Premier League Power Rankings 2014 Week 33: Analysing Each EPL Club
Week 33 of the 2013-14 Premier League season saw several big upsets and decisive results, and unsurprisingly, there are some major changes in this week's power rankings.
Liverpool ascended to the top of the league table with a little help from Arsenal and Crystal Palace, while time is running out for Fulham and Sunderland in the race to avoid relegation.
Let's take a look at this week's rankings.
All statistics used are courtesy of WhoScored.com, unless stated otherwise.
1. Liverpool (1st, 71 pts)
The Reds currently nurse the longest win streak of all EPL teams, feature a record-breaking offensive unit and are top of the table. There really is no other option for the top spot in our rankings.
A 4-0 beatdown of Tottenham Hotspur and a loss by Chelsea has the team in prime position to win its first league trophy in 24 years, and even Sir Jenkinson seems to think it would be well deserved:
Chelsea and Manchester City will present a stiff challenge for the Reds , but no EPL club is playing better football right now.
2. Manchester City (3rd, 67 pts)
The Citizens have two games in hand on Liverpool and will leap over the Reds in the standings if the club can take wins from both matches.
A 1-1 draw with Arsenal is nothing to scoff at, and City could easily claim the top spot in these rankings. Liverpool's impressive win streak makes the difference however, and the Citizens will have to settle for second right now.
3. Chelsea (2nd, 69 pts)
Losing to Aston Villa hurt Chelsea in the title chase. Losing to Crystal Palace hurt the club even more, and we have no choice but to move the Blues down this week.
Chelsea have the talent and the championship pedigree to rebound from these two bad results, and Jose Mourinho seemed convinced his club couldn't contend for the title to begin with, as shared by AFP's Tom Williams:
Liverpool and City look mighty strong though, and the Blues can't afford another off-day like the ones that led to two losses in three games.
4. Everton (5th, 60 pts)
You think Arsenal are slightly worried about Everton's string of results?
With five consecutive wins, the club has closed the gap with the Gunners to four points, with a game in hand and a big showdown with the North Londoners on the horizon.
What Everton lack in pure talent, they make up for with an excellent work ethic and the determination of a championship team. And Roberto Martinez still has plenty of talent to work with.
5. Arsenal (4th, 64 pts)
To be fair to the Gunners, the schedule the club had to go through in March was absolutely brutal, and it's hard to imagine other clubs doing much better.
That said, Arsenal are pretty much officially out of the title race, got knocked out of the UEFA Champions League, are about as low on morale as can be and now need to worry about preserving their fourth spot on the EPL table and the final Champions League ticket that would come with said finish.
It's been a bad month for Arsene Wenger and company, and unless the club finds a way to stop this slide, it's about to get even worse.
6. Stoke (10th, 40 pts)
Huh? Stoke are sixth?
Bear with me for a second. Stoke haven't lost since February and are winners of three straight, and even though the club has little left to play for, few teams would be looking forward to taking on Mark Hughes' squad right now.
The club probably won't end the season ranked this high, but with several of the teams ranked ahead of the team on the table dropping points in recent weeks, Stoke find themselves in sixth place by virtue of not losing.
7. Southampton (8th, 48 pts)
Similar to Stoke, Southampton have won three of their last four, including a convincing 4-0 drubbing of Newcastle United, and deserve their ranking over some of the bigger clubs.
The Saints don't have the talent of clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham, but a solid defense and the genius of Adam Lallana will often do for the win.
8. Manchester United (7th, 54 pts)
The Red Devils will be fine. There's too much talent already on the squad not to be back in contention for the EPL title next year and the youth academy is filled with talent just waiting for their chance.
2013-14 will have been a year to quickly forget in the red side of Manchester, unless David Moyes finds a way to eliminate virtually unbeatable Bayern Munich from the Champions League quarter-finals.
United would love to end the season on a high, and don't be surprised if the club end the year with a little run and a fifth-place finish in these rankings.
9. Tottenham (6th, 56 pts)
Tottenham have lost three of their last four and are dangerously close to disintegrating.
Yes, all three losses came against teams that are either contending for the title or very close to it. But the club looked embarrassingly bad against Chelsea and Liverpool and held the ball for the full 90 minutes against Arsenal without ever truly threatening the Gunners' goal.
