Only two clubs worse than Liverpool in damning Premier League table with Reds on -6
Arsenal are title favourites because they are top of the actual table, but also because of a huge improvement in one Liverpool are struggling in.
The Gunners are four points clear of the chasing pack, albeit with 27 actual games remaining.
But there is an underlying evaluation which weighs heavily in favour of Arsenal over Liverpool when looking at their results this season against the corresponding fixtures from last season.
That contains arguably the most telling difference between the two sides – and is also a significant cause for concern at a few mid-table clubs. But does underline who Arsenal’s only viable challenger is.
Here is the alternative table of Premier League results in 2025/26 compared to the same games from the 2024/25 campaign, with Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland taking the places of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton respectively.
1) Manchester City: +11
2024/25 results: P11 W3 D2 L6 F16 A23 Pts 11
2025/26 results: P11 W7 D1 L3 F23 A8 Pts 22
It is always worth reminding ourselves just how gloriously abysmal Manchester City were at times last season. That absurd defensive upgrade cannot be solely credited to Gianluigi Donnarumma but he has certainly helped. And a first win over Liverpool in years was welcome.
2) Bournemouth: +8
2024/25 results: P11 W2 D4 L5 F12 A14 Pts 10
2025/26 results: P11 W5 D3 L3 F17 A18 Pts 18
With their annual defeat at Anfield secured on the opening day, Bournemouth have been free to improve upon basically every other result when compared to last season. Some daftness from 2024/25, such as losing at Leicester and failing to even win at Spurs, has been corrected emphatically.
3) Arsenal: +7
2024/25 results: P11 W5 D4 L2 F24 A12 Pts 19
2025/26 results: P11 W8 D2 L1 F20 A5 Pts 26
The 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City in February, downgraded to a 1-1 draw in September, applies a lot of gloss to the comparative goals column of 2024/25. But perhaps the biggest indication that Arsenal have evolved is that the two wins which propelled them to the top of the table heading into the October international break came in fixtures they lost last campaign: Newcastle (a) and West Ham (h). Then they won at Craven Cottage for the first time in well over two years, and beat Crystal Palace at home having drawn to them in April.
4) Spurs: +5
2024/25 results: P11 W3 D4 L4 F19 A23 Pts 13
2025/26 results: P11 W5 D3 L3 F19 A10 Pts 18
There remain a great many kinks to iron out but Thomas Frank has done well to turn Spurs defeats into draws and draws into wins, while retaining an uncanny ability to win at the Etihad. It does help when your predecessor loses at home to Ipswich, draws at Leicester and is beaten at Everton. Although Ange did thrash Aston Villa 4-1 in the times when Spurs could sometimes be vaguely competent at home.
5) Everton: +4
2024/25 results: P11 W2 D5 L4 F10 A14 Pts 11
2025/26 results: P11 W4 D3 L4 F12 A13 Pts 15
Give it Moyeseh until the end of the season.
6) Manchester United: +3
2024/25 results: P11 W4 D3 L4 F17 A17 Pts 15
2025/26 results: P11 W5 D3 L3 F18 A18 Pts 18
After taking two points from Brighton (h), Chelsea (h) and Liverpool (a) last season, a suddenly good Manchester United have turned each of them over.
7) Crystal Palace: no change
2024/25 results: P11 W4 D5 L2 F14 A13 Pts 17
2025/26 results: P11 W4 D5 L2 F14 A9 Pts 17
That is wonderfully consistent.
8) Brentford: -1
2024/25 results: P11 W6 D2 L3 F21 A13 Pts 20
2025/26 results: P11 W5 D1 L5 F17 A16 Pts 16
Considering what they lost in the summer it isn’t bad at all, plus one of the corresponding fixtures was against the play-off winners and it could be argued that Southampton, who Brentford beat 5-0 last season, are not quite of the same standard as Sunderland, who beat Brentford 2-1 this. Turning a 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool into a 3-1 embarrassing was good going.
9) West Ham: -1
2024/25 results: P11 W3 D2 L6 F9 A16 Pts 11
2025/26 results: P11 W3 D1 L7 F13 A13 Pts 10
Only four of the last 18 meetings between West Ham and Everton have ended in a draw; David Moyes was in the dugout for three of them.
10) Fulham: -3
2024/25 results: P11 W4 D2 L5 F12 A15 Pts 14
2025/26 results: P11 W3 D2 L6 F12 A16 Pts 11
They had been quietly sleepwalking into a relegation battle before getting emphatic payback for a 4-1 defeat at home to Wolves last November. And then they started again after losing at Everton.
11) Aston Villa: -3
2024/25 results: P11 W6 D3 L2 F17 A11 Pts 21
2025/26 results: P11 W5 D3 L3 F13 A10 Pts 18
Another snared by the difference in difficulty between Southampton and Sunderland, the outlook would have been even worse for Villa had they not carelessly drawn 1-1 with Ipswich last season; their pre-break win over Burnley was an advance on that at least, while converting a 4-1 defeat at Spurs to a 2-1 win in less than a year was a boost.
12) Chelsea: -4
2024/25 results: P11 W7 D3 L1 F25 A11 Pts 24
2025/26 results: P11 W6 D2 L3 F20 A9 Pts 20
The defeat to Fulham at Stamford Bridge was avenged eight months later, but Chelsea beat Brighton at home in 2024/25 and are slightly done over by that Southampton-not-being-Sunderland caveat.
13) Nottingham Forest: -5
2024/25 results: P11 W4 D2 L5 F17 A22 Pts 14
2025/26 results: P11 W2 D3 L6 F10 A10 Pts 9
Dear lord, what a sad little life, Evangelos.
14) Newcastle: -6
2024/25 results: P11 W5 D3 L3 F21 A18 Pts 18
2025/26 results: P11 W3 D3 L5 F11 A14 Pts 12
Going from a 1-0 win away at West Ham to the “worst” performance of Eddie Howe’s entire reign in a 3-1 defeat at the London Stadium in the space of about eight months sums it up nicely.
15) Liverpool: -6
2024/25 results: P11 W7 D3 L1 F21 A10 Pts 24
2025/26 results: P11 W6 D1 L5 F16 A16 Pts 18
Those five consecutive wins amended a couple of mistakes from last season but losing at Selhurst Park having ground out a 1-0 victory there last October was a setback. So too the insipid home defeat to Manchester United, humbling at Brentford and loss at the Etihad.
16) Brighton: -7
2024/25 results: P11 W7 D2 L2 F24 A14 Pts 23
2025/26 results: P11 W4 D4 L3 F17 A15 Pts 16
That does appear to be quite a significant step back from the boy Hurzeler. His knack of beating Manchester City 2-1 at home is admittedly handy but the annual Old Trafford win went all wrong and the German might be grateful for those bigger names who insist on taking the sack race spotlight.
17) Wolves: -12
2024/25 results: P11 W4 D2 L5 F16 A17 Pts 14
2025/26 results: P11 W0 D2 L9 F7 A25 Pts 2
Could be an idea to stop doing the whole ‘sell all your good players and replace them by speculating on inexperienced unknowns for a fraction of the price’ bit. At least they aren’t going to actually reappoint Gary O’Neil.
