Two teams in particular have really caught the eye this season: Everton and West Brom. The clubs currently sit in 4th and 5th respectively and have made impressive strides toward becoming two teams to beat in the Premier League. Everton are unbeaten in seven games, having only lost to none other than West Brom so far this season, including a 1-0 victory against leaders Man United. Meanwhile, West Brom have been immense at home this season, having won 5 from 6 at The Hawthorns. Although it's early days, it wouldn't surprise me if either of these clubs managed to hold onto a spot in or around the Champions League places, especially with the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham having inconsistent performances.
Like many sports writers, pundits, ex-players and managers, it's hard not to talk about Luis Suarez. He is single-handedly grabbing the headlines, surprisingly for the right reasons, with some brilliant performances of late (as much as Suarez haters, and there's a lot, will disagree). It isn't enough to put Liverpool near the top of the table, though, as they languish in 12th with just two wins all season.
The bottom of the table sees newcomers Southampton struggling, having conceded more goals than any side at this stage of a Premier League season. Whilst the stuttering start of QPR and Reading is not a surprise, the likes of Aston Villa, Sunderland and Stoke hanging on the brink of the relegation spots does comes as an early shock. Lack of goals plagues all three clubs and the likes of Darren Bent, Louis Saha and Peter Crouch will need to start firing in the goals if they are to move up the table.
In the Championship the surprise packages have been Middlesborough and Crystal Palace who are challenging Cardiff for the top spot. Palace haven't lost since their opening three losses in August and with experienced manager Ian Holloway taking over from Dougie Freedman you can expect them to continue in the same vain.
At the other end of the table it is a sorry story for Ipswich Town and Bristol City. Ipswich will hope for a turn of fortunes with former-Wolves manager Mick McCarthy at the helm, whilst Bristol City need to sort out their defensive woes having not kept a clean sheet all season.
In League One it looks like a whole host of teams could fight for the title with Tranmere, Sheffield United, Crawley, Stevenage, Doncaster, Notts County and Swindon all separated by just 6 points.
With Halloween and Bonfire night done with the country official goes into Christmas build-up mode, and so does football. Every club knows that November and December are important months ahead of a busy Christmas period and the transfer window, so expect to see even more stunning goals, more surprises, more twists and turns and more controversy.
Football is still a beautiful game, you just have to scratch beneath the surface to find out.
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| Suarez continues to make headlines game after game |
