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Some Chelsea fans used to cheekily refer to Tottenham Hotspur's old stadium, White Hart Lane, as "Three Point Lane" owing to their stellar record at the ground.

Fans would be forgiven for putting that moniker on their current stadium after a torrid run of form, with just three of their previous 18 home matches -- the worst record for any Premier League team in this period. The latest installment of Spurs' home woes came on Sunday when visitors Aston Villa fought back from a goal down courtesy of stunning goals from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendía, stealing all three points.

The majority of that dismal run came under previous boss Ange Postecoglou. But it is the incumbent Thomas Frank who must find a solution, and it will not provide confidence that he could not quite explain why.

"I hope I can. Maybe, I don't think it's that simple," Frank said, adding that he thought the team showed promise against Burnley on the opening day of the season and a "good first half" against Wolves.

"I think this game [should have been] a draw, a clear draw and we could easily have won instead of Villa and then it would be a different narrative," he said.

It is a home record that goes against Frank's managerial record. In the three years since guiding Brentford to the Premier League, he boasted an admirable 42% win rate at home, despite comparatively meagre resources.

Spurs' issues last season, which saw them finish 17th in the Premier League, went much deeper than their home form and left them with a stick or twist decision on Postecoglou. That Nottingham Forest have faced the same dilemma this week and landed on the same decision -- firing the Australian manager after just 39 days -- may have buried any possible support for the idea that Spurs would have been better keep him.

Maybe it is in Frank's benefit, too. Even after Sunday's defeat, the Dane headed down the tunnel to the sound of general applause.

Postecoglou's implosion at Forest will have given Spurs a glimpse of what could have been, and made them more grateful for what they have. However, Frank won't perennially be able to ride on this wave of goodwill.

As Postecoglou alluded to in his fiery final news conference at Forest, it doesn't take much for the tide to turn.

The broad narrative around Spurs is that they are in a good place. But, the numbers don't back that up. Going into last weekend's fixtures, they were outperforming their attacking and defensive xG by a greater margin than any other club.

Frank was defiant about his side's performance in the loss to Villa, hailing their defensive efforts as "excellent." But dig a little deeper into the numbers and you'll find that Spurs had just one shot more than Villa and their open-play xG (0.24) was lower than Villa's (0.37).

- Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa: Rogers, Buendía wreck Frank's 'fortress' hopes

- Cristian Romero's Tottenham warm-up issue 'nothing big' - Frank

- How Ange Postecoglou's eight-game Forest nightmare unfolded

They had the joint-best defensive record in the league going into Sunday's clash, with just five goals conceded in seven matches. But two of those seven games were against newly-promoted teams while both Wolves and West Ham had finished 16th and 14th in the league last year, respectively.

It is too early to make any grand conclusions about Frank's tenure after 12 games in all competitions -- in a similar period when Postecoglou took over, Spurs were top of the table.

How the north London side fare in their next eight games will provide a clearer answer on their pedigree, and of Frank.

Across the next month, Spurs will face Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in the league. Monaco, Copenhagen and Paris Saint-Germain await in the Champions League, while there is also a trip to St. James' Park for a fourth-round Carabao Cup clash against Newcastle United.

It's a tricky run of fixtures. Perhaps it is a saving grace for Spurs that just three of them are at home.

LONDON -- Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has said that a positive moment was coming for the "hard-working" Morgan Rogers after the midfielder's return to form in his side's win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Rogers scored his first goal for Villa in 20 games across all competitions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday after a tough start to the season for his club.

His performance in north London came on the back off playing a starring role for England in the international break where he was instrumental in their 3-0 win over Wales and Emery had no doubt the performances would also come for him on the domestic front.

"Always he [Rogers] is doing his task, he is a hard worker," Emery told a post-match news conference.

"The performance individually was coming and the team... [if they] need, they work and then the quality or the skill [will come through].

"Morgan, especially he did the same progression because he was working and sometimes we can play brilliant and sometimes not brilliant but always we have to work.

"And Morgan, he is playing and he is scoring because he is helping the team for 90 minutes and he has the capacity physically as well to keep it [intensity], of course he will need at some moments to rest."

-Buendia strike sees Villa come from behind to beat Tottenham

-Reaction: Rogers, Buendía wreck Frank's 'fortress' hopes

-Rogers firmly enters No. 10 debate for Tuchel's England

Ollie Watkins, who also played a big role in England's win over Wales alongside Rogers, came on in the second half after picking up a knock while with his country and his manager was full of praise for the striker's performance.

