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PL Wrap: VAR controversy strikes Gunners; Ange’s Spurs fall agonisingly short in late comeback

‘Nearly cost me’: VAR leaves Ange fuming as rival star almost gives Spurs boss fresh injury headache

ARSENAL (2nd, +18 GD, 40 pts): A+

Mid-season MVP: Declan Rice

After mounting a surprise title tilt last season, with Granit Xhaka enjoying one of his finest campaigns for the Gunners, Mikel Arteta still believed he could find an upgrade in the centre of the park – and he splashed a Premier League-record £105m for Declan Rice.

Now, Rice is becoming an integral cog in the engine room as the Gunners remain firmly in the mix for the title.

What impresses Arteta most about Rice? “The way he dominates key aspects of the game,” replied the manager.

“First of all, it’s the way he reads the game, his intelligence, his decision-making on and off the ball, when to pass the ball, how to pass it, where to look, how to execute, and the timing of that, which is very, very relevant, especially in his position.”

He’s only growing more and more connected with his teammates. He could be the key to going one better than last season and finishing with the coveted trophy.

Although the Gunners rounded out the first half of the season with a disappointing defeat at the Emirates to West Ham, it doesn’t take away from what’s been yet another dazzling run for Arteta’s side.

ASTON VILLA (3rd, +15 GD, 39 pts): A

Mid-season MVP: Douglas Luiz

Plenty of expert predictions for this season had Villa finishing well out of the title race. Manchester United great Gary Neville predicted a sixth-place finish, while former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had them out of the top six. It’s fair to say precious few predicted a genuine title challenge, but that’s what Unai Emery’s men have served up. A staggering 15-game win streak on home soil came to an end just before Christmas, though they salvaged a draw with a 97th-minute equaliser against Sheffield United.

Villa’s inability to beat a number of lower-table teams this season — see Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Bournemouth and now Sheffield United — is their biggest blemish this season.

Three of those four games also came away from home, so if Villa are serious about a top four finish they must find a way to take maximum points when expected, especially against those who are struggling.

Ollie Watkins continues to turn in several all-action displays up front, contributing nine goals and six assists to date this season.

But the player most vital to Villa’s transformed fortunes is Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz who orchestrates every deadly move from midfield.

Luiz’s box-to-box displays have been something to behold as he breaks up opposition attacks only to drive the team up the field and thread the needle with aplomb.

BOURNEMOUTH (12th, -5 GD, 25 pts): B+

Mid-season MVP: Dominic Solanke

Last season was a shemozzle, a mess, a rollercoaster (but not the fun kind). Remember the 9-0 thumping from Liverpool that saw Scott Parker sacked in August? Then came an ownership takeover, a slump to last place in March, before a late-season resurgence to finish 15th under Gary O’Neil, who probably deserved to win manager of the season.

They embarked on a stunning spending spree in the off-season, with a whopping net spend of €126.19m – sixth in the Premier League and in front of Liverpool and Newcastle United. Then they sacked manager O’Neil before the season began. The new owners had high expectations – but while there’s been some promising signs, things haven’t been smooth sailing. They were 19th and winless after nine games (three points), but have since turned things around impressively to rack up 22 points from the next nine games (W7 D1 L1).

After a 6-1 defeat to Man City they could have fallen apart, but instead they’ve been one of the form teams in the league to soar out of the relegation battle.

The big difference from last season has been Solanke’s form, with the ex-Liverpool striker hitting 12 league goals in 18 games – more than last campaign’s top scorer Philip Billing (7) managed in a full season. If he stays at Bournemouth (amid interest from Tottenham and West Ham), the Cherries could even threaten a top-half finish.

BRENTFORD (14th, -3 GD, 19 pts): C-

Mid-season MVP: Bryan Mbuemo

It was always going to be a tall task spending half a season without star striker Ivan Toney, but Brentford have managed to survive.

Toney was banned from playing until early January after breaching the FA’s gambling rules, meaning the Bees had to rely on other sources for goals.

Cameroonian winger Bryan Mbuemo has largely shouldered the burden and has a club-leading seven Premier League goals to his name.

However, Brentford — and this will be a constant theme for a lot of these teams, so bear with us — have been crippled by serious injuries throughout the season.

Kevin Schade, who turned his loan move to Brentford into a permanent one in the summer, was meant to help share the goalscoring duties but has been out of action since late September with no return date set in.

Star defender Rico Henry is out for the season while right back Aaron Hickey has also been sidelined for several months among others.

