The Alternative Premier League Table: No 35 – Days spent top and in the top five

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MadisonMiami (FL)MichiganNorth TexasNotre DameOhio StateOklahomaOle MissOregonTexas A&MTexasTexas TechTulaneUSCUtahVanderbiltVirginiaNCAAMHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsTransfer Portal RankingsNBA DraftBracketAlabamaArizonaArkansasDukeFloridaGonzagaHoustonIllinoisIowaIowa StateKansasLouisvilleMiami (FL)Michigan StateMichiganNebraskaPurdueSt. John'sTennesseeTexasTexas TechUConnVanderbiltVirginiaWisconsinPeakMMAHomeMotorsportsHomePodcastsNASCARCultureHomeMemorabilia & CollectiblesGamingHomeSports BettingHomeFantasy FootballOddsNFL PicksVAR Controversy in MadridMatch of the Decade?Mourinho to Real Makes SenseArsenal manager Mikel Arteta Photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic Share articleWelcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. The Premier League title race will likely see plenty more changes at the top before and potentially during the final matchday of the season on May 24. Arsenal are top — as they regularly have been since 2022-23 — but Manchester City hold a game in hand, with goal difference another factor. A couple of spots below them, Aston Villa are fifth, eight points ahead of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion. It is unlikely another side will break into the top five with just four games left but multiple teams have jumped in and out of those Champions League spots since August. This week’s table looks at how many days each team has spent at the top of the table and in the top five since the start of 2022-23 (as of April 28). Key takeaways include: !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("[id='datawrapper-chart-4Dy1J']");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or use the index at the bottom of the page to jump to a specific club. Manchester City are the kings of timing. Since their 100-point season in 2017-18, they have often been second or lower on New Year’s Day, yet they have won five of the last seven titles and could make it six of eight this year. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, City’s longest stretch atop the table was just 35 days, but they have also spent 1,028 days in the top five (only behind Arsenal’s 1,100), so like objects in the rearview mirror, they are always closer than they appear. Social media loves graphics showing Arsenal’s time at the top of the table and the lack of trophies to go with it. Mikel Arteta’s men have spent much of 2025-26 at the summit, outlasting Liverpool’s strong start and then sitting four points clear of a rising Manchester City at the halfway point. But the 2-1 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side this month and City’s subsequent 1-0 win at Burnley saw them drop to second. In April 2023, they were five clear of City, having played two games more. On May 1, 2024, they were one clear of City, having played a game more. Both seasons ended with Guardiola’s side lifting the title. Liverpool’s 2024-25 season was largely characterised as a simple title win but by November 1, they were second, a point behind an unbeaten Manchester City. The script had flipped by December 1, with Liverpool nine points ahead of second-placed Arsenal and 11 ahead of City. From then on, Arne Slot’s side took a stranglehold on first place and maintained it up to the end of May. That continued during the first month of 2025-26, too, before their form collapsed. Liverpool’s issues have been the opposite of what regularly happens at City. While Liverpool have spent more time atop the table since 2022-23 (355 days to City’s 170), they’ve spent only 754 days in the top five compared to City’s 1,028. When they have fallen off, Liverpool have often done so dramatically. They led the league at the end of September, were seven points behind Arsenal by the end of October and 13 behind by New Year’s Eve. In 2021-22, they went from three points behind leaders Chelsea in November to 12 behind leaders City by January but finished just a point behind Guardiola’s eventual champions. That looks unlikely this year. Fans will remember West Ham's excellent start to the 2023-24 season, with wins over Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Luton Town, and a draw with Bournemouth. It left them top of the table on September 1 but that lasted just two days as Manchester City usurped them and then beat them 3-1 at the London Stadium. By September 20, they had also dropped out of the top five and did not return, finishing ninth. In the 2024-25 season, they largely stayed in the bottom half, finishing 14th, and that has continued during a difficult 2025-26. It's September 16, 2022. Fulham, playing at the City Ground, have scored through Tosin Adarabioyo, Joao Palhinha and Harrison Reed within six second-half minutes, to overturn a 1-0 deficit and beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 on a Friday night. It lifts them to fifth in the table, with 11 points from seven matches. That top-five spot lasted just a day, though, and the following matchday saw Newcastle United beat them 4-1 at Craven Cottage. Fulham have come close in the seasons that have followed, rising to seventh at one point in 2025-26, but another day in the top five has proved elusive for a team very familiar with the middle of the table. Historically, Manchester United lead all teams with 2,363 days atop the league since August 1992, 771 more than second-placed Chelsea (1,592). But these are slower times. United’s only day in first since August 2022 came after the opening game of 2024-25 when they beat Fulham 1-0 on Friday night. By 3pm on Saturday, Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Ipswich Town had seen Slot’s side leapfrog United into first place. They