English Premier League Power Poll, Week 22

The league table in England has a clear-cut top three. Not coincidentally, so does this week's edition of the B/R English Premier League Power Poll.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all marched on in the league over the weekend, and after having more success, the big three also found lots of love this week in our rankings.

How did the rest of the rankings shuffle out? Keep reading to find out.

Click here for the latest results. And click here for the league table.

Let's get to the rankings.

How It Works

Eight B/R personalities ranked all 20 Premier League clubs. A first-place vote counted as 20 points, a second-place vote as 19 and so on.

The voters this week were:

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

John Greely: B/R world football assistant editor. @johnwgreely 

Adam Hirshfield: B/R deputy editor. @ahirshfield

Karl Matchett: B/R world football full-time writer. @karlmatchett  

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

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

Sam Tighe: B/R world football tactical analyst. @stighefootball

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

Complete Rankings

Our rankings featured three ties this week. All three, along with rankings for all 20 Premier League teams, appear below.

1. Manchester United

2. Manchester City

3. Chelsea

4. Tottenham Hotspur

5. Everton

6. (tie) Arsenal

6. (tie) Swansea City

8. Liverpool

9. Sunderland

10. Southampton

11. Stoke City

12. (tie) Fulham

12. (tie) West Bromwich Albion

14. West Ham United

15. Reading

16. Norwich City

17. Queens Park Rangers

18. (tie) Newcastle United

18. (tie) Wigan Athletic

20. Aston Villa 

20. Aston Villa

Points: 14

Previous: 19

Hang in there, Sam!

John: Aston Villa's last five matches have produced an aggregate 2-18 scoreline, with one point total to show for it. They HAVE to be the league's worst right now. 

18. (tie) Newcastle United

Points: 40

Previous: 15

Newcastle have lost 11 matches this season, the same number they lost in all of last season.

John: Newcastle finally earned a point on the road! Sure, it was Norwich, but Alan Pardew's boys will take what they can get away from St. James' Park. Facing Aston Villa on Jan. 29 may be the best chance they get at a road win this season.

18. (tie) Wigan Athletic

Points: 40

Previous: 16

In a strange week of voting, Wigan slipped into the bottom three with 40 points, usually a respectable total.

Less respectable: Wigan’s run of one win in their last nine matches. 

17. Queens Park Rangers

Points: 48

Previous: 20

The good news is that QPR drew with Tottenham. The bad news is that some of their relegation rivals won.

John: Going into a brutal Liverpool-Chelsea-Tottenham stretch, any QPR fan would have been delighted with the prospect of four points taken. QPR may still be facing a relegation battle, but there are very positive signs at Loftus Road.

16. Norwich City

Points: 49

Previous: 14

The Canaries are winless since climbing to eighth place following a 2-1 home win over Wigan on Dec. 15. 

15. Reading

Points: 51

Previous: 18

Props to the Royals for that amazing comeback. Now, can they build on it?  

14. West Ham United

Points: 54

Previous: 13

After their strong start, West Ham couldn't really be dragged into the relegation scrap, could they?

Could they?

(The gap currently stands at seven points.) 

12. (tie) Fulham

Points: 67

Previous: 11

Fulham are winless in their last three home matches but won their last road trip 2-1 at West Brom. 

12. (tie) West Bromwich Albion

Points: 67

Previous: 8

Three straight losses. Six defeats in nine matches.

Are we concerned about the Baggies yet? 

11. Stoke City

Points: 71

Previous: 9

Stoke, who not too long ago had the league's best defense, have allowed 10 goals in their last three matches.

It might help if the Potters stopped scoring on their own goal. 

10. Southampton

Points: 78

Previous: 16

Who knew winning 1-0 at Villa would impress so many voters? 

9. Sunderland

Points: 83

Previous: 11

John: Don't look now, but Sunderland has won three of five games against a formidable schedule. The Black Cats may not be world-beaters, but they're on the rise.

8. Liverpool

Points: 100

Previous: 10

Liverpool lost 2-1 at arch-rivals Manchester United…and climbed two spots in our rankings.

Go figure. 

6. (tie) Arsenal

Points: 107

Previous: 5

Really, Edin Dzeko was just saving Laurent Koscielny’s life as an invisible chopper flew up, up and away.

Yep, that’s what happened.

Adam: Arsenal can look so good one week, then so ehhhhhhhhhh the next. There's plenty of talent there, but Arsene Wenger might be held accountable if they can't be more consistent and win a few matches against the top-tier sides.

Sean: Wrong variety of football tackle, Koscielny.  

Mike: Penny for your thoughts, Poldi? 

6. (tie) Swansea City

Points: 107

Previous: 7

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque was on hand at Goodison Park to watch visiting Swansea—and Spaniards Michu and Chico Flores—play the Toffees on Saturday.

He's probably wishing he'd picked another match.  

5. Everton

Points: 122

Previous: 6

Everton have drawn 10 matches this season, second-most in the league.

The Toffees' longest stretch without a draw? Four matches (ended this past weekend at QPR). 

4. Tottenham Hotspur

Points: 127

Previous: 3

Flaws and all, Spurs look like a good bet to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

John: The QPR draw isn't ideal, but Spurs are still unbeaten in six.  

3. Chelsea

Points: 145

Previous: 2

Sean: No goals against a last-place EPL side, then four goals against a surging, defensive-minded side. Make up your mind, Blues.  

John: Aside from the 8-0 drubbing vs. Aston Villa, the Blues have been absolutely woeful at home. Six points in six matches at Stamford Bridge just won't cut it. Four straight road wins are keeping them afloat, though.  

2. Manchester City

Points: 152

Previous: 3

The champions are just waiting for rivals Manchester United to slip up.

Question is, how long will they have to wait?

John: Controversial bookings aside, Man City still took a hard-earned win from the Emirates. It's a big win for their championship hopes, but there's still a long way to go.

1. Manchester United

Points: 158

Previous: 1

Manchester United have won an astounding 14 of 16 league matches since losing to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in September.

This weekend's opponent? You guessed it.

John: While beating Liverpool is hardly something to write home about nowadays, Man United keeps taking care of business. The Tottenham match this weekend could set the stage for the rest of the season.

Follow @MikeCummings37