"Today, Watkins played 30 minutes fantastic, he didn't score but fantastic," Emery said.

"Today I watched him: 'Wow this is a better Watkins,' not scoring, not assisting but he played fantastic, we were attacking for him."

Argentina international Emiliano Buendía scored the winner on the afternoon, the second solo effort of the game for Villa, with the goal coming after a difficult period in Birmingham for the former Norwich City forward.

"Yes, but one reason for how he has struggled in two years [at Villa] was his injury, he needed time to recover and he has started this season differently to last year, performing very well in the start, getting minutes and confidence," Emery added.

"His skill is clear, he has the skill to make the difference, like he is doing. "I am so happy with him."

Spurs vs. Aston Villa (19 Oct, 2025) Live Score  ESPN United Kingdom

LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero was replaced by Kevin Danso in the team's starting lineup for Sunday's Premier League clash against Aston Villa.

Spurs announced the change shortly after the team's warm-up for the game in north London and confirmed that Micky van de Ven will skipper the side in Romero's absence.

The Argentina international has completed 90 minutes in each of Spurs' seven games this season, impressing alongside Van de Ven under new head coach Thomas Frank.

Romero started Argentina's friendly against Venezuela during the recently-concluded international break but remained on the bench for the game against Puerto Rico.

Danso has made seven appearances in all competitions this season, with the clash against Villa his first start of the Premier League campaign.

Djed Spence for Destiny Udogie was the only other change from the Spurs side that overcame Leeds United prior to the international break.

"He [Udogie] came back from international duty, had a minor irritation in his knee. Nothing major. He won't be out for long," Frank told Sky Sports in his pre-match interview.

Spurs starting XI:

Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Cristian Romero, Djed Spence, Rodrigo Bentancur, João Palhinha, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel

The action continues on this exciting weekend across Europe!

We start this Sunday with Tottenham Hotspur facing Aston Villa, with Spurs having make a late change as defender Kevin Danso replaced captain Cristian Romero for his first Premier League start.

Then, attention turns to the headline fixture -- Liverpool vs. Manchester United, one of the Premier League's biggest matches of the season and a highlight across the continent.

Stay with us for live updates throughout the day!

Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendía's strikes from range saw Aston Villa come from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur in a high-octane affair on Sunday.

After a wobbling start to the season, Unai Emery appears to have stabilised the ship. His side have now won five successive games in all competitions, and climbed into the top half of the table.

A win would have taken Spurs into second, but their home form continues to hold them back.

The hosts made a rapid start to the game and took a fifth-minute lead through Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguay international slotted home from a Micky van de Ven knockback.

Villa struggled to find a foothold in the game and their equaliser came against the run of play after Rogers lashed home from outside the box with Villa's first shot on target.

Mathys Tel and João Pahlinha came close to putting Spurs ahead either side of half-time but were denied by a combination of poor finishing and Emi Martínez.

Buendía has been integral to Villa's recent upturn in form and his impact was again decisive on Sunday. The second-half substitute scored with Villa's second shot on target, with an angled left-foot finish from outside the box in the 77th minute. -- Shubi Arun

Spurs' failing 'fortress'

Thomas Frank spoke of making the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a "fortress" in his news conference on Friday, but his side continue to be over-indulgent hosts.

The defeat means Frank's side have now won just one of their four Premier League home games this season. That victory was on the opening day against Burnley.

They have taken just 13 points from their last 18 home games, the worst record for any Premier League team during that time.

While the home form is yet to dent the atmosphere in the stadium this season, there were a smattering of boos at full-time. But they were largely drowned out by a delirious away end.

Frank knows how important it is to keep the fans on his side, as was evidenced by the manner in which he ensured his players showed their appreciation to the supporters post-match. -- Shubi Arun

- Sunday's Premier League action: Follow ESPN's live blog

- Report: Buendía strike sees Villa come from behind to beat Spurs

- Premier League table

Rogers returning to top form

Rogers' form has dominated the conversation around Aston Villa's season so far. He struggled to get going in Villa's first few games, and lo and behold so did Unai Emery's side, taking four games to score their first goal.

Since then he has well and truly put his name in the conversation to be England's No. 10 at the 2026 World Cup next summer and he showed exactly why at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Villa looked disjointed going forward for much of the first-half with €35 million man Evann Guessand, who is yet to score his first league goal, unable to replicate that Watkins-Rogers connection that Thomas Tuchel saw first-hand in England's win over Wales in the international break.