The Bees’ form this season has also been quite patchy, winning just one of their first eight games before four victories in their next six. But they’ve now lost four in a row and six of their last seven, seeing them slide towards the relegation zone.

With Toney due to return in mid-January, it could be the boost Brentford need to kickstart their season once again.

BRIGHTON (8th, +5 GD, 30 pts): B-

Mid-season MVP: Pascal Groß

After the lofty heights of a sixth-place finish last season, high expectations had been set for the Seagulls in the 2023/24 campaign.

But a bright start in which Brighton won five of their opening six games is in the distant past, as Roberto De Zerbi’s side have tasted victory just three times in the following 12.

Although De Zerbi’s great entertainers have been kept scoreless just once this season, they have scored two or more goals just five times since a 3-1 win over Bournemouth in late September.

What is most alarming about Brighton this season is the number of goals they’ve shipped, which stands at 33.

For reference, 16th-placed Nottingham Forest and 18th-placed Luton Town have conceded 34.

Part of this is no doubt down to a backline crippled by injuries.

Star left back Pervis Estupinan had been out for some time before marking his return to action with a screamer against Tottenham, while Tariq Lamptey and Adam Webster have also spent time on the sidelines.

De Zerbi has also switched between Jason Steele and summer signing Bart Verbruggen in the goalkeeper position, offering little consistency in a crucial part of the field after Roberto Sanchez’s exit to Chelsea.

One shining light of consistency this season has been German stalwart Pascal Groß, who continues to be a vital cog in De Zerbi’s Brighton machine.

Another bright spot for Brighton is the goalscoring prowess of Joao Pedro, who joined from Watford for a club-record fee of £30 million.

And despite all of the things that have gone awry for the Seagulls this season, they’re still just three points away from the Europa League spots.

BURNLEY (19th, -20 GD, 11 pts): D

Mid-season MVP: Josh Brownhill

Burnley won the Championship last season at a canter but life in the Premier League has most certainly not been kind.

There was plenty of intrigue as to whether Vincent Kompany’s brand of football at Turf Moor would hold up against the best England has to offer and so far, the answer has been a resounding no.

Kompany took a significant risk going into the season with the youngest squad in the Premier League with an average age of 24 years and 170 days.

So far, it is a risk that has not paid off as Burnley sit 19th and have conceded the second-most goals in the league.

Burnley lost 11 of their first 13 games, achieving a win and a draw over fellow relegation candidates Luton Town and Nottingham Forest respectively.

But apart from that, there hasn’t been much to sing about on the terraces of Turf Moor although a much-needed 2-0 victory away at Fulham will give Kompany’s troops a needed lift going into the second half of the season.

Skipper Josh Brownhill has been one of the few shining lights in this Burnley team, providing a wiser head in a team brimming with young and eager minds.

Staying up this season will be a mammoth task but with Kompany’s remarkable leadership skills, don’t count out the Clarets just yet in the fight for survival.

CHELSEA (10th, +2 GD, 25 pts): F

Mid-season MVP: Cole Palmer

If Chelsea fans thought last year would be the worst of it, well, can only provide our condolences.

A fresh start under new manager Mauricio Pochettino as well as several of the players becoming more familiar with the Premier League had Blues fans hoping for the world.

Instead, they’ve been delivered an atlas.

Chelsea managed to ship off $AUD435 million worth of talent (per Transfermarkt) elsewhere including Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City) and Mason Mount (Manchester United) to name just four.

But the players brought in — at an estimated total expense of $756 million — have simply not lived up to the billing.

Defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo was the most expensive of the lot, joining Chelsea from Brighton for an eye-watering $187 million.

Yet the Ecuadorean continues to struggle to live up to his price tag and doesn’t look at home in Pochettino’s system.

Sure, Pochettino has been dealt a somewhat rough hand with injuries as skipper Reece James continues to spend more time off the pitch than on it while the likes of Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella are sidelined for some time.

Yet for a team that has been so expensively assembled and one of Chelsea’s grand stature, just six wins from 17 league games is simply not good enough.

One summer signing who has looked sharp since arriving is Cole Palmer, who looked to be a seriously risky piece of business at $76 million.

But the Manchester City youth product has delivered several crucial performances for Pochettino’s side and is cold as ice when stepping up to take penalties.

Despite Palmer’s emergence, it cannot be ignored that Chelsea are a serious risk of failing to qualify for European football for a second-straight season.