have spent the seventh-most days in the top five over the last four years, with 352, but managed to finish in those spots only in 2022-23. United suffered 32 losses across 2023-24 and 2024-25, though they did spend a sizeable chunk of the former in sixth place before three wins in their final 10 matches saw them drop to eighth. This season, they have ended every matchday in the top five since Michael Carrick’s first game — a 2-0 win over Manchester City — and have finished the last seven in third place. The days of Enzo Maresca downplaying a title charge seem far away but were only about 16 months ago, during a run of one loss in 16 league games. But Chelsea's time at the top of the league came earlier this season after wins over West Ham and Fulham and a home draw with Crystal Palace to start the campaign. That left them on seven points after the first three matches, ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool — who played each other the following day. Liverpool’s 1-0 win meant Chelsea’s stint at the top of the table lasted just two days. We are also not far removed from murmurs of a three-team title race back in 2021-22. Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea led the league on December 1 with 33 points from 14 matches, one ahead of Manchester City and two clear of Liverpool. They eventually finished a distant third, 19 behind champions City and 18 behind Liverpool. Burnley have spent most of their two Premier League seasons since 2022-23 in the bottom half. In 2023-24, they failed to win successive matches all season and finished 19th. This season, they rose to 12th after a matchday two win over Sunderland. Successive wins over Leeds United and Wolves had them 16th at the end of October. A 2-0 home loss to Chelsea in November dropped them to 19th and they look set to end the season there, or perhaps even bottom, depending on the form of… Yes, Wolves join Burnley as the only team not to crack the top five since 2022-23, having finished seventh in back-to-back seasons between 2018 and 2020, even briefly getting cracking the top five in 2019-20. Over the last four seasons, however, they have regularly started campaigns poorly, needing to dig themselves out of a hole. The highest place they reached in the period we're looking at was eighth for a brief spell in 2023-24. Losing 4-0 at home against Manchester City was not a great start to the season, but they moved up to 19th the following week thanks to… a 1-0 loss at Bournemouth. By the end of the month, Wolves were back to 20th, where they have remained. A third of Spurs’ 98 days atop the table since 1992 have come in the past four seasons (33 days). They led the league between October 7 and November 3, 2023 — 27 days — after winning eight of their first 10 games under Ange Postecoglou before the damaging 4-1 loss to Chelsea began a downslide that saw them finish fifth. The other six days came after their 4-1 opening-day win over Southampton in August 2022. In 2024-25, they rose to fifth after a 4-0 win over Everton in August and fell before rising back to sixth after a win by the same score at Manchester City in November. Another downslide followed, and they finished 17th. They were third by the end of October 2025, five points behind leaders Arsenal, but have won just three of their last 25 matches, dropping all the way down to 18th. One of only two teams to have spent 200 or more days in the top five since 2022-23 without going top of the league. Villa's tally of 457 days in the top quarter of the table is commendable, given they were just three points clear of the relegation zone when Unai Emery took over in October 2022. Emery oversaw a consistent rise that saw them move to seventh in April 2023 and end the season there. In 2023-24, they were third at Christmas, just a point behind Arsenal and Liverpool in first and second. A limp end to the season, with three wins in 11 games, saw them finish fourth. Villa were back in third after five games in 2024-25 with four wins from five matches but won one of their next eight to drop to 12th by December 2. A strong end to the campaign, with only two losses in their final 11 matches, saw them finish sixth. A very slow start meant they did not break into the top five this season until a 2-1 win at Leeds on Matchday 12. By December 29, they were only three points behind leaders Arsenal but a 4-1 loss to them a day later kick-started an uneven run (five wins in the last 15). They have stayed in the top five throughout that spell. Escaping League One took Sunderland four seasons, so it is an excellent achievement to find themselves 12th in the Premier League another four years later. More commendably, Regis Le Bris’ side have spent 40 days in the top five. That's more than Brentford (30), West Ham (21) or Everton (15) have managed, despite playing in the top flight in all of the last four seasons. Sunderland’s time in the sun came early. They were second after the first round of games, following a 3-0 win over West Ham, only behind Manchester City, who beat Wolves 4-0. Sunderland briefly dropped following a loss to Burnley but rose back to fifth with a 1-0 win at Forest. Wins over Wolves and Chelsea and draws with Arsenal and Everton kept them in fourth heading into the November international break, only three behind second-placed City. They won seven of their next 23 matches, but with safety secured, it won't worry their fans too much. After 74 years outside the top flight, Brentford spent their very first day in the Premier League in first place. A 2-0 Friday night win over Arsenal in August 2021 was typical of the Brentford we know all too well now. They physically overpowered Arteta’s side, with captain and current Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard scoring via a throw-in. By 3pm the next