Manchester City and Liverpool head the Premier League title chasers while three teams remain winless heading into November’s first fixtures.
Here, the PA news agency takes a statistical look at the state of play at both ends of the table.
Title fight
Record breakers! 💪📖
✅ 35 home league games unbeaten✅ 32 league games unbeaten✅ 14 unbeaten in all competitions pic.twitter.com/ncIeily7Tk
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 26, 2024
Manchester City and Liverpool have pulled ahead at the top of the table, with manager Mikel Arteta insisting Arsenal remain “alive” and Aston Villa are also thriving.
– Four-time reigning champions City are the top flight’s only unbeaten team, having won seven games and drawn two. The run extends to 32 league games since last December’s loss at Villa, a club record, and 35 at home since November 2022 against Brentford.
– They are also top scorers with 20 goals, 11 of them from Golden Boot pace-setter Erling Haaland.
– Liverpool, just a point behind on 22, have the league’s best defence having conceded only five goals and kept five clean sheets.
– Arsenal lie third despite a Premier League-leading three red cards so far. They drew two of those games, and led City until stoppage time.
– Bukayo Saka leads the league with seven assists and on Sunday became the youngest player with 50 Premier League goals for Arsenal, aged 23 years and 52 days – over a year younger than Thierry Henry’s previous record.
– Villa are alongside Arsenal on 18 points, matching their joint third-best tally after nine games – they had 19 last season under Unai Emery, and 21 in 1998-99.
Battle at the bottom
Wolves and promoted duo Ipswich and Southampton all remain winless after nine games, while Crystal Palace only broke out of that group with Sunday’s 1-0 success against Tottenham.
– It will be the first time a Premier League season has reached November with three winless teams, with the exception of the 2020-21 season which did not start until September 19 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Teams had played only six or seven games by November 1 that season, with only West Brom and Sheffield United still winless after nine.
– Only six of the 21 previous teams winless entering November avoided relegation:
– Last season’s bottom three of Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton combined for only 66 points, a record low in the Premier League by a clear 10 points which could yet come under threat once more.
