English Premier League Power Rankings: Week 1

The new English Premier League season has begun, with all 20 clubs playing at least one match.

That means it's a perfect time to reveal the first installment of the B/R English Premier League Power Rankings.

Throughout the season, a group of B/R writers and editors will rank all 20 Premier League clubs. The results will be tallied up and posted here for your reading pleasure.

Have a comment? Got a gripe? Let us know all about it in the comments section.

Methodology

For these rankings, we instructed the voters to vote based on the "power rankings" style.

What does that mean? That means voters cast their ballots based on which teams they think are best. Results and table position are both important, but the most important question was which teams are best.

Seven B/R personalities voted in the initial rankings, and all the votes were counted on a points system. A first-place vote counted as 20 points, a second-place vote as 19 and so on.

Meet the Panel

John Greely: B/R front-page editor. @johnwgreely

Adam Hirshfield: B/R deputy editor. @ahirshfield

Dan Levy: B/R national lead writer. @DanLevyThinks

Brad Read: B/R world football newsletter guy. @ReadBrad

Sean Swaby: B/R featured columnist review dude. @seanswaby

Will Tidey: B/R world football lead writer and editor. @willtidey

Michael Cummings: B/R world football lead writer. @MikeCummings37

20. Queens Park Rangers

Points: 13

Results: Lost 5-0 home to Swansea

Fixtures: At Norwich, Saturday

Comments: Manager Mark Hughes boldly vowed (via ESPN.co.uk) that QPR would never again face a relegation fight while he's manager.

It's extremely early, but after that opening-day 5-0 drubbing—at home, at the hands of Swansea City—that statement isn't looking like such a great idea.

John, who picked QPR last, wrote: "5-0? At home? To Swansea? This was an easy pick."

19. Norwich City

Points: 15

Results: Lost 5-0 at Fulham

Fixtures: Home to QPR, Saturday

Comments: Norwich City and new manager Chris Hughton also suffered a lopsided defeat, but our panelists gave them the (slight) benefit of the doubt for facing a fired-up Fulham side on the road.

Or something like that.

Is it too late to ask Paul Lambert to come back?

17 (tie). Wigan Athletic

Points: 31

Results: Lost 2-0 home to Chelsea

Fixtures: At Southampton, Saturday

Comments: In fairness, Wigan drew a tough assignment on opening day in big-spending Chelsea.

But in truth, Roberto Martinez's side didn't show up. Down two goals in the opening seven minutes, Wigan never really got going.

Or was this just Wigan's way of warming up for another dramatic relegation escape next spring?

Dan wrote: "Why, exactly, did Roberto Martinez stay at Wigan? Does he love the thrill of the relegation zone too much to leave?"

17 (tie). Reading

Points: 31

Results: Drew 1-1 home to Stoke City

Fixtures: At Chelsea, Wednesday; at Sunderland, Saturday

Comments: All in all, a 1-1 draw with draw-specialists Stoke City wasn't a bad result for Reading's first match back in the top flight. Our panelists, however, weren't impressed.

Things get a lot harder immediately with Wednesday's trip to Chelsea.

16. Aston Villa

Points: 35

Results: Lost 1-0 at West Ham

Fixtures: Home to Everton, Saturday

Comments: Villa narrowly avoided relegation last season. This season, they began the campaign with a loss at newly promoted West Ham.

Some optimism had returned with the appointment of Paul Lambert as manager, but the former Norwich man will have to improve the club's fortunes soon or face the same fate as Alex McLeish.

15. Southampton

Points: 44

Results: Lost 3-2 at Manchester City

Fixtures: Home to Wigan, Saturday

Comments: Nobody gave Southampton a chance against the champions on opening day, but the Saints very nearly upset Manchester City at the Etihad.

Our panelists were certainly impressed.

So, was the City match a preview of future results? Or was it just a result of opening-day adrenaline?

14. Stoke City

Points: 49

Results: Drew 1-1 at Reading

Fixtures: Home to Arsenal, Sunday

Comments: Stoke picked up exactly where they left off last season, drawing on opening day.

Tony Pulis' team recorded 12 draws last season. Another this weekend against Arsenal would actually be a welcome result.

13. Liverpool

Points: 56

Results: Lost 3-0 at West Brom

Fixtures: Home to Manchester City, Sunday

Comments: This ranking reflects the volatility of opening weekend. Liverpool almost certainly won't remain here, just like they almost certainly will improve on that 3-0 loss at West Brom.

All the same, Brendan Rodgers' debut was a crushing failure.

John, who ranked Liverpool 18th (along with two others), justified his decision like this:

"

Will Liverpool get relegated? Of course not. Do they belong in 18th place after that 3-0 disaster? You better believe it. Granted, the red card was dubious, but this was an embarrassing way to start the Brendan Rodgers era all around.

"

12. West Ham United

Points: 59

Results: Won 1-0 home to Aston Villa

Fixtures: At Swansea, Saturday

Comments: Who would have thought the Hammers would rank above Liverpool at any point this season?

