Now that we’ve had the September international break to fully digest the first three fixtures of the 2025/26 Premier League season, it’s time to do some power rankings and rank the top 10 teams in the English top flight based on what we have seen this season so far.
### 10\. Sunderland
Sunderland have been one of the biggest surprises to start the 2025/26 Premier League season and are actually all the way up in sixth in the league table with wins over London sides Brentford and West Ham.
While that’s not the most impressive competition, it’s still been a strong start to the season for the Black Cats, who had one of the most involved summer transfer windows in the league, with the trio of Granit Xhaka, Omar Alderete, and Nordi Mukiele already making a huge impact.
### 9\. Manchester United
Manchester United suffered a humiliating defeat to Grimsby Town in the League Cup, but there is a lot to like about this team despite their recent Premier League failures.
The new-look attack has shown potential, and Bryan Mbeumo is coming off a monster performance against Burnley. They are still well behind the teams in the top five, but they are indeed noticeably better than last season after their summer attacking signings.
### 8\. Brighton
Brighton shocked Manchester City with a late win, and the Seagulls are real sleepers to sneak into the top five by the season’s end, even after losing star forward Joao Pedro to title contenders Chelsea.
There is so much young talent in this team, and nobody should be surprised if Brajan Gruda, Mats Wieffer, and Yankuba Minteh end up being among the best in the Premier League in their respective roles; Gruda is a sneaky one to watch as a breakout candidate this season.
### 7\. Everton
Breakout candidates? How about rebound candidates? Everton look like a totally new team with Jack Grealish leading the charge, as he has rediscovered the magic he had at Aston Villa and has already been taken in by the Toffees fans as one of their own. The best part is how he’s unlocked an underrated supporting cast’s full potential.
### 6\. Bournemouth
Tottenham were highly impressive to start the Premier League season with back-to-back clean sheets, and then Bournemouth went ahead and shut them out 1-0 – and honestly could have beaten Spurs by even more than that.
Bournemouth are a scary side, and their only loss this season was a very hard-fought one with reigning champions Liverpool. Andoni Iraola has to be one of the best coaches on this planet right now.
### 5\. Manchester City
It’s hard to leave Manchester City off the top five despite how disappointing they’ve been to start the season, and a brief injury absence to marquee playmaking signing Rayan Cherki doesn’t help matters.
Man City have too much talent to fail, but it still feels like there’s something disjointed about this squad, whether it’s the lack of quality in the midfield and defense or the potential notion of Pep Guardiola’s words now falling on disillusioned ears.
### 4\. Tottenham
Tottenham are a much more organized and even much more dangerous side under Thomas Frank, who is only enhancing the reputation he built at Brentford as one of world football’s finest tacticians. He’s also a great manager, just as predecessor Ange Postecoglou was.
The humble Frank has been a breath of fresh air for Tottenham, and we still have yet to see top signing Xavi Simons take the field for a Spurs side that had a very smart transfer window. It finally feels like the future is bright for the Lilywhites of London.
### 3\. Arsenal
Arsenal couldn’t get the job done against Liverpool and fans are pointing fingers at more cowardice from highly defensive manager Mikel Arteta, but there’s not much shame in losing 1-0 to the defending champions on a sensational free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.
So strong in defense, Arsenal do still have to answer attacking question marks, and while the onus is on new striker Viktor Gyokers to be the savior, Arsenal really need captain Martin Odegaard to step it up more.
### 2\. Chelsea
Chelsea have emerged as Liverpool’s biggest title challengers. They are a juggernaut of a team now after bringing in Joao Pedro and Brazilian sensation Willian Estevao, who is already one of the best wingers in the Premier League when watching how much he opens this attack up.
The Blues are a scary side, and their only real weakness is defensive. If they can hold on until January and sign one more defensive reenforcement then, Chelsea will be closer to Liverpool than people may think.
### 1\. Liverpool
Yet [Liverpool](https://walkon.com/) are unequivocally the best team in the Premier League, just as they were last year. The Reds loaded up this summer transfer window with Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, and Florian Wirtz boasting a side that already enjoyed Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai as attacking options.
Wirtz needs to adjust, but Ekitike has been as advertised. And we all know what Isak can do in this league. Liverpool are undefeated to start the 2025/26 Premier League season, and I’m curious to see how long they remain that way.
**Joe Soriano** is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in _ESPN_, _Bleacher Report_, and _Sports Illustrated_. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.