Step up Rogers, the Birmingham born forward picked up the ball just outside Spurs' box in the 37th minute before unleashing a thunderbolt that sailed over Guglielmo Vicario and was fittingly, Villa's first shot on target in the game.

Before his stunner on Sunday, Rogers had gone 20 games in all competitions without scoring for Villa while also sitting top of the Premier League's assist charts for 2025 with 9, perfectly encapsulating the enigma of not only his season so far but the inconsistencies of his performances compared to the world-class potential that many, including England manager Tuchel see in him.

If Rogers can add that consistency to his game then Jude Bellingham may have a problem come next summer and Villa could have -- with many of the persuasion that they already have -- a fully fledged starboy on their hands. -- Aiman Khalid

Clinical Villa make Spurs pay

Villa only registered two shots on target in the 90 and that was all they needed, highlighting just how fine the margins can be in the Premier League, especially when you are without your first-choice strikers.

Their attacking bluntness without Ollie Watkins starting proved merely an inconvenience rather than a match-defining struggle as two solo stunners were enough to send Spurs' fans home reeling from another home loss, a sight all too familiar for the Lilywhites.

Without the focal point of Dominic Solanke, Spurs had their fair share of chances with Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel and the ever-threatening Mohamed Kudus but just couldn't get over the line as they put slightly more faith in Kevin Danso's long throws than many inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would like.

Despite the hosts' huffing and puffing, Villa showed Thomas Frank and Spurs that being clinical comes before all when Emiliano Buendia found the bottom corner with his left foot in the 77th minute.

It doesn't get any easier for Spurs with a trip to Monaco in the Champions League, Newcastle and Chelsea on the horizon, games where their attacking efficiency will once again be tested as Thomas Frank's up-and-down start to life in north London rolls on. -- Aiman Khalid

Kudus effort falls short

Kudus is arguably the best crosser of the ball in the Premier League right now. Spurs came into this weekend ranked second for completed open-play crosses (119), and this largely down to the Ghana international.

Spurs' opener came from a whipped Kudus cross into the box that Van de Ven headed across goal for Bentancur to slot home from.

The former West Ham forward was unlucky to not add to his tally four assists this season (joint-highest with Jack Grealish) late in the first half, after Tel failed to convert his inviting cross from a couple of yards out.

Kudus had Lucas Digne's number through the game and was left ruining another Spurs performance that didn't translate into a win. -- Shubi Arun

Key stats

Bentancur's opener after 4 minutes and 38 seconds was Tottenham's earliest goal in the Premier League since January -- Dominic Solanke scored after 3 minutes and 23 seconds in a home defeat by Newcastle United

Aston Villa have now conceded 3 goals in the first 15 minutes of matches in the Premier League this season -- no team have let in more during this period

Since the start of last season, sides managed by Thomas Frank have scored more Premier League goals in the opening five minutes of games than any other manager (6)

Before his equaliser against Tottenham, Rogers went 20 matches in all competitions without scoring for Aston Villa since his goal away at Paris Saint-Germain in April.

Villa registered their third win in their last four visits to Spurs in the Premier League after earning only three wins in their prior 11

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story

Morgan Rogers' first goal for Aston Villa in 20 matches inspired a fifth consecutive win and piled more home woe on Tottenham as they suffered a 2-1 Premier League defeat.

Rogers had shone for England during the international break, but failed to score in club football since the start of April, but changed that at Spurs with a sensational 37th-minute equaliser.

It cancelled out Rodrigo Bentancur's fifth-minute opener for Thomas Frank's side and as Tottenham pushed for a rare home victory in the league in 2025, they were hit with a sucker-punch as Emiliano Buendía's curler, 13 minutes from time, sealed the comeback for Villa.

Frank had failed to beat Unai Emery in five previous attempts and his efforts this time were not helped by captain Cristian Romero being forced to pull out in the warm-up.

It meant Kevin Danso was a last-minute inclusion for Spurs, but the hosts put that to one side to break the deadlock after five minutes.

Villa dealt with the initial corner into the area and yet Mohammed Kudus' superb follow-up delivery was headed back across goal by João Palhinha for Bentancur to drill in from eight yards, for his first goal in 10 months.

It was momentarily 2-0 two minutes later when Kudus drilled through Emi Martinez after a wonderful cross-field ball by stand-in captain Micky van de Ven, but it was correctly ruled out for offside.

Villa did respond with pantomime villain Matty Cash -- who was booed after two notably-poor tackles in past meetings with Tottenham -- firing wide from range in the 15th minute.

