English Premier League Power Poll: Week 2

Two weeks into the English Premier League season and one club has emerged as the clear No. 1.

Know who it is?

Yeah, well, you probably do. Only one team has played three and won three. And thus only one team can top this week's B/R English Premier League Power Poll.

Keep reading to see where all the teams ranked this week, and click here for last week's poll.

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

Aliko Carter: B/R front-page editor. @AlikoCarter

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. @ReadBrad

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

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

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

20. Aston Villa

Points: 17

Last-place votes: 4

Last week: 16

Table: 20th, 0 points

Results: Lost 3-1 home to Everton

Fixtures: At Newcastle, Sunday

Aston Villa maintained their 100 percent record—that is, all losses—with a dour 3-1 home defeat to Everton. At this rate, Paul Lambert and company look like prime relegation fodder.

Can they turn it around?

19. Queens Park Rangers

Points: 18

Last-place votes: 2

Last week: 20

Table: 17th, 1 point

Results: Drew 1-1 at Norwich

Fixtures: At Manchester City, Saturday

Our panelists were feeling a bit snarky about QPR this week. Take a look.

John: "QPR narrowly avoids a repeat appearance in last place by virtue of home-field advantage. A draw on the road against equally abysmal Norwich has QPR soaring from 20th place to 19th."

Sean: "I mean, at least Joey Barton makes QPR an entertaining train wreck instead of just a terrible one."

With the losses piling up and Barton apparently heading out the door (Daily Mail), it's hard to disagree with either.

18. Norwich City

Points: 23

Last-place votes: 2

Last week: 19

Table: 18th, 1 point

Results: Drew 1-1 home to QPR

Fixtures: At Tottenham, Saturday

New manager Chris Hughton must be wondering what he got himself into.

What a shame. The Canaries were one of the league's most pleasant surprises last season.

17. Southampton

Points: 28

Last week: 15

Table: 19th, 0 points

Results: Lost 2-0 home to Wigan

Fixtures: Home to Manchester United, Sunday

Southampton gave Manchester City all they could handle on opening day. That fighting spirit was woefully absent against Wigan.

So which version was the real Southampton?

16. Reading

Points: 36

Last week: 17

Table: 15th, 1 point

Results: Lost 4-2 at Chelsea

Fixtures: Home to Tottenham, Sept. 16

That 4-2 loss to Chelsea wasn't as bad as it looks on paper. The Royal actually led 2-1, and Chelsea's go-ahead goal should have been ruled out for offside.

Still, the result stands. And Reading have work to do if they're going to avoid a relegation fight.

14. (tie) West Ham United

Points: 62

Last week: 12

Table: 10th, 3 points

Results: Lost 3-0 at Swansea

Fixtures: Home to Fulham, Saturday

West Ham marked their return to the top flight with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on opening day.

But after an ugly loss to Swansea, the win over Villa is looking much less impressive.

14. (tie) Stoke City

Points: 62

Last week: 14

Table: 11th, 2 points

Results: Drew 0-0 home to Arsenal

Fixtures: At Wigan, Saturday

Stoke's physical approach stymied Arsenal's attack, but it also failed to trouble the Gunners' defense in any way.

A few days later, Tony Pulis' side lost 4-3 at home to League One side Swindon Town in the Capital One Cup. Make of that what you will.

13. Sunderland

Points: 67

Last week: 11

Table: 13th, 1 point

Results: No new results

Fixtures: At Swansea, Saturday

Almost two weeks have passed since Sunderland held Arsenal to a scoreless draw on the season's opening day.

Next comes perhaps an even greater test: trying to slow down Swansea's high-scoring machine.

12. Wigan Athletic

Points: 69

Last week: 17

Table: 8th, 3 points

Results: Won 2-0 at Southampton

Fixtures: Home to Stoke, Saturday

Last weekend's win over Southampton saw some of Roberto Martinez's magic return for Wigan.

Will it last over the whole season? Or is another relegation fight (and escape) in store?

11. Liverpool

Points: 80

Last week: 13

Table: 16th, 1 point

Results: Drew 2-2 home to Manchester City

Fixtures: Home to Arsenal, Sunday

Drawing at home to the reigning league champions was an excellent result for Liverpool.

But after losing Brendan Rodgers' debut the previous week, Liverpool were hoping for more. And they almost got it.

They'll keep improving and keep rising in this poll.

10. Tottenham Hotspur

Points: 84

Last week: 8

Table: 14th, 1 point

Results: Drew 1-1 home to West Brom

Fixtures: Home to Norwich, Saturday

Two matches into the Andre Villas-Boas era, Spurs have one point.

Is it too early to say AVB is on the hot seat?

Dan: "Spurs are going in the wrong direction."

9. Fulham

Points: 100

Last week: 7

Table: 6th, 3 points

Results: Lost 3-2 at Manchester United

Fixtures: At West Ham, Saturday

Moussa Dembele appears to be heading out the door (Independent). Clint Dempsey clearly wants to follow suit.