Poor Tim Sherwood seems to be in over his head, and The Football Ramble seems to pity the manager who seemingly can't do anything right:
The Lilywhites are still a young, talented team, and will once again contend for the Champions League tickets next year. Which is something Spurs fans have heard a bit too often in recent times.
10. Newcastle United (9th, 46 pts)
Newcastle are better than this. In terms of talent, the club should be close to contending for a top-five finish, not mixing it up with the likes of Stoke and Southampton.
Having lost three of their last four, the club needs a solid run of results to end the year in a more respectable manner.
11. Swansea (13th, 33 pts)
Swansea haven't looked all that great in recent weeks, but neither have the other clubs in the middle part of the EPL table. Beating Norwich and drawing Arsenal in back-to-back matches is a solid result for the Welsh squad.
Can Swansea do better than a 13th-place finish? You bet. But relegation has seemingly been avoided this season, and the club should bounce back nicely next season.
12. West Ham (11th, 34 pts)
You can almost copy everything that was just said about Swansea and just put it down here.
West Ham's 2-1 victory over Hull City was about as ugly as it gets, but a win is a win and with the three points, the Hammers have pretty much avoid relegation for this season.
But can West Ham truly be satisfied with the way the 2013-14 season played out?
13. Aston Villa (12th, 34 pts)
Villa needs to figure out a secondary protocol fast. Simply relying on Christian Benteke to save the club with timely goals every week clearly isn't working, and one has to wonder how much longer the Belgian international plans on staying at the club.
Paul Lambert will be looking at an interesting summer transfer window with the club, and should Benteke move on, the team's fate will most likely depend on how his transfer fee will be spent. One bad offseason could result in relegation at the end of next year.
14. Norwich (15th, 32 pts)
Norwich aren't safe yet, as the difference between the clubs sitting just above the relegation zone is minimal at this point in the season, but the Canaries seem like the least likely team to falter along the way.
If the club wish to avoid the same fate next year, the EPL's third-worst defensive unit will need to be fixed though. Norwich have allowed 51 goals this season, which is simply too much.
15. Hull City (14th, 33 pts)
The Tigers are still in need of one or two results to be absolutely safe, but in all likelihood, the club will once again be playing in the EPL next season.
As reported by the Daily Mail's Simon Cass, we're just not quite sure what the team will be called by then.
16. Crystal Palace (16th, 31 pts)
Crystal Palace could be ranked higher thanks to their massive win over Chelsea, but their results in recent weeks aren't deserving of a move up on these rankings.
Not that the club will care one bit. The win (and more importantly, the three points that came with it) could be vital in the team's bid to avoid relegation, making Crystal Palace one of the big winners of Week 33.
17. West Bromwich (17th, 29 pts)
As it stands, West Bromwich Albion have a three-point lead over Cardiff City in the race to avoid relegation, with one game in hand.
That lead is hardly safe, and with Sunderland still playing several games in the course of the next few weeks, West Brom can't rely on other clubs to do their dirty work for them.
Points are needed if the team wants to stay up and play EPL football next season.
18. Cardiff City (18th, 26 pts)
Cardiff needed to beat West Brom in the battle to avoid relegation, and a 3-3 draw doesn't do either club any good. It's worse for Cardiff though, as the Welsh outfit are still relegation threatened and now have to hope West Brom drop points along the way.
There's nothing worse in professional sports than not controlling your own destiny, but little more was expected of the Welsh club in its first season in the EPL.
19. Sunderland (19th, 25 pts)
Sunderland's situation is slightly different from the other teams in or near the relegation zone, as the club has only played 29 games so far this season. That's three less than Fulham and Cardiff and two less than West Brom and Crystal Palace, respectively.
The club could play itself out of the relegation spots in the coming weeks, but Sunderland hasn't won an EPL game since early February.
20. Fulham (20th, 24 pts)
Goodbye, Fulham. It was nice having you in the EPL. Or as this fan put it:
This has historically been a mid-table side or better. With all of the winter purchases, the club should have delivered Europa League football to Craven Cottage next season.
The season has been an embarrassment for Fulham, and the only bright spot for fans is that the club should return to the EPL very soon.
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