And if that happens, it’s safe to say Chelsea’s answer will be to throw more money at it and hope it fixes itself.

CRYSTAL PALACE (15th, -9 GD, 18 pts): C-

Mid-season MVP: Eberechi Eze

After Roy Hodgson steered the club away from relegation at the end of last season, Crystal Palace rewarded him with a one-year extension.

It’s taken just 19 games for Hodgson, a boyhood Palace fan, to have the Eagles once again nervously looking over their shoulder at the drop to the Championship.

After just two defeats in the first eight games, Hodgson’s troops have suffered a massive nosedive in form.

Palace have lost seven of their last 11 fixtures, with only one win — against 19th-place Burnley — in that run.

The main issue crippling Palace is their inability to find the back of the net, with their tally of 19 goals the third-lowest in the league: only Burnley (18) and Sheffield United (15) are worse.

Talk is heating up about the Palace top brass eyeing up a move for Steve Cooper, who was recently sacked by Nottingham Forest, as a mid-season replacement for Hodgson.

It could be what the team needs if it is to surge up the table and unlock the attacking talent it possesses.

The dynamic duo of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze is one of the league’s most exciting on paper, but largely due to injuries they have not been able to share the field.

If those two can start to fire, Palace theoretically should pull away from the danger zone.

EVERTON (17th, -1 GD, 16 pts): B+

Mid-season MVP: Dwight McNeil

It’s worth starting with the obvious: Everton copped a Premier League-record ten-point penalty for financial breaches last month that dropped them to 19th and level on points with the bottom-placed team. Without it, they’d be in the top half of the table right now. But the players have responded brilliantly to that hefty blow, beating Newcastle and Chelsea comfortably in recent weeks to climb out of the relegation zone. They are doing so even after recording a €42.30m transfer profit in the off-season – one of only four teams to receive more than they spent. After narrowly avoiding relegation in recent seasons, the points penalty has ignited a fire in their collective belly and they look set to push well clear of danger.

The key marker of improvement behind Everton’s resurgence is their defensive record, a hallmark of Toffees boss Sean Dyche.

Everton have conceded just 25 goals this season, a figure equal with heavyweights like Newcastle and Manchester United.

Although Everton have improved as a collective, one star who looks especially rejuvenated under Dyche is winger Dwight McNeil.

The winger burst onto the scene at Burnley during Dyche’s tenure and the two are once again getting the best out of each other, with McNeil constantly whipping in dangerous crosses that have opposition backlines scrambling.

FULHAM (13th, -8 GD, 21 pts): C

Mid-season MVP: João Palhinha

After losing talismanic striker Aleksandar Mitrovic to Saudi club Al-Hilal in the summer, serious questions were going to be asked about Fulham and Marco Silva this season.

Would they have the same goalscoring credentials? Will Silva tweak his team’s style of play to mitigate the loss of Mitrovic?

Could they actually replace Mitrovic and achieve the same results?

In short, no.

Summer signing Raul Jimenez and Willian lead the club’s goalscoring charts in the Premier League with just four to their names, followed by Bobby Decordova-Reid and Alex Iwobi who have three each.

However, Fulham somehow managed to score 16 goals in the space of four games, including back-to-back 5-0 wins at home over Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.

Throw in a recent 2-0 defeat at home to relegation battlers Burnley and you start to see why Fulham are just a very, very odd team this season.

One man crucial to Fulham’s hopes of a comfortable mid-table finish this season is defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha, who almost joined Mitrovic out the exit door but to German giants Bayern Munich instead.

Palhinha could have easily downed tools given the move of a lifetime didn’t come off, but the opposite is true.

The Portuguese start leads the league in tackles by a massive margin and will be crucial to Fulham’s efforts in the second half of the 23/24 campaign.

LIVERPOOL (1st, +23 GD, 42 pts): A+

Mid-season MVP: Mohamed Salah

They’re scoring goals for fun, have the best defensive record in the league and if it weren’t for an egregious officiating error, would be undefeated.

Oh, and they’re sitting in first place too.

It’s been some start to the season for Liverpool who have won 12 of their 19 league games so far.

Unsurprisingly, Mohamed Salah has been pivotal to Liverpool’s success this season thanks to his 12 goals and seven assists in the Premier League.

The new-look Reds midfield has also impressed, especially summer arrival Dominik Szoboszlai.

Despite all of the Reds’ success this season, they have not been without their flaws.

