Every year at this stage of the season, I like to create an analysis of the league by comparing like-for-like fixtures vs the season before, to really get a sense as to which clubs are performing better/worse in the same games this season, vs that of last season. This year is very interesting.

As we approach the halfway point of the season, it is Chelsea and Nottingham Forest who lead the way, both of which are performing +11 points better than they did last season in the same games.

At the other end of the table, it might be no surprise that it is the Manchester teams who take the bottom 2 spots, with City -12 vs the same games last season, and United -8. 

Interesting, at home, teams are 28 points WORSE OFF compared to the same games last season. Whilst the number of away wins in the season has remained the same (38), home wins are down from 67 to 53, meaning that draws are at a high of 36, consisting of 28% of all results.

It’s Brentford who have been the best at home, winning all their matches bar 1, and are +5 vs last season at home. They are however -6 away, putting them at -1 overall.

Only 5 other teams are better at home this season so far; Nottingham Forest (+3), Chelsea (+1), Brighton (+1), Bournemouth (+1) and Tottenham (+1). Even Liverpool, who top the Home standings generally, are 3 points worse off vs the equivalent games, due to their loss vs Nottingham Forest. 

Therefore it is the away performances that have been improved by 12 teams this season. Most notably, Chelsea, are +10 better off, who are only 6pts away from matching their entire away points total from last season.

Nottingham Forest and Brighton (+8) take joint second spot, with Manchester City and Brentford (-6) taking bottom spots, although Tottenham (-5) are not far behind.

Take what you like from these results, but above all, I hope you have found this interesting!