English Premier League Power Rankings, Week No. 5: Spoiler Alert, Chelsea’s Number One

I know, I know. I should have prefaced with “Spoiler Alert,” but let’s be honest: the good guys always win, the hero always gets the girl, and Bert always goes home with Ernie. There are some things so obvious that “Spoiler Alert” becomes redundant, and I don’t do redundant.

I don’t.

But before I spoil some legitimate suspense, here are SB Nation’s English Premier League Power Rankings.

Chelsea continues to get hundreds across, and for good reason. At this point, they’re clearly the class of the league, with one voter’s ballot saying no other club is even contending for the Blues’ title. Seems both a bit fatalistic and a reflection of how convincing Chelsea’s been.

Their first test of the season’s on Saturday morning at Eastlands. To this point, they’ve looked up to any challenge.

A curiosity: Though Arsenal takes the second spot over Manchester United, fewer voters see Arsenal as title contenders. Perhaps some voters may the title contender label as a prognosis, whereas the actual ranking is a current evaluation. Regardless, Arsenal’s place on this list mimics their spot in the Premier League’s table.

As in the table, Tottenham sits just behind Manchester City, with the only other distinction seeing no title support for Spurs. With a trip to Upton Park on Saturday, Spurs could see their ranking improve, depending on what happens at Eastlands.

Despite Villa’s troubles, they’re still eighth in the Premier League, seventh on our list, and getting some Champions League support. There seems to be a healthy respect for Gerard Houllier’s rejuvenating powers amongst our voter base.

This is the power ranking’s biggest diversion from the table. Liverpool sit sixteenth in league but are slotted eight spots higher on our list. Considering the Reds have had to play Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United (as well as at St. Andrew’s), some common sense correction for schedule strength makes sense.

The Toon’s sixth place standing in league is a bit of a facade, our voters feel. At the same time, look at the Europe column. Half of our panel thinks Newcastle is in contention for Europa League.

After getting thumped at the Hawthorns, some voters envision the Blues in a relegation battle. Others see Birmingham City pushing for continental football, making them one of two clubs to get both relegation and Europe votes.

While Sunderland’s taken four points from their matches against Manchester City and Arsenal, they’ve only got one in their games with West Brom and Wigan. With one win and three draws through five, Steve Bruce’s team seems a middle-of-the-road side, albeit an erratic one.

The other team that has both Europe and relegation “support,” Bolton has the identical record to Sunderland and Birmingham City: 1-3-1. Still, as you can see by comparing the Europe support, the voters don’t see the Trotters’ ceiling being as high as their mid-table compatriots.

The Toffees have two points in five matches, but the voter base still likes them over the rest of the Premier League’s middling sides. Unfortunately for Everton fans, their club has another tough match this weekend, traveling to Craven Cottage.

Blackburn should feel fortunate to have the brilliance of Sam Allardyce guiding them, though some supporters may wonder why a man whose powers are ill-suited for their club currently has his club in 14th place. Of course the perception problem is with the supporters, not Allardyce. Sam’s brilliance goes beyond the vision of the common fan. There is no way they can understand the plan behind this mundane start.

In another major correction to the table, our rankings see the Seasiders six spots worse than the table tells. And despite seven points in five games, two-out-of-three voters still see Blackpool battling relegation. I imagine if Ian Holloway had a vote, he would say the same. The Blackpool manager remains keenly aware of what his side is up against.

Brom’s second win of the year came over rival Birmingham City, vaulting them to tenth place in league. We are not as sanguine on the Baggie’s chances. Their trip to the Emirates should help correct the table.

After facing West Ham on Saturday, the Potters no longer have “difficult opening fixtures” as explanation for their slow start. Only able to get one point from the limping Hammers, half our panel now see Stoke capable of battling relegation through the season.

Two straight losses have precipitated a fall for Wolves in both table and standings, though as with Liverpool, some perspective may be needed. Their only losses have been at Fulham and at Tottenham, and their -2 goal difference is much stronger than you’d expect from a team set to battle relegation (particularly given their competition).

There are two major gaps in the rankings. Between fifth and sixth, there are 15 percentage points separating the Big Five from the rest of the league. Here at the bottom, their are 14 points between Wolves and the Tiny Two. While comparing the overall column shows disagreement as to which club is worse, the gap between 18 and 19 tells us the panel agrees: these two teams are on an island by themselves.