How the top and bottom of the Premier League is shaping up

By Jonny Bray

The table for this season is starting to take shape as this year’s title challengers, top four hopefuls and relegation candidates are becoming increasingly clear.

Yes, there’s a long way to go before the end of the campaign.

But it’s fair to say Spurs won’t be challenging for the title, and West Ham aren’t at risk of going down.

Here’s how the top and bottom of the Premier League table is shaping up.

Title Contenders

Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

There are only three sides who have a realistic hope of winning the title this season.

Chelsea are the favourites as things stand.

They seemingly have 30 incredibly talented players who can be rotated at will and to suit the opposition.

In contrast, City don’t have one top-class striker, but the rest of the side is so good that it might not matter yet again this season.

The only worry is that, of the three sides, City are the ones that other clubs might fancy scoring a result against.

But then, City are also the most likely to spank a team 5-0.

But those five-goal thrashings wins count for nothing if your drop points against Crystal Palace a week later.

Liverpool have been criticised at points before and during the season, but many of those attacks have proven to be unfair.

Their front three is as potent as ever, and at points this season, they’ve looked every bit the title contenders they were two seasons ago.

Challenging for Europe

Due to the competitive nature of the league this season, the list of teams who are hoping to challenge for European football this year is a long one.

West Ham currently lead the way after an astounding start to their campaign, culminating in a fantastic 3-2 win against Liverpool.

David Moyes has done a fine job turning the Hammers into a top Premier League side, meaning they currently sit above fellow Champions League contenders Arsenal and Manchester United.

United are currently in the middle of a significant decline after an excellent end to last season, but you shouldn’t bet against Cristiano Ronaldo.

There are several dark horses as well.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have bounced back quickly from the departure of former manager Nuno Espírito Santo, while Crystal Palace have probably been one of the best sides to watch this season. With City, Chelsea and Liverpool battling it out for the title and established sides like Spurs and United in disarray, this could be a great chance for Wolves and Palace.

Mid-table madness

There was a point this season where people were talking about Everton as one of the campaign’s surprise packages.

However, the Toffees have capitulated over their last five games and now look sure to experience mid-table mediocrity once again this year.

They’ll could be joined by sides like Leicester City and Brentford, who have quality but lack the consistency.

The final side likely to be involved in the mini-league that is mid-table will be Southampton.

The Saints are far from the perfect side, but Ralph Hasenhüttl is consistently able to get the best out of his team.

Relegation candidates

They may be in flying form as things stand, but the jury is still out on Brighton and it would be no surprise if they capitulate in the second half of the season.

There’s one team every year that starts superbly and end up in a relegation dog fight.

It’s been Brighton before, and it could be Brighton again.

Then there is Watford, who have a squad filled with potential but somehow manage to shoot themselves in the foot consistently.

It’s hard to see a world where Norwich avoid relegation and Newcastle have been poor as well.

But most shockingly of all, it feels as if that last relegation spot could be filled by survival artists Burnley or the stars of the summer transfer window Aston Villa.

Villa have a great squad but have sacked manager Dean Smith at a time where top managerial replacements are few and far between.

Burnley are coming off the back of one of the great smash and grabs of the season in the form of a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

They were horrendous all afternoon but defended resolutely and stole a point in the dying embers of the game.

With a spirit like that, you can’t help but feel they’ll be out of the bottom three soon.

Photo Credit: Getty Images