Martinez spilled an effort by Wilson Odobert soon after, but no Spurs player reacted quick enough before opposite number Guglielmo Vicario punched out a dangerous Lucas Digne cross.

Tottenham looked set to retain their lead at half-time until Rogers produced a sensational equaliser.

With 37 minutes on the clock, England attacker Rogers skipped past Xavi Simons and rifled a dripping effort beyond Vicario for his first goal of the campaign.

Flying tackles resulted in brief stoppages for Amadou Onana and Pedro Porro before Tottenham forward Mathys Tel squandered an opening at the back post from a Kudus cross to ensure it stayed 1-1 at the break.

After Villa full-back Digne required treatment after being caught by Danso with his follow-through, the second half sparked into life.

A long throw by Danso created chaos in the away goal but Ezri Konsa managed to block Odobert's goal-bound effort on the line before Palhinha's 20-yard curler was tipped wide by Martinez.

Emery's team swung back as John McGinn slipped in Donyell Malen but he fired into the side-netting under pressure from Van de Ven.

Both benches reacted, with Richarlison sent on for Spurs on the hour mark and Ollie Watkins introduced a minute later.

Frank prepared to roll the dice again with Lucas Bergvall and Randal Kolo Muani ready to come on but after Tottenham declined multiple chances to send them on, Villa punished the hosts in the 77th minute.

The visiting full-backs combined with Cash's wonderful cross-field pass plucked out of the air by Digne, who teed up Buendia and he curled around a crowd of bodies to fool Vicario.

Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou launched a staunch defence of his Premier League managerial record and his first season at Tottenham Hotspur in an extraordinary news conference on Friday.

"[First season at Tottenham] disappeared from the record books," Postecoglou said.

"In fact it was used as a reason for me losing my job because even Tottenham decided to exclude the first 10 games [after which Spurs were top of the Premier League] because they were an anomaly apparently -- although the first 10 games here are very important apparently."

Among soccer nerds, it's generally accepted that we can start making confident statements about team performance once we hit the 10-game mark of the Premier League season.

It's a random, low-scoring sport where conversion rates fluctuate massively from game to game, and the same is true for individual and team-level performances. Throw in unbalanced, lopsided schedules from team to team that don't even out until we get to the end of the season, and there are so many ways you can get out over your skis by drawing too many conclusions before we get to Halloween.

But we're only a couple of weeks away from putting our costumes on, so we've definitely learned some new things about the Premier League already. The question is: How do we figure out what's real and what's not?

To try to sift through the noise, Bill Connelly and Ryan O'Hanlon are back with the first edition of their Premier League power rankings since the season began. As always, they've each ranked the entire league from 1 to 20, combined their rankings, averaged them together, and come up with the final list.

How much have things changed over the first two months? Read on to find out.

The updated Premier League team rankings

We last did this in August, right before the season began. Our re-rankings -- the combination of the individual rankings from Bill and Ryan -- are listed along with the preseason rankings and each team's present points total and goal differential in the Premier League table.

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Arsenal: Back on top -- for now?

Here are some things that are true about Arsenal:

• They've already played three of the toughest fixtures on their schedule: away to Liverpool, home against Manchester City, and away to Newcastle.

• William Saliba has played only 65% of the available minutes.

• Bukayo Saka has played only 55% of the available minutes.

• Martin Ødegaard has played only 32% of the available minutes.

• Kai Havertz has played only 4.9% of the available minutes.

• Viktor Gyökeres has scored only two non-penalty goals.

Despite those things all being true, so too are these things:

• They've scored the second-most goals in the Premier League: 14

• They've given up the fewest goals in the Premier League: 3

• They have the best goal differential in the Premier League: plus-9

• They have the best expected goal differential in the Premier League: plus-7.5

• They have the most points in the Premier League: 16

Arsenal have easily been the best team through the first seven matches, and unless you think that all of Arsenal's best players aren't actually that good, and that Gyökeres is going to start scoring less often than he currently is, then Mikel Arteta's team should get even better.

They're not certainties to win the Premier League -- there's a long way to go -- but we're getting close to the point where the Gunners deserve to have greater title odds than the rest of the league put together. -- O'Hanlon

Liverpool: Work in progress

What will stability look like for big-spending Liverpool if or when it arrives? Because the first two months of this season have just been a straight adrenaline rush.

The champions lost two leads and lost to Crystal Palace on penalties in the Community Shield. They lost three more leads but still beat Bournemouth and Newcastle. They eked out late wins over Arsenal and Burnley, then lost another two-goal lead in an eventual Champions League win over Atlético Madrid. Then there were two more one-goal wins, followed by late collapses and three straight one-goal losses. Ten of their 11 matches have been decided by one goal, and the other was tied late.

