Manchester City Remain Unbeaten – Manchester City continue their hot start to the 2023-24 English Premier League season as they registered a 5-1 win over Fulham this weekend. As the league goes into a 12-day break to make way for the UEFA European Championship qualifiers and other international friendlies, the Pep Guardiola-managed side lead the table with 12 points on a 4-0-0 (win-draw-loss) record. They have a two-point advantage over four teams – Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham and Arsenal.
The quartet also secured victories during the week to keep themselves within striking distance. Brighton seem to be this year’s surprise squad after they won against last year’s most improved team, Newcastle United. They are in sixth place, three points behind the leaders and a point away from the four teams fighting for second place. Traditional powers Manchester United are surprisingly on the middle of the table with six points. This early, things are shaping up to be another runaway season for Man City as experts in online soccer odds would predict before the start of the new season.
2023-24 English Premier League Week 4 Table
(As of September 3)
Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | PT |
Manchester City | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 12 |
| Tottenham | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 10 |
| Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 10 |
| West Ham | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 10 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 10 |
| Brighton | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 9 |
| Crystal Palace | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| Brentford | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Nottingham Forest | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Aston Villa | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Manchester United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Chelsea | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Fulham | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Newcastle | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Wolves | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| Bournemouth | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Sheffield United | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Everton | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| Luton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Burnley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
Manchester City Remain Unbeaten – Picking Up Where They Left Off
Defending champion Manchester City resumed their top form to the 2023-24 season as they trampled Fulham, 5-1, on Saturday. Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to lead Man City’s offense. The three goals pushed Haaland’s English Premier League goal total to six. Julian Alvarez and Nathan Ake also scored for the Citizens, which remained perfect for the season at 4-0-0. Ederson tallied a season-high three saves but allowed a goal for the second consecutive game this season.
Four Teams in Striking Distance
Chasing Manchester City are Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham and Arsenal. The four teams have 10 points on 3-1-0 record. The Spurs are coming off a 5-2 win over Burnley with Son Heung-min spearheading the goal-scoring effort with a hat-trick in the 16th, 63rd and 66th minutes. Cristian Romero and James Maddison scored goals for the Spurs, who climbed to second place due to their higher goal difference. This was Son’s first three goals in the season while Maddison and Romero netted their second goals for the 2023-24 season.
Liverpool continued their awesome start as they thrashed Aston Villa, 3-0. Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah led the way for the Reds as they scored one goal each. The own goal by Matty Cash also spelled doom for Aston Villa, who dropped to their second defeat in four matches. Salah scored his second goal of the season while Szoboszlai opened his account for Liverpool, who captured their third win in four games for 10 points.
West Ham Edges Luton 2-1, Arsenal Rallies Past Manchester United 3-1: EPL Updates
West Ham United also resumed their early assault as they defeated Luton, 2-1. Jarrod Bowen and Kurt Zouma put the Hammers ahead, 2-0, and the team needed extra defensive effort to hold off Luton to get three points and remain unbeaten. Bowen is the top scorer for West Ham with three goals and he is supported by Michal Antonio with two conversions. James Ward-Prowse is the leading assist man with three assists.
Last season’s runner-up Arsenal, meanwhile, kept abreast with the leaders as they came from behind to defeat Manchester United, 3-1. Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Gabriel Jesus notched three straight goals to negate Marcus Rashford’s opening strike. The victory handed the Gunners their third win of the season and are in fifth place two points behind Man City. Bukayo Saka, Edward Nketiah and Odegaard now have two goals for the season to lead Arsenal’s offense.
Bright Start
Brighton and Hove Albion continued their good start to the season with a 3-1 win over last year’s most improved squad Newcastle United. Evan Ferguson scored a hat-trick to raise his total to four goals for the season. Ferguson’s goal-scoring blitz helped Brighton to move up to sixth spot with nine points. Solly March has three goals for the surprise squad, who are just three points away from the top spot. Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupiñan are the main playmakers for the team as they have three and two assists, respectively.
Disappointments
Perennial powers Manchester United and Chelsea, as well as last year’s surprise package, Newcastle United, have been big disappointments in the first four matches of the season. United are coming off a 1-3 setback from Arsenal to drop to their second loss in four games. They are now in 11th place with six points. A notch below them are Chelsea, who succumbed to a disappointing 0-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. The Blues are in 12th place with four points and are better than Newcastle, who lost for the third time this season, after a loss to Brighton. The Magpies are in 14th spot with three points. Luton and Burnley remained as the bottom squads for the season as they have yet to register a win in three outings.
Manchester City resumed their awesome start for the season as they registered four straight wins and secured a two-point lead over Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham and Arsenal. Brighton and Hove Albion are in the top six early on with a 3-1 upset win over Newcastle United. Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle struggled in their first four starts to fall into the mid-table. Experts betting for English Premier League games have placed Manchester City as top favorites this season thanks to their unbeaten run with over 30 games remaining in the tournament.