Liverpool have had to come from behind to either win or draw on eight occasions this season and of those eight games, a goal has arrived in second-half stoppage time.

One side of that argument plays into Jurgen Klopp’s previous comments about his players being “mentality monsters”.

On the other hand, it is an unsustainable trend that could come back to bite Liverpool dearly.

Of course, the biggest question that faces Klopp’s side is how they will cope without Salah when he takes off for the African Cup of Nations with Egypt.

Given he has been involved in 19 of Liverpool’s 39 league goals this season, his absence takes away the team’s best goalscoring threat.

But Klopp is one of the best managers in the world for a reason and will have devised a plan to make up for Salah’s absence.

Just how well that plan works will likely prove the difference between winning the Premier League and falling agonisingly short yet again.

LUTON TOWN (18th, -13 GD, 15 pts): C-

Mid-season MVP: Ross Barkley

They’ve got no money, the smallest ground in the league, and it’s fair to say they were given no chance of survival. From the start of the season, they showed they were up for the fight. But the big question was always around whether they had enough quality.

In their first 12 games, they had six points and had scored just 10 goals. It felt like they probably deserved more – they gave Man Utd a huge scare and came within inches of beating Liverpool.

But they turned things around after that. Since then, they’ve scored 10 goals in six games and racked up nine points!

After being all-but-written-off in pre-season, they’re mounting a genuine run at avoiding relegation.

The Hatters have now won both games since captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest, including a genuine ‘six-pointer’ over Sheffield United.

Ex-PL defender Stephen Kelly told BBC Radio: “Sometimes it can be a horrendous moment like that that galvanises you as a group of players.

“Quality-wise I don’t think Luton are there when it comes to the Premier League and they can’t compete with the finances. But they compete with hard work, energy and desire.”

Maybe the magic touch of quality comes from Barkley, who has slotted in perfectly after joining from French first-tier team Nice in the off-season.

The former Everton and Chelsea midfield star is shining in a deeper role, picking up the ball deep and driving forward. His long balls and ability to draw in defenders has been crucial for Luton’s attack. The 30-year-old is undergoing a career resurgence – and it might just carry the Hatters to survival.

MANCHESTER CITY (4th, +22 GD, 37 pts): A-

Mid-season MVP: Rodri

The status that comes with winning four Premier League titles in a row explains why this season so far feels a little below par for Manchester City.

It’s been a rather bizarre season for Pep Guardiola’s side, who found themselves in fourth at the halfway mark of the 23/24 season.

Some things remain relatively normal: Erling Haaland leads the golden boot race with 14, City are the league’s highest scorers with 43 and have conceded the third-fewest goals (21).

But there’s a feeling City, for the first time in a long while, might be a little vulnerable.

The absence of star Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has no doubt played a major role in that sentiment, while Haaland’s recent injury has lightened the load on opposition backlines.

Yet there’s one alarming stat which suggests those two aren’t the vital pieces to City’s title charge.

Instead, it’s Spanish midfielder Rodri.

Granted he’s not going to provide the mind-boggling assist and goal numbers De Bruyne and Haaland provide.

But from the three games City have not had Rodri available, they have lost all three: a 2-1 loss to Wolves as well as 1-0 defeats to Arsenal and Aston Villa.

City also could and perhaps should have a better defensive record, if not for the 4-4 and 3-3 goalfests against Chelsea and Tottenham respectively.

In fact, City have conceded goals in the 90th minute and beyond for three of their four draws this season, pointing to a serious concentration issue that has crept in for Guardiola’s side.

However, there’s always a sense of inevitability with City given they know exactly when to peak during the final run-in and simply cannot be counted out until it’s mathematically impossible.

MANCHESTER UNITED (7th, -4 GD, 31 pts): B-

Mid-season MVP: Bruno Fernandes

Let’s start with the positives. They’re seventh on the ladder and still in top-four contention. Bruno Fernandes is putting together a season for the ages when it comes to playmaking (more on that below). But it’s fair to say there are still big problems.

Ten times this season, Manchester United have conceded more than one goal in the space of 10 minutes or less. This month alone that has included two in five minutes (Villa), two in six (West Ham), two in five (Bournemouth).

Then there’s the attack. United have scored just 21 goals this season, which is the equal-third fewest of any team in the Premier League.

Before their impressive comeback win over Aston Villa, United’s forwards had scored a combined four league goals from open play in 18 games. The team had gone over 420 minutes without scoring before Garnacho’s opening goal against Villa. Big-money signing Rasmus Hojlund’s goal in the game was his first in the league … in his 15th appearance!