This is just exhausting, and it has relegated the Reds from projected favorites in the Premier League and Champions League to secondary status in both. Ranking them third here almost felt generous.

There are worse places to be, of course. But until they get their transition defense right, it's hard to see them reaching their goals. So far in Premier League play, they rank 11th in expected goals, or xG, allowed per shot and have gotten two or more defenders between shot and goal only 68.6% of the time (20th).

The top-line stats remain pretty solid: They're first in possession rate (61.3%), first in combined progressive carries and passes, third in goals, et cetera. But as was expected when they signed a load of new attackers and two attack-friendly fullbacks, the balance is off. And it's hard to fix that over the first half of the season, with nonstop fixtures and a trio of international breaks.

How long might it take Arne Slot to both get the new attack fully functional -- Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, combined: one goal and one assist in 640 minutes -- while heading off the issues at the back? -- Connelly

Wait, Spurs are ninth?

Tottenham are currently on pace to finish the season with 71 goals scored, 27 goals allowed and 76 points. Last season, those marks would've ranked third, first, and second. That prorated plus-44 goal differential would be just one behind Liverpool's league-best and league-winning mark from last season.

And yet: we have Spurs ninth -- exactly where we had them before the season started. Given that we both ranked Arsenal No. 1, are our North London allegiances showing? Aren't they playing at a Champions League level? And after all, didn't these guys, you know, finish last season in 17th?

They did -- and their underlying numbers this season are even worse.

Under Ange Postecoglu last season, Spurs created 1.6 expected goals per game and conceded 1.7. This season, the defense has improved significantly (1.3 xG conceded per game), but the attack has cratered to 1.1 xG per game. And so, last season's per-game xG differential was minus-0.1; this season's is minus-0.2.

The explanation for Tottenham's massively improved results, then, is mostly unsustainable finishing -- at both ends of the field. They're outperforming their xG by a greater degree than any other team in the league on the attacking end and on the defensive side.

Unless Thomas Frank has created some new tactic that completely fools the models that drove the decision-making at his previous club, Brentford, then Spurs are going to come crashing back to earth at some point.

Per Opta's power ratings, they've also played the second-easiest set of opponents in the league so far. The next few months could be rough. -- O'Hanlon

Whose rise is more sustainable: Bournemouth or Palace?

Bournemouth just keep inching closer and closer to the big time. They enjoyed their second top-10 finish in the first division in 2024-25, and they were close to something greater -- they were within shouting distance of a Champions League place before injuries and poor depth caused a late crash.

About 20% of the way through this new season, they're only two points out of first, having beaten Spurs and lost only to Liverpool. Palace, meanwhile, have won two trophies in the past five months, have beaten Liverpool twice and didn't suffer their first league loss until Oct. 5.

Neither of these teams are particularly lucky to have landed spots in the top six at the moment -- they're both in the top eight in xG differential, and neither are overachieving dramatically against those xG figures. We ranked Bournemouth slightly ahead in the rankings above, and they did add quite a few new players (while also losing quite a few) in the search for better depth.

But can they last another 31 games at this level with such an exhausting style of play? They're first in the league in ball recoveries (46.4 per game) and total defensive interventions (117.0 per game), and they play the most possessions per game (88.7) while allowing the fewest passes per defensive action (9.7), or PPDA, a good approximation of defensive intensity.

Palace aren't nearly as intense, for better or worse. They rank 18th in PPDA (14.6), and they start just 4.5% of possessions in the attacking third (20th). But no one does a better job of creating great opportunities with very little of the ball.

Oliver Glasner's squad is thriving with an almost old-school defend-and-counter game. It's less creative and exciting than Bournemouth's style, but on the 10th anniversary of the ultimate defend-and-counter success story -- Leicester City's stunning title run -- and in an age of energy conservation through long, arduous seasons, might this be the winning approach? -- Connelly

Manchester United might be finding some footing?

Over a long enough period of time, the expected and actual goal totals for a team are likely to line up pretty well. Over the short term, a lot of nonsense can happen. After seven matches, 14 Premier League teams have produced a scoring total within two goals of expectation, and four others are within four goals. But there are two incredible outliers early this season. We discussed Tottenham above; they've scored 5.5 more goals than their xG totals suggest they should have. And on the flipside, we have Manchester United, who are creating a league-leading 2.0 xG per game but are tied for eighth in actual goals.

