Premier League report card: Liverpool, Brighton and Nottingham Forest impress

Liverpool are the Premier League’s star pupils going into the break for November internationals.

Brighton and Nottingham Forest are also among those who have been performing well, while there is concern around Manchester City and Arsenal.

Here, the PA news agency provides a report card for the division’s 20 clubs.

Top of the class

Liverpool’s excellent start to life under Arne Slot has continued in recent weeks, with three wins and a draw since the last international break leaving them five points clear at the top of the table.

Mohamed Salah has been a key man, scoring in all four of those matches. The Egypt forward provided an assist for Darwin Nunez’s opener before netting a late second as Aston Villa were beaten 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday.

The Reds have won nine and lost only one of their 11 league games following Dutch boss Slot’s arrival as successor to Jurgen Klopp during the summer.

Impressive work

Helping Liverpool’s cause at the weekend was Brighton coming from behind to beat second-placed Manchester City 2-1 at the Amex Stadium, another eye-catching result for the Seagulls and their 31-year-old boss Fabian Hurzeler.

They are sixth, a place behind Forest. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were on a three-match winning streak before suffering the second loss of their campaign on Sunday, 3-1 at home to Newcastle, and were the team to defeat Liverpool, triumphing 1-0 there in September.

Both have the same amount of points as a third-placed Chelsea outfit showing progress with Enzo Maresca at the helm, while Fulham are a point behind, as are Newcastle, who have bounced back from a five-game winless run in the league with back-to-back victories.

Brentford and Bournemouth – winners against Arsenal and City in their last four outings – are another two points back.

Underperforming

The losses to Bournemouth and Brighton have come among a run of four successive defeats in all competitions for City, an unprecedented scenario during the tenure of boss Pep Guardiola, who is missing midfielder Rodri as he attempts to win a fifth successive league title.

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal have gone without a win across their past four league matches, Villa, their fellow 2023-24 top-four finishers, have only one in their last six and lie ninth, and 10th-placed Tottenham again demonstrated their inconsistency when they lost at home to previously winless Ipswich.

With Ruben Amorim incoming as head coach, Manchester United have stabilised with four points from two league games under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy following Erik ten Hag’s sacking in the wake of a 2-1 loss at West Ham on October 27.

That was one of only three league wins this season for the Hammers, whose boss Julen Lopetegui appears to be under pressure himself.

Lots of work to do

Leicester have fared the best of the three promoted clubs, claiming two wins, either side of the October international break, to boost a points tally currently standing at 10 from 11 games – the same as Everton.

Ipswich have eight points after their shock 2-1 victory at Spurs, while Southampton, who came up via the play-offs, are bottom of the pile with four, having got their sole win to date against Everton earlier this month.

They are joined in the relegation zone by Crystal Palace and Wolves, who both also recently took maximum points for the first time this season – the Eagles winning 1-0 against Tottenham on October 27 while Gary O’Neil’s men saw off the Saints 2-0 on Saturday.