And yet Fulham keep playing well anyway. Losing 3-2 at Manchester United isn't the worst result of all time.

John: "Another good performance from Fulham without Clint Dempsey. The fact that they seem fine without him can't be great for his transfer stock."

8. Arsenal

Points: 103

Last week: 6

Table: 12th, 2 points

Results: Drew 0-0 at Stoke

Fixtures: At Liverpool, Sunday

Another match, another scoreless draw. If they finish the season with 38 draws, no goals scored and no goals allowed, will they be known as the Adequates?

The Invincibles feel like a mythical team from 100 years ago.

Dan: "Which will happen first—score or concede? I'm rooting for neither, all season long."

John: "Someday Arsenal will score a goal. God knows who's going to do it, but statistically speaking it almost definitely will happen this season. Almost definitely."

Sean: "He scores when he wants!" may soon be replaced by "They possess when they want...and that's about it!" chants in North London.

7. West Bromwich Albion

Points: 104

Last week: 10

Table: 4th, 4 points

Results: Drew 1-1 at Tottenham

Fixtures: Home to Everton, Saturday

West Brom and Steve Clarke—who previously had no full-time managerial experience—just took four points from their opening two matches against Liverpool and Tottenham.

Who saw that coming?

6. Newcastle United

Points: 112

Last week: 5

Table: 9th, 3 points

Results: Lost 2-0 at Chelsea

Fixtures: Home to Aston Villa, Sunday

At the end of the season, losing 2-0 at Chelsea might just look like one of Newcastle's better results this season. Chelsea look that good.

The Magpies should get back on track this weekend with an easy match against an awful Aston Villa team.

5. Swansea City

Points: 126

Last week: 9

Table: 2nd, 6 points

Results: Won 3-0 home to West Ham

Fixtures: Home to Sunderland, Saturday

Swansea have won both matches this season by a combined score of 8-0. Michu has become a breakout star with three goals on only five shots.

Forget West Brom for a minute. Who saw these guys coming?

Think it can't last? You might be mistaken.

Dan: "Eight goals for and zero against in two matches—how long can that last? The Swans don't play a top-six club from last year until almost Halloween."

John: "Beating QPR and West Ham doesn't make QPR a top-four contender. Beating them by a combined 8-0 does, however, make a very large statement. This team has stolen Real Madrid's look, and by the looks of it this season they've stolen Madrid's skill too."

4. Manchester United

Points: 137

Last week: 3

Table: 7th, 3 points

Results: Won 3-2 home to Fulham

Fixtures: At Southampton, Sunday

United and Robin van Persie both got off the mark last weekend against Fulham. That was good, but Wayne Rooney suffered a nasty leg gash in that game and is set to miss significant time.

Are United at a crossroads?

3. Everton

Points: 143

Last week: 4

Table: 3rd, 6 points

Results: Won 3-1 at Aston Villa

Fixtures: At West Brom, Saturday

Can we all just agree this is everyone's favorite "second" team? Everton's early-season run has been a breath of fresh air, not just for their playing style, but also because of how little the Toffees have spent to build this team.

Just how cuckoo has this season been so far? Saturday's game between Everton and West Brom might be the match of the weekend.

Adam: "It's hard to imagine them staying this high, but Marouane Fellaini is probably the EPL player of the year so far."

Dan: "Stay. Healthy. Until. January. Please."

Sean: "Will they keep it up? Probably not. Is it still fun watching their impressive early-season form? Absolutely."

2. Manchester City

Points: 149

Last week: 1

Table: 5th, 4 points

Results: Drew 2-2 at Liverpool

Fixtures: Home to QPR, Saturday

The champions have looked sloppy in both matches so far, and yet they still have four points.

This team has tons of talent—like we didn't know that already—but something seems missing right now. Can Roberto Mancini make the right moves?

John: "City can't seem to shake the role of comeback kids. That's a great way to entertain/traumatize your fans, but it's not a great way to defend a title."

1. Chelsea

Points: 160

First-place votes: 8

Last week: 2

Table: First, 9 points

Results: Won 2-0 home to Newcastle; won 4-2 home to Reading

Fixtures: At QPR, Sept. 15

There simply was no other choice for the top spot this week. Chelsea received all eight first-place votes, and for good reason.

The Blues have won all three matches so far, and for the most part they've looked scary in doing so. Eden Hazard is an early choice for player of the year, and Fernando Torres seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch.

Watch out.

Dan: "Three wins in as many matches and unlike other teams who can't seem to find goals after losing a key striker, Chelsea looks even more dynamic without Didier Drogba. Hazard is for real."

Sean: "Eden Hazard plus pre-terrible Torres is a reality that should make Premier League defenses tremble."

John: "Three matches played, three wins. Eden Hazard's on track for approximately 700 assists this season, and he's got Torres playing like a world-class striker again. Yes, that's all as terrifying as it sounds."