Never let it be said that United have lost their flair for irony. They caught a lot of skepticism this offseason from the analytics community for signing both Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha after seasons in which their finishing was unsustainably good (and their prices were as high as they would ever be). The duo combined to attempt shots worth 20.9 xG last season -- solid production, to be sure -- but they scored 36 actual goals, a 72% overachievement that they were never going to sustain.

This season, in 948 league minutes, they've attempted shots worth 3.3 xG, a pace reasonably close to last season's. But they've scored only once between them, underachievement of an almost perfectly symmetrical 70%. (Bruno Fernandes has pitched in as well, scoring only twice from shots worth 3.7 xG.)

That's the bad (and funny) news. The good news is, this probably won't last very long either. And when the xG gods stop having their fun, the fact that United rank first in shot attempts (15.7 per game), second in shots on goal (4.9), second in total shots worth at least 0.2 xG (2.6 per game), third in xG differential (+0.6), fifth in set-piece scoring margin (+1) and even third in shots allowed (9.1 per game) will probably start to matter more than whether or not Ruben Amorim refuses to vary his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.

United aren't attempting ridiculously high-quality shots -- they're only seventh in xG per shot (and 20th in xG allowed per shot) -- but winning the shot-quantity battle by as much as they do tends to pay off over the long haul. -- Connelly

Brighton and Villa are stuck in mud

Before the season, Aston Villa and Brighton seemed like the two most likely outsiders to crash the top-five party. They both hung on to most of their key players; the former still has lots of talent and didn't need to worry about Champions League matches this year; the latter had all kinds of young talent waiting to break out.

Well, with Brighton, we're still waiting for those breakouts. Despite all of the young talent on the squad, only four goals have been scored by players who were 24 or younger at the time of the match. Six other teams have more. And while it's a fun story that 34-year-old striker Danny Welbeck is still contributing more than a decade after winning a Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson, "Is Danny Welbeck still leading the team in goals?" is a good heuristic for the health of the Brighton project. And so far the answer is "yes" -- he has scored twice.

Though Brighton have been somewhere around a league-average team overall, Villa have been much worse than that. Through seven matches, only West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Burnley have worse expected-goal differentials.

In particular, the attack has been unwatchable. Despite averaging more possession than Manchester City this season (57.1%), Villa have created 6.03 expected goals -- fewer than any team other than Burnley. Ollie Watkins has played every game, he has scored one goal, and he's attempting fewer than two shots per game.

The scariest part of all of this: Villa still haven't played Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea. -- O'Hanlon

Will two promoted teams survive?

This time last season, the three promoted teams (Leicester City, Ipswich and Southampton) had combined for 11 points in 21 combined games. Only one was technically in the relegation zone due to terrible starts from Crystal Palace and Wolves, but none were even slightly looking the part.

This season, the promotion trio of Sunderland, Leeds United and Burnley have combined for 23 points in 21 games. And though Burnley haven't provided tons of hope regarding their survival -- their xG differential of minus-1.2 goals per game is the worst in the league by a large margin -- the other two seem to be in pretty sturdy shape.

We were reasonably optimistic about both Leeds and Sunderland heading into the season. They still looked like pretty likely relegation candidates -- after two straight years of watching all three promoted teams go immediately back down, it was hard to think otherwise -- but it appeared both teams had a decent amount to offer. Leeds looked as if they could create a decent combination of defensive organization and quick-strike attacking, and thus far they've done exactly that.

They rank 13th in goals allowed and a more encouraging sixth in xG allowed -- meaning any future progression toward the mean could help them even more -- and only 13.6% of their opponents' touches in the attacking third have come in the box, the lowest in the league. That positively screams "defensive organization."

Their attack is far from amazing, but they're still averaging 1.0 goals per game (13th) from 1.1 xG (12th). Their three goals from set pieces rank fifth in the league as well, and "defend your butt off and score on set pieces" is the closest thing in the world to a tried-and-true recipe for surviving a relegation scrap.

Sunderland were the worst of the three promoted teams last season, but the moves they made in the offseason made loads of sense. "The club did as well as it could to add depth, plucking primarily from clubs known to develop young talent well," we wrote in our August preview. "Throw in a boost of veteran leadership from [Granit] Xhaka and [Reinildo] Mandava, and this was a wonderfully logical offseason."

Newcomers have provided 75% of Sunderland's minutes, all of their assists (and 78% of their chances created), 81% of their ball recoveries, 81% of their progressive carries, 80% of their progressive passes and 53% of their shot attempts (though only 29% of their goals). This was a grand chemistry experiment, and it has paid off in the form of only two losses in their first seven matches.