“Too many people talk about the strikers at Man Utd,” Garnacho said after the game.

United fans will be hoping their forwards can finally find some form and shut up the critics.

Thankfully, they’re getting plenty of service from Fernandes, who keeps creating chances at a remarkable rate. His expected assists this season stands at 6.47 per understat, while his actual assists is just three. If his teammates can stop missing so many chances, United can still make something of this season.

NEWCASTLE (9th, +12 GD, 29 pts): B-

Mid-season MVP: Anthony Gordon

It was always going to be a difficult ask for Newcastle to build on the wild ride all the way to the Champions League they enjoyed last season.

And so far, that’s exactly what it’s proving to be.

A 5-1 win over Aston Villa and an 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield United are distant memories as Eddie Howe’s side limped its way to the halfway mark, losing four of their last five games.

The depth of Eddie Howe’s squad has been tested beyond belief as the addition of a European schedule has placed plenty of strain on a playing group desperately short on depth.

Couple that with lengthy injury spells to key players like Nick Pope, Harvey Barnes and Sven Botman to name three and it’s easy to understand why the Magpies are suffering this season.

There’s also been the unwanted distraction of marquee summer recruit Sandro Tonali’s suspension for gambling, robbing Newcastle of a player deemed pivotal to their domestic and European hopes.

But amid all the doom and gloom in the Toon, winger Anthony Gordon has been a shining light.

Gordon wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s his relentless energy that has resulted in vital goals for Newcastle.

The 22-year-old has six league goals to his name but, most crucially, has started 17 of 19 games.

Having guided Newcastle back to the Champions League last season, Howe’s job is extremely likely to be safe despite the team’s struggles this season.

But given it is the first sustained period of on-field woes, it will be extremely intriguing to see how patient Newcastle’s Saudi ownership are.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (16th, -12 GD, 17 pts): D

Mid-season MVP: Morgan Gibbs-White

It wasn’t anything close to the transfer extravaganza prior to their Premier League return last year, but Nottingham Forest still decided to loosen the pursestrings and bring a raft of stars to the City Ground, including star wingers Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga.

Despite the high-profile additions, Forest boss Steve Cooper couldn’t quite get them firing when he needed to and as a result the cult hero was sacked.

Looking at Forest’s results this season and it’s hard not to see why club owner Evangelos Marinakis lost patience with Cooper.

Things appeared reasonably bright for the Reds at the start of the season having lost just four of their opening 11 games and even then, those defeats were to Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool.

But after a surprise 2-0 win at home against Aston Villa, the wheels fell off for Cooper and his team.

Four straight losses — including a 5-0 humiliation away to Fulham which resulted in Marinakis hurling his matchday accreditation into the front garden of a home near Craven Cottage — cranked up the pressure on Cooper.

A 1-1 draw against Wolves only proved to be a brief stay of execution, as a 2-0 loss to Tottenham the following week brought an end to Cooper’s time at the club.

Former Wolves boss Nuno Esperito Santo has now arrived and although he tasted defeat amid controversial circumstances in his first match in charge, Forest looked a brighter side in a 3-1 win away to Newcastle.

Although Forest may privately harbour aspirations bigger than just survival, Nuno’s remit will no doubt be to avoid the drop.

Dynamic forward Morgan Gibbs-White will be vital to achieving this aim, as will the goalscoring prowess of Kiwi striker Chris Wood.

SHEFFIELD UNITED (20th, -32 GD, 9 pts): E

Mid-season MVP: Gustavo Hamer

The Blades have lacked a cutting edge (sorry) up front, but they’ve also been sliced apart defensively. They’ve got the worst offensive and defensive record in the league by some distance. In fact, after 19 games, they hold the second-worst defensive record in Premier League history. Their 47 goals conceded is second only to Barnsley 1997-98 (50 conceded).

But to be fair, expectations were low this season, especially when they sold two key players in Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille and Sander Berge to rivals Burnley. At times they have been a shambles that feels more like a bunch of individuals than any sort of united team. They’ve lost two games 5-0 and another 8-0, sacked a manager and need a miracle to avoid relegation. It’s been a sorry season.

Hamer, a 15 million pound signing, has been a rare shining light. He struck an absolute screamer on his Premier League debut and has impressed with his workrate on and off the ball. He is creative and courageous – which sometimes results in gifting possession to the opposition too frequently – but he has the kind of intensity and drive to win that is infectious. At least, Sheffield fans will hope so, otherwise it will be straight back to the Championship for the Blades.

