Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal, so there's no obvious reason why they should have started the season in such poor form.

On the plus side they have drawn games with Chelsea and Manchester United, and last week they were only narrowly defeated by Liverpool, and they've also won two out of two in the EFL Cup, so the hint of better things to come is most definitely there. The Eagles should have no problems avoiding the drop if truth be told, and that is reflected in their odds, but they need to get that first win of the season sooner rather than later.

- Rating: 3/10

19. Southampton (1 pt)

Saints defence is of huge concern

If you're a struggling team and massively fancied to be relegated, then you know you're in trouble when you play well and still lose games. That's what has happened to Southampton at the start of this season when they performed very well at Newcastle and again at home to Nottingham Forest, but lost both matches without scoring. Since then it's been pretty much a defensive nightmare. Russell Martin's men have conceded in all of their last seven league and cup games, including conceding three goals in five of those matches.

Southampton's next away game is at Manchester City, and then following the next international break they have a five-game run against Liverpool, Brighton, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham. Don't be surprised if Saints fans already have that sinking feeling. Be even less surprised if Southampton are rock bottom at Christmas... and they stay there.

20. Wolves (1 pt)

Stuff of nightmares

- Relegation: 6/4- To Finish Bottom: 7.0

It's been a horrendous start to the season for Wolves, there's no way of getting around it. Gary O'Neil's men sit rock bottom of the table with just one point to their name from a possible 21, but an even more damning statistic is the number of goals they've conceded. Wolves conceded six at home to Chelsea, five at Brentford, three away to Brighton and Aston Villa, in fact they've conceded an average of exactly three goals per game in their opening seven Premier League fixtures.

True, they've had a tough start in terms of teams they've had to play. Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Liverpool in the league, and an away game at Brighton in the EFL Cup. That's basically every club currently in the top seven of the table other than Manchester City. Guess who Wolves play next. You got it in one! And then they have Brighton away again, this time in the league. The only positive you can take is that following games against City and the Seagulls, Wolves will play nine consecutive games against clubs currently eighth or lower in the table, including eight games against bottom half clubs.