The Premier League table may not lie, but the Premier League long table tells the real truth.
By placing teams on the number of points they have and not by their place in the table, we can see just how close everyone is to one another in the league – giving a real indication as to how the season is shaping up after one-fifth of the games have been played.
A few teams do have a game in hand in the league, too, meaning things could all change once those fixtures have been fulfilled.
The Premier League long table
| Points | Clubs |
|---|---|
| 27 | Arsenal |
| 26 | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| 25 | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
| 24 | Row 3 - Cell 1 |
| 23 | Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur |
| 22 | Row 5 - Cell 1 |
| 21 | Row 6 - Cell 1 |
| 20 | Row 7 - Cell 1 |
| 19 | Chelsea |
| 18 | Row 9 - Cell 1 |
| 17 | Row 10 - Cell 1 |
| 16 | Manchester United |
| 15 | Newcastle United |
| 14 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 13 | Liverpool, Brentford, Bournemouth |
| 12 | Fulham |
| 11 | West Ham United |
| 10 | Everton, Crystal Palace |
| 9 | Leeds United, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 8 | Southampton |
| 7 | Row 20 - Cell 1 |
| 6 | Row 21 - Cell 1 |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest, Leicester City |
| 4 | Row 23 - Cell 1 |
| 3 | Row 24 - Cell 1 |
Arsenal fans will like the look of this. They now have a healthy lead at the top of the table – and with Manchester City dropping points, we might well have a title race.
But what about the chasing pack? Tottenham Hotspur are back in it, up level with Manchester City, with Chelsea just behind. That's the top four, with Manchester United, Newcastle and Liverpool all behind. Do we have a title race here? City certainly aren't running away with it just yet.
Midtable is looking congested but aside from east Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest and Leicester City are looking adrift at the bottom. They're by no means dead certs for relegation but it's looking perilous – as it is for Southampton just above them.
Still a long, long way to go…