TOTTENHAM (5th, +11 GD, 36 pts): A

Mid-season MVP: Ange Postecoglou (we had to!)

From leading the league in October, to managing to find a way to score goals after losing arguably the club’s greatest-ever striker Harry Kane, and most importantly playing an attractive style of football, it’s been one hell of a start to the season for Spurs. They’ve faced a major injury crisis that’s about as bad as any team in the league, and took out two of their star signings (and most important players overall) James Maddison and Micky van de Ven.

At the same time, they’ve been struck down by suspensions – like Cristian Romero, who sums up their season with his two red cards followed by a big injury.

Sure, they had a poor November, but overall the first half of the season has been more than impressive.

They lost 14 games last season. At the mid-point of this season, they’ve lost five.

And if Postecoglou thought he had already undergone a brutal test with a casualty ward at capacity as well as constant suspensions, he’s got a nightmare scenario in the very near future.

He’s about to lose star midfield duo Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr to the African Cup of Nations as well as club captain Heung-Min Son to the Asian Cup.

But the Australian boss has never shied away from a challenge and he won’t be about to do so now.

Perspective is also needed when viewing Postecoglou’s achievements amid the brutal hand he has been dealt when it comes to the unavailability of several of his first team stars.

When he’s had everyone free to play, we’ve seen just how good this Tottenham team can be.

WEST HAM (6th, +3 GD, 33 pts): B

Mid-season MVP: Jarrod Bowen

Prior to the season, the big question surrounding West Ham was about how they would navigate life without talismanic midfielder and captain Declan Rice after his £105 million move to Arsenal.

Granted, a direct replacement of Rice’s quality was just about impossible.

But thanks to the summer additions of Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse, Rice’s absence is not as keenly felt as first feared.

Hammers boss David Moyes also began the season as one manager tipped as a likely chance of getting sacked and, for a brief period this season, it looked like that could have eventuated.

A run of five defeats in seven games heaped pressure on the Scot, but in typical Moyes fashion, he managed to turn the ship around.

Since that run, West Ham have lost just once — a rogue 5-0 hammering at the hands of Fulham — and have won six of their last eight to rocket up from 12th place all the way to sixth.

Pivotal to this uptick in form is the dynamic trio of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.

Paqueta leads the league in the most through balls with 19, ahead of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bruno Fernandes and Martin Odegaard, and has five assists to his name.

After a slow start, Kudus has found his feet in the Premier League and has four goals in his last six league games.

But it is Bowen who has been the real shining light of West Ham, with his 11 goals to date proving vital.

His pace and ability to stretch opposition backlines is crucial to the Hammers hitting teams in transition and, as it stands, should be considered a lock for England’s squad at EURO 2024.

WOLVES (11th, -4 GD, 25 pts): C

Mid-season MVP: Matheus Cunha

When Julen Lopetegui resigned on August 8, many Wolves fans would have been forgiven if they feared the worst going into this season.

The relatively underwhelming appointment of Gary O’Neil — who was sacked by Bournemouth not long after the end of the 2022/23 season — did little to allay those fears.

Despite the initial fears, Wolves fans backed O’Neil to the hilt and that bond has strengthened over the course of this season.

The highs have been very high for Wolves so far, with home wins against the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City giving the Molineux faithful plenty to sing about.

But the one thing that has tightened the bond between Wolves fans and O’Neil is the fact the club has been on the wrong side of an alarming number of VAR calls.

It began in the first match of the season when Wolves were denied what looked like a stonewall penalty after Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic.

Wolves also had two penalty calls go against them in the 3-2 defeat to Fulham, with O’Neil even claiming referee Michael Salisbury told him he made a mistake in awarding one of the penalties.

It led O’Neil to state his team had lost seven points as a result of VAR’s ineptitude, but it also helped create a siege mentality amongst the entire club.

To an extent it’s paid off, with Wolves sitting 10 points clear of the relegation zone and only six points off seventh, the position which qualifies a team for the Europa Conference League.

Matheus Cunha, who joined on a permanent deal in the summer, is a big reason for Wolves’ improvement this season as are the goals from Hwang Hee-Chan.

Cunha’s four goals and five assists goes some way to explaining the attacking threat he provides for O’Neil’s team and will look to continue to be a nuisance for the opposition.