EPL 2017/18: 10 things we've learnt from the season so far

Premier League clubs spent a record £1.4 billion on players during the summer transfer window. Both Manchester clubs spent heavily and are sitting at the top of the table, just separated by goal difference.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are having a horrific season and are at the bottom with 7 defeats in 7 games.

Defending champions Chelsea are sitting in 4th with 2 home defeats, and Spurs are struggling at their new home Wembley, but their good away form has them 3rd on the table.

Let us see the 10 things that we have learnt from this EPL season so far:

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#10 Ronald Koeman is next in line after Frank de Boer

Ronald Koeman is struggling to save his job

Ronald Koeman is on the brink of losing his job after the Burnley defeat. Everton spent more than £140 million in the transfer market, bringing in big names like Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane and Jordon Pickford.

But, the loss of Romelu Lukaku is proving to be costly for them. Started the season with a 1-0 win at home, but Everton lost track in the subsequent games and the recent 1-0 defeat against Burnley was hard for the fans to digest.

Everton are 16th on the EPL table, and Koeman is facing a lot of criticism after a series of poor results. He may get one more game, but he needs to fix things in the next 14 days if he wants to save his job.

#9 Crystal Palace needs a miracle to revive this season

Crystal Palace searching for inspiration to revive the season

7 games into the season, no goals scored, 17 goals conceded and 7 defeats. No team ever in the history of professional English football has achieved this unwanted record. After the retirement of Sam Allardyce at the end of 2016/17 campaign, Frank de Boer was appointed as the manager of the club in June 2017.

His campaign got off to a worst possible start as he failed to get the trust of his senior players and was sacked just 4 games into the Premier League season, making it the shortest stint for a manager in the Premier League era.

Roy Hodgson replaced him and is facing the toughest test of his managerial career. He needs some sort of miracle to pull Palace out of the hole.

#8 Real test for Manchester United starts from week 8

He is the success story of United so far

Manchester United got off to the best possible start since Ferguson’s era. Just goal difference separates United from City at the top of the table. United's new signings Lukaku and Matic have proved to be bargains, and Lukaku leads the race for the golden boot with 7 goals so far. United's defence looks solid as Bailly and Jones form a solid partnership.

But the real test for the Red Devils begins now. United have not played any top 6 teams so far this season and have had some easy fixtures until now.

They play Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea in October and 3 out of next 4 games are away from Old Trafford. The loss of Paul Pogba to a long-term injury may also have an impact in the long run. The next few weeks are crucial for Jose Mourinho and his side in their title bid.

#7 Newcastle enjoying life in Premier League

Benitez proving his worth

Back in the Premier League after 348 days, Newcastle are beginning to show that they belong in the English top flight. Rafa Benitez stayed with the team after the relegation last year and he deserves all the credit that he is getting now. Newcastle started the 2017/18 campaign with back to back defeats against Spurs and Huddersfield.

However, they have bounced back strong with 3 wins on the trot. They held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at home and are looking strong for more. Matt Ritchie played a key part in their successful start with 4 assists, and a top-half finish in the table looks like a real possibility.

#6 Burnley is the surprise of this season so far

Enjoying a good start

Burnley lost Michael Keane to Everton, but brought in the striker Chris Wood. Burnley got off to a great start with a thumping 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge against defending champions, Chelsea. They then held Spurs to a 1-1 draw at Wembley and Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Their only defeat of this campaign was at Turf Moor against West Bromwich Albion.

Sam Vokes and Chris Wood have led the line effectively with a couple of goals each and their defence looks solid with 4 clean sheets in 7 games.

With everything going well, Burnley will look to better their 16th place finish last season and they may even finish in the top half if they continue their current run.

#5 Next few weeks crucial for Slaven Bilic

Bilic has to get his act right soon

After a 11th place finish last season, West Ham spent generously in the transfer market, to bring in Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic and Joe Hart. West Ham started the 2017/18 season with a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.

Then, they went on to lose against Southampton and Newcastle. At the end of week 7, they stand 15th in the table with just 7 points after 2 wins.

Injury to Lanzini and Bilic’s reluctance to play Carroll and Chicharito together is costing West Ham. Defensively, they've conceded 13 goals in 7 games and have never looked solid at the back.

A last-gasp win against Swansea may have given him a lifeline for now, but who knows what will happen if he loses next couple of games?

#4 Jurgen Klopp must fix his defense

Shaky defense causing lot of headache for Klopp

Liverpool had a busy transfer window. They held on to Coutinho and added Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Solanke to their attacking arsenal. The Van Dijk pursuit ended in a defeat and they were not able to add any defenders. RP Leipzig's sensational Naby Keita, however, will join them in 2018.

Having started the campaign with a 3-3 draw at Watford, their defensive fragility was brutally exposed by Manchester City in a 5-0 thumping.

Even though their attacking depth can rival that of City’s, their defensive woes continue to haunt them. Matip and Lovren’s lack of concentration is hurting Liverpool at the back, and unless they find a solution real quick, they may end up playing in the UEFA Europa League next season.

#3 Manchester City is the team to beat

City flying high

Manchester City were the biggest spenders in the EPL this transfer window. Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danillo came in to strengthen their defence. They also added Bernardo Silva and Ederson to their ranks.

City started the season with a 2-0 win at Brighton and have gone on to score 22 goals in 7 league games, conceding just 2.

Last week’s win at Stamford Bridge makes them clear title favourites. Injuries to Aguero and Mendy will have a huge impact in October, but City have the depth to overcome it.

One cannot find any weakness in this City team at the moment and they are all set to march towards the title.

#2 Conte struggling to put his best 11 on the field

Chelsea will hope that Hazard can save them

Chelsea struggled to sign big names in the transfer window and Conte’s frustrations were evident even before the season started. Still, Chelsea managed to Sign Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and Antonio Rudiger.

They got off to a worst possible start with a 3-2 defeat at home to Burnley, and to add insult to injury, Fabregas and Cahill were sent off.

Chelsea have already had 5 players sent off this season including Victor Moses, David Luiz and Pedro. Hazard missed the first few weeks due to an injury, and Conte did not get a chance to field his beat 11 consistently.

Worst of all, they lost Morata to an injury in their recent 1-0 defeat at the Bridge to high-flying Manchester City.

#1 Winning Europa league is Wenger’s best bet to qualify for CL 2018/19

Arsenal need in-form Alexis to save them

Arsenal’s transfer window was filled with a lot of drama as Alexis Sanchez was making most of the headlines. Manchester City agreed on a fee for Sanchez, but the deal fell through in the last few hours on the deadline day, leaving Sanchez frustrated.

Lacazatte was the only big money signing to arrive at Emirates. Arsenal have gotten off to a poor start, losing 2 of the first 3 games. Sanchez has not been at his best and Ozil is nowhere to be seen.

But, Arsenal are looking too good in the UEFA Europa League, even with their second-string side. They won their first 2 matches and are looking a class apart from their opponents.

With a top-4 spot in the league looking like a distant possibility, Wenger should take a leaf from Mourinho's book and win the Europa League instead, to play in the UEFA Champions League next year.