After eight games of the new English Premier League season, the same four sides that ended in the top four in May are occupying those positions, albeit in different spots.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa were how it ended in May, but entering Game Week 9, Liverpool is at the top, followed by City, Arsenal, and Villa.
No one expected Liverpool to be at the top at this stage after losing its talismanic manager, Jürgen Klopp. However, his replacement, Arne Slot, has won seven of his eight league games, boasts a perfect record in the Champions League after three matches, and also defeated West Ham in the League Cup.
The Dutchman is the first manager or head coach of any English club to win 11 of his first 12 games. But his stiffest test is likely to come at the Emirates, where Arsenal is hurting after losing to Bournemouth last week.
Mikel Arteta will have to rally his troops, missing captain Martin Ødegaard, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori, and Takehiro Tomiyasu. William Saliba is suspended after receiving a red card last week.
The one piece of good news is that Bukayo Saka may return after suffering a hamstring injury while playing for England, but he will need to undergo a late fitness test.
“I don’t know if Saka will be fit to face Liverpool,” Arteta said after Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League.
“He hasn’t been able to train yet, so that’s unlikely. But we have four days to recover. We’ll review what we have to do; we have a day off and then two days to prepare for the game.”
City, who snatched a late but controversial winner against Wolves last weekend, can go top of the table – for a day at least – when it hosts Southampton on Oct 26 (10pm).
The Manchester club is the only unbeaten side in the Premier League but is leaking goals, having conceded nine in eight games.
On the other hand, it has already scored a league-high 19 and should have no problems brushing aside Southampton.
Villa plays Bournemouth and could leapfrog Arsenal with a win.
Liverpool leads with 21 points, with City just a point behind. Arsenal and Villa have 17 points each.
FIXTURES (Malaysian time)
Oct 26
Manchester City vs Southampton (10pm)
Brentford vs Ipswich (10pm)
Brighton vs Wolves (10pm)
Aston Villa vs Bournemouth (10pm)
Oct 27
Everton vs Fulham (12.30am)
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham (10pm)
Chelsea vs Newcastle (10pm)
West Ham vs Manchester United (10pm)
Oct 28
Arsenal vs Liverpool (12.30am)