And who would have thought Saturday's West Ham-Swansea clash would feature teams near the top of the table?

Yes, it's very early. But still.

11. Sunderland

Points: 73

Results: Drew 0-0 at Arsenal

Fixtures: Home to Reading, Saturday

Comments: Manager Martin O'Neill drew up a brilliant strategy, and his players executed the plan beautifully against Arsenal on opening day.

Now, can the Black Cats take the attack to a lesser opponent?

10. West Bromwich Albion

Points: 76

Results: Won 3-0 home to Liverpool

Fixtures: At Tottenham, Saturday

Comments: Who needs previous full-time managing experience? Clearly not Steve Clarke, whose Baggies embarrassed Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool on opening day.

With better finishing, West Brom could have won that match 5-0 or 6-0. Saturday's road clash with Spurs now becomes a fascinating litmus test for both squads.

9. Swansea City

Points: 84

Results: Won 5-0 at QPR

Fixtures: Home to West Ham, Saturday

Comments: If not for Everton, Swansea would have produced the most impressive win of the opening weekend.

Looks like the Swans aren't missing Brendan Rodgers and Gylfi Sigurdsson at all. If this keeps up, forward Michu and manager Michael Laudrup will both look like outstanding, off-the-beaten-path finds.

8. Tottenham Hotspur

Points: 92

Results: Lost 2-1 at Newcastle

Fixtures: Home to West Brom, Saturday

Comments: Tottenham's clash with Newcastle delivered the anticipated drama, but Andre Villas-Boas couldn't deliver the big win in his first match.

Now, Spurs face a suddenly crucial home date with West Brom. Win, and everything is fine. Draw or lose, and the alarm bells might start ringing.

7. Fulham

Points: 93

Results: Won 5-0 home to Norwich

Fixtures: At Manchester United, Saturday

Comments: Clint who?

We'll find out if Fulham are for real in a hurry. The Cottagers visit Manchester United this weekend, looking to improve on an awful away record from last season.

6. Arsenal

Points: 96

Results: Drew 0-0 home to Sunderland

Fixtures: At Stoke City, Sunday

Comments: Drawing at home to Sunderland was disappointing, and so was Lukas Podolski's debut performance. Meanwhile, Alex Song followed RvP out the door, and Olivier Giroud missed a golden chance to win it for the Gunners in his debut.

Still, there's room for optimism. Santi Cazorla was superb in his debut, and Nuri Sahin could be headed to North London imminently.

Now, they only need to figure out a way to score some goals.

5. Newcastle United

Points: 117

Results: Won 2-1 home to Tottenham

Fixtures: At Chelsea, Saturday

Comments: Newcastle received lots of love from our panel, and it's easy to see why. After beating Spurs on opening day, the Magpies look set to continue last season's surprising progress.

A mouth-watering clash at Chelsea awaits this weekend. If Alan Pardew can find a result at Stamford Bridge, it might be time to take Newcastle seriously.

4. Everton

Points: 118

First-place votes: 1

Results: Won 1-0 home to Manchester United

Fixtures: At Aston Villa, Saturday

Comments: Everton produced the opening weekend's biggest result, beating Manchester United at home in Robin van Persie's debut.

The victory threw a wrench in United's early title charge and established Everton—usually slow starters who gather steam down the stretch—as a team to watch this season.

It also put Belgian Marouane Fellaini firmly in the spotlight. Was there a better performer on opening weekend?

"David Moyes needed a good start to the season and he got it with a great all-around performance over United," Dan wrote. "Marouane Fellaini was incredible, so good, Toffee fans better hope he's not sold this week. Everton just need to stay healthy because they have zero depth."

3. Manchester United

Points: 119

Results: Lost 1-0 at Everton

Fixtures: Home to Fulham, Saturday

Comments: So RvP's debut didn't go as planned, and Fergie didn't get the dream start he wanted for United's quest to reclaim the title from City.

The Red Devils will surely still challenge for the title this season, but Monday's loss to Everton showed that United must be at their best every week.

"Yes they lost, but it's hard to put Manchester United too far from the top for now," John wrote. "United is still City's biggest threat to the title."

2. Chelsea

Points: 134

First-place votes: 3

Results: Won 2-0 at Wigan

Fixtures: Home to Reading, Wednesday; home to Newcastle, Saturday

Comments: Eden Hazard shined in his debut, which turned into a seven-minute stroll for the European champs.

A preseason slump worried pundits, but after a big summer in the transfer market, Chelsea look ready for a sustained title challenge

1. Manchester City

Points: 135

First-place votes: 3

Results: Won 3-2 home to Southampton

Fixtures: At Liverpool, Sunday

Comments: It wasn't always pretty, and at times, victory seemed decidedly less than assured, but City beat Southampton on the first day of the season.

The drama is becoming par for City as of late, but come May, only the results will matter. That is, unless the title is decided on goal difference again.

Follow @MikeCummings37