Arsenal
Strength
The primary difference between this season and last is Arsenal’s rediscovery of width. They're often so narrow and therefore easily thwarted by deep defensive shells, but the rise of Hector Bellerin – coupled with Mesut Ozil’s new propensity to drift into the left channel – has widened the pitch and created more space for Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey in the middle.
Weakness
A lack of depth in defensive midfield threatens to derail their title challenge. Last season, Arsenal averaged 1.4 points per match without Francis Coquelin in the team and 2.35 with him. Similar statistics defined this season before his injury, and though they have so far adapted well in his absence they have almost exclusively faced relegation candidates. The 4-0 defeat to Southampton was a warning.
Aston Villa
Strength
Villa’s key asset is their aerial ability; they win more duels (20 per match) than any other team, largely thanks to Rudy Gestede (6.5 aerials won per match, most in league). However, Remi Garde doesn’t like to play as direct a style as Tim Sherwood, and thus Villa rarely exploit this advantage.
Weakness
Villa have only scored 16 league goals this campaign, and it’s difficult to see them improving significantly on this tally in the coming months. Garde’s use of inverted wingers and short-passing build-up play is ill-suited to a team without confidence; technical skill and quick movement often suffer when self-esteem is low.
Bournemouth
Strength
The aggressive pressing and fighting spirit of Bournemouth’s central midfield has been startling. Few expected Harry Arter and Andrew Surman to dominate so comfortably at this level, but these two average 115.4 passes between them each game – making 4.3 tackles and 3.2 interceptions in the process.
Weakness
Although their short-passing, high-pressing approach is commendable, Bournemouth stick too fervently to this philosophy. They lack a Plan B, thus explaining why they have managed to pick up just one point from a losing position this season; a more direct, urgent approach is sometimes needed.
Chelsea
Strength
Chelsea’s lifeless performances this season have produced few positives, but they do remain excellent at dribbling with the ball – particularly in the final third. They complete 11.3 dribbles per match (fourth most in league) and are fouled more times (13.5 per game) than any other team; Eden Hazard, Willian, and Pedro can all attack back fours with menace.
Weakness
Chelsea are remarkably soft in central midfield. Cesc Fabregas was permanently excluded from this position by Jose Mourinho towards the end of his tenure, and although John Obi Mikel has returned under Guus Hiddink effectively, the Spaniard is still something of a defensive liability. His weak tackling and positional indiscipline were the direct cause of numerous defeats in the first half of the season.
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Crystal Palace
Strength
Alan Pardew has mastered the perfect deep-lying counter. His team retreat into a compact, conservative unit (they make fewer tackles, 18.1 per game, than any team in the top 10) before pouncing forward with alarming speed down the flanks when possession is overturned (77% of their attacks come down the wings, the most in the division). Tactical coherence is their main strength.
Weakness
Eleven of Palace’s 23 league goals have come from set-pieces, and their top goalscorer is penalty taker Yohan Cabaye. They are in desperate need of a striker, preferably a strong targetman who can help hold up the ball when launching counter-attacks and get on the end of those fizzing Wilfried Zaha/Yannick Bolasie crosses.
Everton
Strength
Roberto Martinez has eased up on the idealism this season, introducing greater variety to Everton’s build-up play. Firstly, while the left winger drifts inside to instigate the classic Martinez short-pass triangles, Gerard Deulofeu hugs the touchline to offer a more penetrative option. And secondly, they’ve gone direct to Romelu Lukaku more often this year; Everton average the second-most long balls (35.5 per match), with more than half of these coming from John Stones, Phil Jagielka, and Gareth Barry.
Weakness
Tim Howard has long looked more like the erratic player we saw at Manchester United, occasionally fumbling crosses and wildly rushing out of his goal. Some key mistakes in recent matches have cost Everton points – most recently against Norwich and Leicester.
Leicester
Strength
N’Golo Kante is, just maybe, the best central midfielder in the country right now. His composure and agility in possession make him the perfect fulcrum upon which Leicester’s rapid counter-attacks rest, and his defensive work is statistically better than any destroyer in the division (8.1 tackles and interceptions combined per match).
