Topsy Turvey Table

The unexpected beauty of this season's Premier League has been that everyone has been truly capable of beating anyone, whether it's home or away. Everton have certainly helped with the excitement of this season, with home defeats against a shaken-up Blackburn side and a demoralised Portsmouth side. I had expected Everton's continuity to keep them in good stead this season. Their side has the same strengths as last year, with Arteta and Cahill expecting to feature more regularly from injury. However for some reason Everton just can't defend this season. Against Blackburn they conceded very sloppy goals, and again this weekend against Portsmouth, simple football ripped straight through them. Everton's poor defending gave Portsmouth's 'big man little man' partnership a chance to flourish and gain confidence in the league. A questionable start against Manchester United, Chelsea then Manchester United again has been muted and now the fans' faith in Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe has returned.

Hull City's honeymoon period is over, ripped apart and destroyed in fact, at home to Wigan Athletic this weekend. Wigan Manager Steve Bruce has received a lot of praise in the last two weeks, firstly outclassing Chelsea at home in an unlucky 1-0 defeat, and then this weekend hammering Hull 5-0. A team capable of scoring goals should always be safe from relegation, but whilst Wigan are capable of good movement and quick passing, they do still have Titus Bramble leading their defence so do not see this as a charge towards Europe. Hull City on the other hand need to take a leaf out of Stoke Manager Tony Pulis' book, and that is to expect regular defeats but to know how to bounce back from them.

Manchester City welcomed back Shaun Wright-Philips from his pilgrimage to the Bermuda Bridge. Wright-Philips went straight into the starting line up for a potentially tricky game against an impressive Sunderland who fought well against Liverpool and won at White Hart Lane. However, Sunderland seemed to dissipate and Man City tore through them as they did to West Ham United's 10 men last weekend. Man City are looking like a strong side this season, capable of getting goals, and have the players in defence to earn the clean sheets to take them to Europe. The capture of SWP, and the arrival of Jo definitely makes them more exciting going forward.