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For a while, the race for the top four spots in England looked fairly simple. It was going to be Manchester City and Liverpool in the fighting for the Premier League title, and that still rings true. Tottenham and Chelsea seemed destined to finish third and fourth, with Manchester United and Arsenal falling short of expectations due to poor form. But things have quickly changed thanks to Tottenham’s slump, Manchester United and Arsenal’s great run of form, and Chelsea’s inexplicable inconsistency. The title race is obviously shaping up to be a memorable one, but when you glance at the table, the third and sixth-placed teams are only separated by one point.
- No. 3 Tottenham, 61 points (plus-24 goal differential)
- No. 4 Manchester United, 61 points (plus-19 GD)
- No. 5 Arsenal, 60 points (plus-24 GD)
- No. 6 Chelsea, 60 points (plus-18 GD)
So how will that race play out? It remains to be seen, but let’s take a crack at how they’ll finish.
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Third: Manchester United. This team is just grinding out results. It hasn’t been flashy, but there is a renewed confidence about them. They have some tough tests still remaining against Manchester City and Chelsea, but ending the season with Huddersfield and Cardiff City could be the six points that cements third place.
Fourth: Arsenal. They got off to a hot start under Unai Emery, cooled off and are now looking sharp again. They have a match in hand that they’ll play on Monday against Newcastle, and they could sit in third by the end of the day. The remaining schedule is the most manageable of all of the teams involved, which gives them a real shot to finish third.
Fifth: Spurs. If form is an indicator of what’s to come, they are in trouble. No wins in their last five, and four of those have been a loss. Not a very tricky remaining schedule but they haven’t been able to beat the teams they are supposed to beat as of late. Harry Kane has still been short, but Spurs look destined to lose third place.
Sixth: Chelsea. Boosted by poor officiating to beat Cardiff City, it’s like night and day sometimes with these guys. Gonzalo Higuain hasn’t made the impact many expected, and with games against Liverpool, Manchester United, Watford and Leicester still to come, focus may have to shift to winning the Europa League to get into the Champions League.
How the rankings work
We list the top 25 teams in the world based on recent form. The teams playing the best soccer — in their respective leagues and in international competitions — will be considered. Quality of the opponents will also be taken into an account, but above all, the most important factors are recent results and overall standings in competitions.
World Club Soccer Power Rankings
Previous rankings: March 11 | March 4 | Feb. 25 | Feb. 18 | Feb. 11 | Feb. 4 | Jan. 28 | Jan. 21 | Jan. 14 | Jan. 7 | Jan. 1 | Dec. 24 | Dec. 18 | Dec 10 | Dec 3 | Nov. 26 | Nov. 12 | Nov. 5 | Oct. 30 | Oct. 23 | Oct. 10 | Oct. 3 | Sept. 26 | Sept. 17 | Sept. 4 | Aug. 28 | Aug. 23 | Aug. 15 | Preseason rankings
| RK | TEAM | CHG | ANALYSIS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Barcelona (ESP) |
— |
Seven wins in a row and simply dominating. Lionel Messi has reached 40 goals for the 10th consecutive season. Nobody is playing better. |
| 2. |
Manchester City (ENG) |
— | Taking care of business and still potentially could win four trophies this season. But all eyes are on UCL and Premier League. |
| 3. |
Liverpool (ENG) |
+1 | Boy, did they need that win over Tottenham. Still alive in the Champions League as well. Andrew Robertson continues to shine. |
|
4. |
Bayern Munich (GER) |
-1 | Ugly draw against Freiburg to fall out of first place in the Bundesliga. Massive match against league leader Dortmund next weekend. |
|
5. |
Juventus (ITA) |
— | Juve hasn’t played all that well as of late and has a 15-point lead in Serie A. It’s not even fair anymore. |
|
6. |
Manchester United (ENG) |
+1 |
This team doesn’t always play that well, but the results continue to be there. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserved to get the permanent job. |
|
7. |
Atletico Madrid (ESP) |
-1 |
Diego Simeone’s team continues to perform for the most part, but Antoine Griezmann at times doesn’t look all that happy. Could this be the summer he moves? |
|
8. |
PSG (FRA) |
— |
Kylian Mbappe is on his way to being the best player in the world. But without Neymar, this team just isn’t even close to being the same. |
|
9. |
Arsenal (ENG) |
— |
The Gunners play Newcastle on Monday afternoon. |
|
10. |
Ajax (NED) |
— |
They needed to beat PSV this past weekend to get back into the title race, and they did just that. That’s four wins out of five. |
|
11. |
Porto (POR) |
+1 |
Four wins in a row and 11 goals in those games. Francisco Soares has been a dynamite signing with 39 goals in 79 games. |
|
12. |
Tottenham (ENG) |
-1 |
Cruel loss for Spurs at Anfield, but they blew the chances they had to win it. Starting to feel like they won’t finish in the top four. |
|
13. |
Chelsea (ENG) |
— |
So lucky to get three points at Cardiff City, and the refs blew an offside call on the first goal. Some massive tests coming up to save their season. |
|
14. … |
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