Weakness
Twenty-eight of Leicester’s 38 league goals have been scored by Riyad Mahrez or Jamie Vardy. Such a small concentration of talent is alarming, because if one of these players was to get injured – or simply burn out – then dreams of Europe could fall apart. A recent flurry of goalless games suggests this process could already be in motion, though they overcame Spurs on Wednesday thanks to a Robert Huth winner.
Liverpool
Strength
Jurgen Klopp has got his players working very hard, pressing from the front effectively and looking bullish in the tackle (22.7 tackles per match, most in league). This is a style that suits the explosive directness of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, as shown most successfully in the 4-1 win at Manchester City.
Weakness
So far, the Reds’ big wins over City and Chelsea are more like anomalies. Liverpool’s main weakness is their lack of cohesion, as they transition from Brendan Rodgers to Klopp. Lucas Leiva, Joe Allen and Emre Can all look too slow and static in central midfield, and the defence is also struggling to play at such a high tempo; they have the second-most unsuccessful touches per match (13.9), are dispossessed more times than anyone else (15.9 per game), and are the most error-prone team (21 to date).
Man City
Strength
A £162 million front four is some force to possess. Manuel Pellegrini’s tactics are not particularly convoluted or reactive, but they don’t need to be; he gives free licence to the top four, who often swap positions and glide into each other’s zones. Raheem Sterling’s pace, David Silva’s threaded passing and Kevin De Bruyne’s power provides a perfect balance.
Weakness
City are overly reliant on Vincent Kompany for defensive organisation, and frequently fall apart when he is absent; they have conceded just one goal in the eight games he has started this season, and 20 in the other 13. Nicolas Otamendi looks strong and confident, but Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis suffer from positional confusion and bizarre mistakes.
Man United
Strength
Wayne Rooney has perhaps been unfairly singled out for criticism this season, but as he gradually returns to form (four goals in his last three games) he should be considered the key to their title challenge. As club captain and the most experienced player, his delicate link-up play and aggressive mentality will be vital in lifting United out of their slumber.
Weakness
Aside from Morgan Schneiderlin (United have only lost once with him in the team), Manchester United’s central midfield is remarkably slow, flat-footed, and disorganised. Marouane Fellaini is the chief offender but both Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger also lack the energy required for Louis van Gaal’s intricate build-up play to be successful.
Newcastle
Strength
A chaotic season of tactical shifts and hapless defending has left little to cheer about, but at least Newcastle look organised on the right flank (where 45% of their attacks are built, the most in the division). The powerful Moussa Sissoko drifts infield to hold up the ball and create space for Daryl Janmaat on the overlap, a move that is useful when counter-attacking against the league’s more dominant sides (as in the wins against Spurs and Liverpool).
Weakness
The transition from Steve McClaren’s favoured short-passing model to the counter-attacking one seen in recent weeks has not been coherent. The backline retreats very deep while the midfield presses the ball in a bizarre mix of styles that opens up enormous gaps between the formation lines. It is not surprising that Newcastle concede more goals from outside the box (seven) than any other team, with a further six from just inside the penalty area.
Norwich
Strength
Fifteen of the 23 goals Norwich have scored this season have been the direct result of crosses from out wide, with seven of these from set-pieces. Robbie Brady (1.8 crosses per match) is the main reason for this success; his dead-ball delivery and whipped crosses on the overlap have created the vast majority of these goals.
Weakness
Only Aston Villa and Sunderland have conceded more goals than Norwich’s 22, and one reason for this is that Alex Neil’s side possess arguably the slowest, most immobile centre-back pairing in the division. Sebastien Bassong and Ryan Bennett make just 2.1 tackles per match between them.
Southampton
Strength
Southampton are a considerably more direct team than most people think: they attempt more crosses (26 per match) than any other team, have scored the second-most headed goals (eight), and win the second-most aerial duels (19.3 per match).
