English Premier League Power Poll: Week 35

Michael CummingsJun 1, 2018

The title is long since decided, but two other races in the English Premier League appear set to go down to the final day.

In the fight for the top four and UEFA Champions League qualification, Chelsea won, Arsenal drew with Manchester United and Tottenham rescued a late point against Wigan.

Wigan, meanwhile, now find themselves five points off the pace in the relegation fight after Aston Villa's big win over Sunderland.

How do all the teams stack up in this week's B/R English Premier League Power Poll? Keep reading to find out.

Click here for results and here for fixtures.

How It Works

1 of 22

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.

In each slide, "Points" refers to the number of points accumulated by each team via the voters. "Previous" refers to each team's ranking in the previous edition of our poll.

The voters this week were:

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

Adam Hirshfield: B/R deputy editor. @ahirshfield

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

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

Ian Rodgers: B/R UK assignment editor/writer. @irodgers66

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

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

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

Complete Rankings

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1. Manchester United

2. Manchester City

3. Chelsea

4. Arsenal

5. Everton

6. Liverpool

7. Tottenham Hotspur

8. West Bromwich Albion

9. (tie) Aston Villa

9. (tie) West Ham United

11. Stoke City

12. Southampton

13. (tie) Fulham

13. (tie) Swansea City

15. Norwich City

16. Wigan Athletic

17. Sunderland

18. Newcastle United

19. Queens Park Rangers

20. Reading

3 of 22

Points: 9

Previous: 20

Sunday's scoreless draw between Reading and QPR relegated both teams, a fitting end for two poor campaigns. Now the race is on to see which team, if either, can return to the Premier League first.

Sam: Time to look toward next season, and Reading go down in decent shape for a promotion push. They've got at least seven key spots on the side secured; just need a few additions this summer.

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19. Queens Park Rangers

4 of 22

Points: 15

Previous: 19

All that money spent and nothing to show for it. QPR's season has been disastrous.

Dan: I can't even look at you.

Sean: Down goes 'Arry!

18. Newcastle United

5 of 22

Points: 31

Previous: 15

Speaking of money spent, what happened to all those squad-reinforcing signings Newcastle made in January?

Sean: Whoa. It seemed as though after Alan Pardew bought half of France, Newcastle were well safe after a strong run of form post-January transfer window. We were wrong, it seems.

Dan: They aren't in the drop zone, but they are standing far too close to the edge.

17. Sunderland

6 of 22

Points: 43

Previous: 10

So much for the Paolo di Canio effect. Does he have an inverse reaction as wild as his celebrations? We can only hope so.

16. Wigan Athletic

7 of 22

Points: 45

Previous: 18

Wigan remain in the relegation zone, but climb all the way to 16th in our rankings. How did that happen, you ask? Must have something to do with almost beating Spurs.

Dan: For a short time against Spurs, it looked like 34 points with a game in hand and a plus-one goal differential over Newcastle.

15. Norwich City

8 of 22

Points: 48

Previous: 13

With 38 points and a six-point cushion from the relegation zone, Norwich should be safe from the drop.

13. (tie) Fulham

9 of 22

Points: 64

Previous: 14

Fulham have lost three in a row and four of five. Clearly, the mid-table Cottagers have little to play for at the end of this season.

13. (tie) Swansea City

10 of 22

Points: 64

Previous: 12

That applies as well to Swansea, who have won none of their last six matches.

Doesn't seem to be bothering Michu, though, does it?

12. Southampton

11 of 22

Points: 68

Previous: 9

Southampton's recent run of form ended with a thumping 3-0 loss at home to West Brom, but the Saints have almost surely done enough to stay in the Premier League for another season.

Sam: Did anybody see that coming? West Brom seemed to be drifting to the end of the season with the Saints in the ascendancy. Football is odd sometimes.

11. Stoke City

12 of 22

Points: 78

Previous: 17

Stoke are back into 12th place after back-to-back wins, and more importantly, the Potters have reached the magical 40-point mark.

Sam: Two victories from nicely placed fixtures has seen the Potters safe, much to the dismay of every football fan outside of Stoke's fanbase.

Sean: That relegation threat was short lived, it seems. Darn.

9. (tie) Aston Villa

13 of 22

Points: 88

Previous: 16

Christian Benteke is already a star. The questions now have to do with how big his star will become—and where it will shine in the future.

Sam: A 6-1 win, in conjunction with Newcastle's 6-0 loss, ripped the EPL table apart. An 11-goal swing took Villa above their relegation rivals and a possible win at Norwich away from safety.

Dan: Brad Guzan deserved a 6-1 sand castle game. What, bored keepers don't make sand castles in the EPL?

Sean: Goal differential: it matters. CC @Newcastle.

9. (tie) West Ham United

14 of 22

Points: 88

Previous: 8

Saturday's loss at Manchester City ended West Ham's five-match unbeaten run.

8. West Bromwich Albion

15 of 22

Points: 103

Previous: 11

Romelu Lukaku has scored 14 goals this season, tied for seventh in the Premier League.

7. Tottenham Hotspur

16 of 22

Points: 115

Previous: 3

Tottenham trail fourth-placed Arsenal by two points with a game in hand, but the run-in is difficult. Can AVB deliver Champions League football?

Sean: Spurs have to have the most at stake out of the three London sides fighting for the Champions League. Considering the Gareth Bale-to-Madrid rumors and the Ronaldo-to-somewhere-other-than-Madrid rumors, there's no way the Welsh Wonderkid stays at White Hart Lane sans the UCL, right?

John: Well, Tottenham really Tottenham'd that Wigan match. Looks like it's all going to come down to AVB's return to Stamford Bridge.

Dan: The Gareth Bales are still Baletastic, and even after a horrible draw at Wigan, could finish in the top four. Will that be enough to keep Bale around?

6. Liverpool

17 of 22

Points: 119

Previous: 6

Liverpool's goal differential (plus-25) is significantly better than Everton's (plus-14) and Tottenham's (plus-17), but the Reds trail both teams in the table.

John: Remind me why Suarez is vital to Liverpool again? Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge look like they have things covered.

Sean: If (a big "if") Liverpool has to live life Suarez-less on a permanent basis, Sturridge reminded Reds supporters life won't be so bad after all.

5. Everton

18 of 22

Points: 122

Previous: 7

Here's one reason Everton are slightly off the pace for the top four: Despite losing only six matches this season (third-best in the league), the Toffees have drawn 14 matches, joint-most in the league.

Dan: Another season of what could have been.

4. Arsenal

19 of 22

Points: 135

Previous: 2

Arsenal might have 99 problems in their bid to finish in the top four, but as the photo above proves, convincing Jay-Z and Chris Martin to attend one of their matches isn't one.

John: Arsenal's run-in is ridiculously easy, so losing points to Manchester United won't hurt their Champions League bid too badly...probably.

Dan: I hope they make the UCL just so Gunners supporters can find some reason to complain about Arsene Wenger another season.

Sean: Typical late-season Arsenal swoon would have been far more romantic had Szczesny denied He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned's penalty.

3. Chelsea

20 of 22

Points: 142

Previous: 4

Chelsea's next two matches should be decisive in their bid for a top-four finish. The Blues travel to Old Trafford to play champions Manchester United this weekend before hosting Tottenham next week.