They're currently eighth in the table, and while their xG differential is sixth worst (not a great sign of where their form might go in the future), A) sixth-worst still isn't relegation worthy, and B) they've stored up some points, and they're seven points above the relegation zone.

It's a long season, but both Leeds and Sunderland are playing like Premier League-worthy teams. Better yet, some of the incumbents they're trying to top are doing the exact opposite. -- Connelly

Who's in the most danger: Forest, Wolves or West Ham?

If you were hoping to avoid relegation, which of these teams would you rather be?

Team A: You have no wins and only two points -- the fewest in the league. But you seem to trust your coach; at least, he knows his players and you didn't hire him after the season started. And on top of that, your underlying performance hasn't been that bad; you have the 16th-best xG differential in the league. Keep that up, and you're bound to start winning points at a slightly higher clip.

Team B: You're on your third permanent manager since January. You've conceded 16 goals -- most in the league. And your six goals scored aren't much better -- second worst in the league. No one has been outscored by a bigger margin than you. Seven of your 10 most-used players will be 28 or older by the end of the season. You have four points, you're in 19th, and your new manager was just fired by a team that's only one point ahead of you in the table.

Team C: You finished in seventh last season. You are currently competing in the Europa League. You spent more money on transfer fees than Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain this past summer. Your new manager is the reigning Europa League champion. That new manager was also fired by his previous club despite winning the Europa League. This new manager has historically played a completely different style -- wide-open, high-pressing, ultra-attacking -- to the manager who guided your team to seventh place last season and whom you fired shortly after the current season began. You're one point clear of the bottom three, but you have the second-worst xG differential in the Premier League.

If you haven't figured it out yet: Team A is Wolves, Team B is West Ham, and Team C is Nottingham Forest. In these situations, when we're choosing among undoubtedly bad teams, I'm always taking the points. So, give me Forest first, West Ham second, and Wolves third.

The 2020 documentary "All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur" provided a revealing glimpse into Harry Kane's psyche. In a one-on-one chat with then-manager Jose Mourinho, Kane said: "When you're at a club like Tottenham, we've done well and I've done well, but I want to be [Cristiano Ronaldo] or [Lionel Messi]."

Some might have scoffed at the English striker's ambition as shown on screen, but despite the constant change after Mauricio Pochettino's departure as Spurs manager in 2019, Kane's brilliant numbers never waned. His blistering start to the 2025-26 campaign with Bayern Munich (18 goals in 10 matches), is on par with Messi and Ronaldo.

Take a deeper look at his overall game, however, and his gaudy scoring stats are just scratching the surface. He has never been more influential in the buildup phase of play. The goals remain a constant, but he now plays a role at the start, middle and end of Bayern's attacks. Kane is evolving, and that evolution is contributing to perhaps his best season yet.

With Saturday's Der Klassiker vs. Borussia Dortmund on the horizon (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+), let's examine how his role has changed from his days at Spurs, what it could mean for England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and his future at the club level.

Filling a Musiala-shaped hole

When star midfielder Jamal Musiala picked up an injury during the Club World Cup, it left a creative void. Kane has taken up the mantle.

"When Jamal's playing, it's a bit different. Getting the ball off defenders, driving, when we were playing together, it was better for him to go and do that," Kane explained after Bayern's win over Eintracht Frankfurt. "This season, it's allowed me to play a little bit deeper, use my qualities in that sense of turning and playing it forward, then arriving later in the box."

The goal he scored in that game saw Kane occupy Frankfurt's defensive line before peeling back close to Joshua Kimmich just ahead of the center circle. When the ball was played up to Serge Gnabry near the edge of the penalty area, the striker moved forward from the middle of the pitch, slotting into a gap created by him initially dropping for a trademark finish from outside the box.

But Kane's game is about more than just arriving late to score goals. He's now a crucial cog in Bayern's buildup, often seen deep in his own half to receive the ball from his own defense.

In the ninth minute of the same game, Kane received the ball near the sideline in the left-back position, wriggled past two challenges and found Gnabry in space.

The surprising thing is how much of a regularity such Luka Modric-esque moves are becoming. Players get sucked into following Kane so far into Bayern's half that he can find another attacker in space as he holds the ball up.

He initiates the moves, and he completes them. Both his inevitable goal scoring and his playmaking ability are thriving as a result.