Weakness
Southampton have seen more shots miss the target than any other side in the Premier League (134). Graziano Pelle may be a vital fulcrum for this team, but his finishing this season has been poor; he has a 45% shot accuracy.
Stoke
Strength
Stoke’s front three of Marko Arnautovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan have failed to light up the league with consistency, but they have proved very effective against the league’s most dominant teams. On the counter, their movement has almost single-handedly dismantled Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea – Stoke’s three biggest scalps to date.
Weakness
When Stoke try to build carefully from the back, they struggle to create space. Breaking teams down is their biggest weakness and at times it seems that this glittering frontline is too lightweight to work through a deeper defensive line; Stoke have the worst shot accuracy in the league (40%), largely because they rarely create easy shooting chances, and only West Brom, Villa and Swansea have scored fewer goals.
Sunderland
Strength
Sunderland now look like a proper Big Sam team. Long hoofs and thumping headers have taken centre stage (they win the third-most aerial duels and have the fourth-worst pass accuracy), leading to a quietly solidifying home record. Sunderland have only conceded four goals in their last six at the Stadium of Light.
Weakness
The Wearsiders have only earned four points on the road, the worst record in the Premier League. The main reason for this is that they become even more defensive and direct, but without a targetman to relieve pressure on their goal; Sunderland average 41% possession on their travels.
Swansea
Strength
The one area Swansea can rely on is central midfield. They have retained a possession-recycling control over the middle of the park throughout this season’s difficulties, with Leon Britton, Ki Sung-yueng and Jack Cork averaging an 88% pass-completion rate. As a result they are rarely involved in high-scoring affairs.
Weakness
Swansea are not aggressive enough either on or off the ball. They rank 18th for completed dribbles (8.1 per match) and 20th for tackles (15.4 per match); it is this feature of their game that has led to such a poor goals return this season.
Tottenham
Strength
Which one to choose? Spurs are balanced in so many areas that perhaps their best strength is simply versatility; Dele Alli’s shifting between positions has kept them fresh, while a recent change to 3-5-2 helped them beat Watford at Vicarage Road. Eric Dier is key in this.
Weakness
Mauricio Pochettino tells his full-backs to hug the touchline and stay very high up the pitch in order to add width to an otherwise narrow formation. As a result, opponents can occasionally catch them out on the counter – particularly down Kyle Walker’s side.
Watford
Strength
Only Leicester make more interceptions than Watford’s 19.9, and Quique Sanchez Flores’s pressing model is perhaps undervalued by critics. They seek to win the ball very high, pushing forward as a collective unit to unsettle opposition defenders and release Odion Ighalo in behind the backline.
Weakness
Only four players in the Watford squad have scored a goal in 2015/16, with Troy Deeney and Ighalo contributing 19 of the 25 to date (76%). This lack of depth could prove costly if one of these players gets injured or simply hits a bad patch of form.
West Brom
Strength
The Baggies have scored more headed goals than any team this season (nine), which shouldn’t be too surprising. Tony Pulis’s direct style means the back four has made a combined 12.7 successful long passes per match, with Salomon Rondon the primary target (8.6 aerial duels contested per match).
Weakness
Rickie Lambert and Rondon have only scored four goals between them in 1,985 minutes of Premier League football this season. A lack of goals is West Brom’s primary concern, and Saido Berahino’s absence is surely playing its part in this problem; not only did he score 14 last season, but he was also vital in dropping off the targetman to create chances like a traditional No.10.
West Ham
Strength
West Ham are incredibly hard working. Slaven Bilic has introduced a narrow, fierce defensive philosophy at Upton Park, aimed at aggressively preventing their opponents from reaching the final third; they make the most defensive actions of any team in the league (54.7 per match). The excellent 2-0 win over Liverpool was a perfect example of this.
Weakness
Nobody makes more errors leading to goals than West Ham. They have conceded nine times from unnecessary mistakes, and this is arguably the only thing undermining an excellent first half of the season. Signing a competent, experienced, and pacy centre-back could solve this issue.
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