day, they had dropped to second after Manchester United thrashed Leeds 5-1. Brentford have flirted with the top five on occasions, especially early in the season. The memorable 4-0 win over Manchester United in August 2022 and a 3-0 win at Fulham in August 2023 saw them rise to third and fourth. Last season, they were sixth after three matches but could not crack the top five. In 2025-26, they were fifth on January 10, a point behind Liverpool in fourth, having been tipped for relegation by some before the season began. Only Arsenal (536), Liverpool (355), Manchester City (170) and Spurs (33) have spent more days at the top than Brighton (14) since August 2022. That accounts for roughly one-tenth of their 136 days in the top five, which ranks 10th. Brighton’s first stint at the top came in August 2023 following a 4-1 win at Wolves, which kept them ahead of Manchester City on goal difference for a week. The second was after their first match last season — a 3-0 win at Everton that put them above Arsenal on goal difference for a week. They were fourth by the end of September 2022 and third in the final week of September 2023. Last season, they were third at the end of November 2024 and in 2025-26, they were fifth at the same point, three points off second place. A top-five finish proved elusive in each of the previous three seasons, and they are sixth now, eight behind fifth-placed Villa with four games left to play. Finishing sixth could still be enough to get them Champions League football. Although their league season unravelled in December and January, Palace kicked off 2025-26 with a six-match unbeaten run. They moved into the top five with a 2-1 win at West Ham on September 20 and to fourth with a victory by the same scoreline against high-flying Liverpool. After a brief dip, Palace got back into the top five in November with a 2-0 win over Wolves and were fifth on December 15. Palace’s poor start to 2024-25 (one win in 13 matches) meant they played catch-up for much of the season. They were fifth after the first matchday in 2023-24, when they beat Sheffield United 1-0, but two wins in the next 18 games meant they did not reach those heights again. A 3-0 win against West Ham in November 2024 took Forest into the top five, and they climbed even higher on New Year's Day, rising to third, two points behind second-placed Arsenal. A run of two wins in their final eight games saw them drop to seventh. The 2025-26 season has followed a similar trend to 2022-23 and 2023-24, when they won just three of their first 18 matches in both seasons. Relegation has been a looming danger throughout this campaign, with Forest struggling to recover from winning just four of their first 19 games. A run of six matches without defeat has eased fears. Newcastle’s most recent spell at the top came after the first matchday of the 2023-24 season. A 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa meant they sat ahead of Brighton (4-1 win over Luton) and Manchester City (3-0 win over Burnley) on goal difference. They dropped to eighth following a 1-0 loss to City in their second game and did not get back into the top five all season. Newcastle’s 2022-23 season contributed to the bulk of their 332 days in the top five. They moved into fourth with a 1-0 win over Everton in October 2022 before a nine-match unbeaten run lifted them to third by the end of January, eventually finishing in fourth. In 2024-25, they shuttled between third and sixth from Boxing Day until the end of the season, when they ended up fifth. This season, they were sixth on January 10, three points off fourth place, but have won just three of their 13 matches since and dropped to 14th. Everton topped the Premier League on October 3, 2020, following a 4-2 win over Brighton, their fourth in a row to start the Covid-19-delayed season. Despite losing to Southampton the following week, Carlo Ancelotti’s side held that position, but eventually relinquished it on October 31 when Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1. Everton lost 2-1 to Newcastle the next day. That four-week spell in first makes up 74 per cent of the club’s 38 days atop the Premier League since 1992. The following season, an early stint in the top five dissipated into a 15th-place finish. Across 2022-23 and 2023-24, Everton's highest position was 13th, which was where they finished the 2024-25 season. Starting the 2025-26 campaign with two wins and a defeat took Everton to fifth. They then fell all the way to 14th, rose back to eighth for over a month and are bang in the middle of those two at 11th. Leeds’ 2022-23 season ended in relegation but wins in two of their first three matches, including a 3-0 thrashing of Chelsea, meant they were third after three rounds and fifth after four despite a 1-0 loss to Brighton. They fell precipitously after that but were outside the relegation zone on goal difference until May 5. Losses to Manchester City, West Ham and Spurs sent them back down. In their first season back, the 1-0 win over Everton left them seventh after one round but that’s as high as they have been. Leeds have been 15th at the end of each of the last nine matchdays, as they inch closer to safety. Some pedantic AFC Bournemouth fans may argue that they start every season top of the table, by alphabetical order. In reality, they are the only team from the current 20 Premier League sides to have never sat at the summit of English football. Still, Bournemouth’s impressive start to this season after their opening-day loss to Liverpool meant they were fourth by mid-September. They briefly fell to sixth after a 2-2 draw with Leeds but moved all the way up to second following a 2-0 win over Forest to close out October. A top-six finish is still within their grasp. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms