Two clubs pushing to move up alongside the leading pack meet on Wednesday evening. Although Manchester United and Chelsea fared slightly differently to one and another last season, we take a look at the calendar year Premier League table for 2023 which reveals some interesting conclusions.
Calendar Year Premier League Table 2023
Inevitably, Manchester United are still buoyed by their results last season and rank in the top five, according to the calendar year Premier League table for 2023. Their commendable third place finish in Erik Ten Hag’s debut season has been followed by their worst start to a season since 1962-63, with reports even going as far as saying the Dutchman has now lost the dressing room. It is hard to gauge just where Manchester United will be at the end of 2023. Has it been a good year? By and large, yes, but continue on their current path and Ten Hag’s tenure will approach a perilous chapter, just as all of his post-Ferguson predecessors have before him. United fans can certainly count themselves lucky they don’t find themselves in as much of a rut as upcoming opponents Chelsea, whose recent narrow victory at home to Brighton means they are grasping onto a lower-mid-table spot in the 2023 calendar year standings. Over £600 million spent. Their lowest ever Premier League points tally. Fewer wins than Bournemouth and Everton. These are not the kinds of scenarios we have come to expect from Chelsea. As the stats above show, Manchester United are far better off than Chelsea when it comes to value for money spent. That is in spite of their perceived haphazardness in the transfer market, which is best reflected by having the second-largest Premier League net spend over the past five years. That is, of course, only surpassed by Chelsea’s unprecedented expenditure over the past 18 months since Todd Boehly‘s arrival. This time last year, they spent the most money in a January window ever by a single team, and in doing so spent more than the rest of Europe’s top five leagues combined. This has failed to translate to points, and their 2023 spending amounts to just over £16m for each of their 39 points won. For all Chelsea’s shortcomings this calendar year, it is astonishing to find they have scored just six fewer goals than Manchester United, who sit eight league places and 28 points above them in the 2023 Premier League table. Taking into account the 2023/24 season so far, Manchester United are the lowest scorers among any of the top 11, having netted just 16 in 14. Compare that with Chelsea, who have scored 25, and you are left with an interesting narrative heading into December’s meeting at Old Trafford. Manchester United are unbeaten in 11 league games against Chelsea since losing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in November 2017 (W4, D7). The Blues’ last Premier League win away to United was 1-0 in May 2013. They have drawn six and lost four of their subsequent 10 top-flight fixtures at… — Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) December 5, 2023 Manchester United’s home form is particularly troubling, and certainly cause for concern. They have scored less goals than 19th-place Burnley, and the same as 16th-place Burnley. It is even more puzzling given they managed to turn Old Trafford into a fortress last term, and their 48 points from a possible 57 was only bettered by champions Manchester City. This bodes well for our Manchester United vs Chelsea prediction, which tips the visitors to inflict further pain on United following another tumultuous week. Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
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Club
Matches
W
D
L
Goals
+/-
Pts
1
Manchester City
36
26
5
5
86:33
53
83
2
Arsenal
36
22
8
6
77:40
37
74
3
Aston Villa
36
22
6
8
67:41
26
72
4
Liverpool
36
20
10
6
74:42
32
70
5
Manchester United
36
21
4
11
50:40
10
67
6
Newcastle
35
18
9
8
68:36
32
63
7
Brighton
36
17
9
10
74:55
19
60
8
Tottenham
36
17
6
13
65:60
5
57
9
Brentford
35
15
10
10
53:38
15
55
10
West Ham
35
13
8
14
53:57
-4
47
11
Wolves
35
12
7
16
40:57
-17
43
12
Fulham
35
12
6
17
42:52
-10
42
13
Chelsea
37
9
12
16
44:52
-8
39
14
Crystal Palace
36
9
12
15
37:47
-10
39
15
Nottingham Forest
36
9
11
16
43:57
-14
38
16
Everton
35
10
8
17
36:57
-21
38
17
Bournemouth
35
10
6
19
35:65
-30
36
18
Leicester
21
4
5
12
25:38
-13
17
19
Leeds
22
3
6
13
25:49
-24
15
20
Southampton
21
3
4
14
21:41
-20
13
21
Luton
14
2
3
9
13:26
-13
9
22
Burnley
14
2
1
11
15:32
-17
7
23
Sheffield United
14
1
2
11
11:39
-28
5
How Much Have Manchester United Spent in 2023?
How Much Have Chelsea Spent in 2023?
Millions Spent Per Points Won
Manchester United vs Chelsea Stats Compared
Only West Ham and Brighton have conceded more goals than Chelsea when isolating top 10 teams, but their 25 goals is just three less than a seemingly free-scoring Tottenham side who topped the table for a number of weeks.
