EPL Table: Updated Premier League Standings, Fixtures, Title Odds After Week 8
Week 8 of the 2014-15 Premier League season followed the same pattern we witnessed before the international break, with title favourites Chelsea and Manchester City cruising to easy wins and the rest of the pack struggling to get results.
Manchester United struggled on Monday, Liverpool needed several last-minute goals (and two own goals) to get past bottom-of-the-table Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal scored late to avoid an upset loss against Hull City.
Of the five title favourites, two clubs were always tipped as top contenders: Chelsea and City. United appeared to be turning a corner heading into the international break, and we'll find out how realistic their title push can be in the coming weeks.
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The full results for Week 8, as well as updated Premier League standings:
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Manchester City | 4 - 1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Arsenal | 2 - 2 | Hull City |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Burnley | 1 - 3 | West Ham United |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Crystal Palace | 1 - 2 | Chelsea |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Everton | 3 - 0 | Aston Villa |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Southampton | 8 - 0 | Sunderland |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | Newcastle United | 1 - 0 | Leicester City |
| Sun., Oct. 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 2 - 3 | Liverpool |
| Sun., Oct. 19 | Stoke City | 2 - 1 | Swansea City |
| Mon., Oct 20 | West Bromwich Albion | 2 - 2 | Manchester United |
| 1 | Chelsea | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 22 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 17 |
| 3 | Southampton | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 16 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 11 |
| 8 | Swansea City | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 11 |
| 10 | Stoke City | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 11 |
| 11 | Hull City | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 10 |
| 13 | Everton | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 9 |
| 15 | Leicester City | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 9 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 8 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 8 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 7 |
| 19 | Burnley | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 4 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 18 | -12 | 4 |
Title odds, courtesy of oddschecker.com:
| Chelsea | 1-2 |
| Manchester City | 12-5 |
| Manchester United | 22-1 |
| Arsenal | 33-1 |
| Liverpool | 33-1 |
Chelsea
The Blues started the season as the odds-on favourites, and after eight undefeated weeks, it's no wonder they've yet to surrender that status. A 2-1 win over Crystal Palace keeps Jose Mourinho's men right on course, even if Cesar Azpilicueta will miss some time for his dangerous challenge on Mile Jedinak.
Chelsea's recipe is tried and tested: Score early and often in the matches they have to win, and don't give up too much in the head-to-heads with fellow title contenders. The Blues will travel to Old Trafford on Sunday, and defending a five-point lead over City won't be forced into taking too many risks.
Mourinho and his players look relaxed and confident as the season goes along, as evidenced by this interchange with a reporter:
The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is as positive as can be, the perfect mental state as the club continues its title march. Everything's clicking for the Blues, and the Daily Mirror's John Cross knows who his title favourites are:
The showdown with Manchester United will be a challenge, but Chelsea are as battle-tested as they come, having already faced City and Arsenal. Until someone takes over as Premier League leaders or a key player goes down injured, don't expect Chelsea's odds to change.
Manchester City
The Citizens are defending champions for a reason, and after a couple of difficult weeks, a dominant win over a tough team like Tottenham was sorely needed. The 4-1 score was hardly representative of what went down on the pitch—City made the Spurs back four look like a schoolyard team.
On talent alone, City don't have to fear Chelsea. The key is consistency, and so far in 2014-15, the club has shown very little. Sergio Aguero perhaps best encapsulates this year's squad—four goals and a sensational performance against Spurs—but he could very well be injured again in two weeks.
City needed a run of results to build some confidence and put pressure on the Blues. Saturday's win was their third in a row—it looks like Manuel Pellegrini's boys may finally be hitting their stride.
A meeting with rivals United in two weeks has the potential to be a huge fixture; the Red Devils may very well hold Chelsea to a draw or even hand them a loss, and if City follow that up by beating United, they'll both close the gap with the Blues on the table and gain a strong mental advantage.
Liverpool, Arsenal
One has to give credit for the way in which Liverpool fought until the very last whistle to book a 3-2 win over QPR. One also has to wonder how a club which needs two own goals to beat the last-place team in the league fits into the title discussion.
The gap between the Reds and Chelsea is nine points, which isn't insurmountable. But at no point in the season has Liverpool looked capable of challenging the top two teams for silverware. There's just too many defensive question marks and too little consistency.
The Reds are young and will improve drastically over time. But as far as the 2014-15 season goes, a finish in the top four should be considered a rousing success.
The same can't be said for Arsenal, who struggle with the same issues but have far less excuses. The Gunners have the attacking pieces in place to challenge even the likes of Chelsea and City, but a lack of depth on the defensive side of the pitch has doomed the squad from the very start.
Fans can blame injuries all they want, but the Gunners struggle with injuries seemingly every single year. Great teams account for injuries, have the depth to deal with them and find ways to overcome even the worst possible situations. For all of their attacking prowess, Arsenal are not a great team.
On form, they are still a very good team, however. Arsene Wenger will need to find some answers fast, but this squad still has the potential for a top-four finish.
