Eleven games into a 38-match campaign may not seem like a great deal, but there aren’t often a great deal of changes after the third international break of a Premier League season.
At the same stage of the 2024–25 campaign, Liverpool had established a stranglehold on first place which they would not relinquish. The top four would also remain unchanged while Southampton sat firmly rooted to the foot of the division throughout.
That’s not to say that all the teams have already been consigned to their fate this year—Crystal Palace were 18th in November 2024 but would finish the season above both Europa League finalists Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. It would be an almighty surprise to see Liverpool remain eighth by the end of May.
Yet, this trend—which stretches back far further than last term—gives added weight to the standings 11 games in. Here’s how they look in 2025–26.
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Arsenal
Arsenal top the standings after 11 games. / Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Arsenal may have seen their defensive supremacy punctured by Sunderland on Saturday—much to Mikel Arteta’s open fury—but they remain top of the table with a healthy cushion.
The remarkable number of clean sheets stacked up by the Gunners in recent weeks has distracted from the revenge tour Arteta’s side have enjoyed thus far. As September bled into October, Arsenal faced a four-game stretch against Newcastle United, West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace. In the corresponding fixtures last season, Arteta’s side took two points from a possible 12. They won all four matches this time around.
However, as Pep Guardiola rightly pointed out this weekend: “Nobody wins the title in early November. You can lose it—but nobody wins it.”
City underscored their title credentials with a thumping victory over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. While Guardiola’s serial title winners narrowed the gap behind Arsenal to just four points, the defending champions fell twice as far back.
Arne Slot’s misfiring side find themselves below the likes of newly promoted Sunderland, a toothless Tottenham Hotspur and an Aston Villa side which had to wait more than seven hours of Premier League football before scoring their first goal of the season.
Jérémy Doku (centre) celebrating against Liverpool.
Jérémy Doku (centre) was the difference-maker against Liverpool. / Michael Regan/Getty Images
Club Games Goal Difference Points
1. Arsenal 11 +15 26
2. Man City 11 +15 22
3. Chelsea 11 +10 20
4. Sunderland 11 +4 19
5. Tottenham 11 +9 18
6. Aston Villa 11 +3 18
7. Man Utd 11 +1 18
8. Liverpool 11 +1 18
9. Bournemouth 11 -1 18
10. Crystal Palace 11 +5 17
11. Brighton 11 +2 16
12. Brentford 11 0 16
13. Everton 11 -1 15
14. Newcastle 11 -3 12
15. Fulham 11 -4 11
16. Leeds 11 -10 11
17. Burnley 11 -8 10
18. West Ham 11 -10 10
19. Nottingham Forest 11 -10 9
20. Wolves 11 -18 2
Correct of as Nov. 9, 2025.
Chelsea perfectly captured the compressed nature of this Premier League table on Saturday evening. Ahead of their evening kickoff against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Blues were ninth. By the end of a 3–0 cruise, they had leapt up to second place before getting bumped back again on Sunday.
Wolves have a long way to go before they can even climb one position. With Vitor Pereira already handed his marching orders, the Midlands outfit boast just two points and remain the only side without a league win across England’s top seven tiers. Victories for Nottingham Forest and West Ham on the final weekend before November’s international break have threatened to cut Wolves adrift already.
Newcastle may sit above the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Champions League’s league phase table, yet they find themselves in a lowly 14th place domestically. The Magpies are just two points above the relegation zone after a galling 3–1 loss to Brentford on Sunday.
The Bees also downed Manchester United earlier this season but find themselves two points behind the Red Devils. Despite boasting the longest unbeaten run of his tenure, Ruben Amorim is adamant that United have plenty of problems to deal with. Climbing higher than seventh would be a good starting point—although they are already above Liverpool.
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