Biggest disappointments of the English Premier League so far this season

While fans and pundits enjoy celebrating teams who exceed their pre-season expectations, they also love dissecting sides who greatly underperform. With relegation and the potential loss of finances for missing Champions League spots a forever-present threat, teams can no longer afford to have a sub-par season in today’s football climate. 

With that in mind, let’s discuss some of the Premier League clubs that have been the biggest disappointments through the seven games this season.

Liverpool

After coming agonisingly close to securing a historic quadruple last season, Liverpool entered their 2022/23 campaign as the second favourites to win the Premier League behind defending champions Manchester City. However, anyone who decided to place football bets on the north-western club to deliver on those odds would be left disheartened: they have failed to live up to their lofty expectations thus far, managing just nine points from seven appearances at the time of writing. 

The Jurgen Klopp-managed outfit have lacked cohesion on both sides of the ball with superstars Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold struggling to find form. Additionally, marquee signing Darwin Nunez hasn’t justified his eye-popping £64 million move, registering just one goal in three starts for the Reds.

That begs the question: has the loss of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich proven too tough to overcome? Only time will tell – however, with them currently sitting in eighth spot and at risk of missing a Champions League place for the first time since 2016/17, the Reds need a rapid turnaround in form if they’re to challenge for this season’s title.

West Ham United

Coming off the back of consecutive top eight finishes and a deep Europa League run last season, there was plenty of buzz surrounding the men in claret and blue heading into 2022/23. With yet another pre-season under the belt for key players such as Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma, Hammer fans were optimistic that their side could once again challenge for a top six position in the table.

That couldn’t be further from their reach at this stage, with David Moyes’s squad languishing in the relegation zone after seven games. Being bested by the likes of Nottingham Forest and Everton should be a cause for concern as if they continue to lose fixtures they are heavily favoured to win, it could result in them fighting for their right to stay in the top-flight at the end of the season.

Chelsea

After what was one of the most turbulent times in the club’s storied history, Chelsea could still be feeling the hangover effects of the drama that unfolded last season. Currently sitting in a disappointing seventh position, Chelsea’s lacklustre performances have drawn the ire of fans and pundits alike. With new ownership in place and a marquee signing in forward Raheem Sterling announced before the season kicked off, there were high hopes that the Blues could challenge for a top four spot. While that is certainly still within their grasp, their performances to date haven’t been particularly promising.

The extent of their losses meant their manager, Thomas Tuchel, was sacked in early September at the beginning of the season, with former Brighton and Hove Albion manager Graham Potter announced as his replacement. How Potter will fare as the club’s new manager is yet unknown, but he’ll have the opportunity to make a strong impression during his first league game against Crystal Palace – a game in which Chelsea are given a 52% chance of winning, according to the latest football predictions.

The editorial unit