How Kane's game has evolved

Kane was always more than a goal poacher: it just took some time to discover his alternative capabilities.

At the beginning of his career and in his first two seasons in Germany, Kane's game centered around creating chances or scoring them, but mainly scoring. He amassed many shots and touches in the box under Pochettino, and shades of his ball-carrying and ability to bring others into the game appeared near the end of his Tottenham Hotspur spell.

Kane's heat map from his last two seasons at Tottenham, depicting where he was most active, helps show how his game has changed. More color appears in his own half, near the center circle, or in half-spaces (the channels between center backs and fullbacks) away from goal.

In his first two seasons at Bayern Munich, his actions took place almost entirely in the opponent's half, as he leaned more into his talents as a finisher.

Looking at Kane's heat map for the 2025-26 season, spots emerge all over the pitch, with highlighted areas deep in his own half.

Statistics show that this season, Kane is back to combining the best of his abilities as an attacker and a creator. His progressive passes are as high as they were in 2021-22 and 2023-24, while he's never had more touches in his own box than this season.

It's clearly working. "Arriving late," as Kane puts it, has seen his expected assists and shot-creating actions rise. He has provided a solution to Bayern's shortage of creativity in midfield, as Kimmich and Leon Goretzka aren't the most inventive midfielders. (All stats below are per 90 minutes.)

His link-up play, hold-up ability and chance-creating talents were underrated during his time in north London, but in Bavaria, that part of his game has been elevated. It is now being used in spaces where you'd typically see Kimmich, and it's the absolute best of both worlds.

Looking ahead to the World Cup

Kane, England and coach Thomas Tuchel will be determined to get their hands on an elusive trophy this summer, and they shouldn't be afraid to use the "new" Harry Kane to do so. Ominously for the rest of the competition, England might have started doing this already.

Against Serbia, while he spent most of the game occupying their back five, Kane would often peel off and look for the ball deeper.

In the early stages of the World Cup, Tuchel could opt for Kane in this role to break teams down. With Kane dragging a center back of out of position, faster players such as Anthony Gordon or Bukayo Saka can be played in behind. In the latter stages (should England reach them), England might have less of the ball and use him more like a target man, as they did in the first minute of the Serbia game when a long ball was sent into the box for Kane to nod down.

Kane's versatility could unlock defenses that sit deep and elevate other attackers. However, he still needs to be the striker who gets into the box, as there isn't another striker in the national side with his finishing ability. Lucky for England, he can do both. The conundrum for Tuchel will be balancing both roles.

What's next at club level?

With Kane's Bayern Munich contract set to expire in 2027, both club and player are thinking about what happens next. Bayern's sporting director has hinted at an extension, and the longer a new contract isn't signed, the more rumors and conjecture will swirl.

We've taken the liberty of looking ahead for Kane, and his next step could be to settle unfinished business in England. Kane has played down a return home, but the motive would be clear: to break Alan Shearer's goal-scoring record (260; Kane has 213) and attempt to win a Premier League title.

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Manchester City have Erling Haaland, and unless a team comes along to sign him out of his massive contract, he won't be displaced. But what if manager Pep Guardiola combined Haaland and Kane?

Guardiola likes to play with four attackers and one holding midfielder behind Haaland, but those four attackers float around the pitch. One of those players could be Kane, as defenses wouldn't know who to mark.

The downside could be that it exacerbates some of the out-of-possession issues City have had in their press this season. The forward line has left huge gaps as City have pressed aggressively. Kane isn't a bad presser, but if he's asked to drop deeper, we have no evidence to suggest whether his work without the ball would be sufficient in this new position, particularly in terms of tackling and closing players down.

Teams are smart about exploiting space. Guardiola couldn't have both players pressing as forwards. Still, most of City's game will be played with them dictating the tempo, so the focus will be on what Kane brings in possession. It's inventive, but with Guardiola, it's wild enough to work.

In terms of other Premier League clubs, Liverpool have signed three attackers and are trying to figure out how they fit. Arsenal are ruled out because of Kane's Spurs allegiance, which leaves a possible romantic return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. After getting a taste of his first piece of silverware, though, Kane returning to his old club or moving to Chelsea or Manchester United would be a step down.

Elsewhere in Europe, with the lack of funds in Serie A, Kane's next challenge could be tackling LaLiga with Real Madrid or Barcelona. Neither the Catalan giants nor Real Madrid have a pure No. 9 with a physical and aerial presence, besides Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona, whose contract expires in summer 2026. Since Joselu left Real Madrid, Los Blancos have missed the player, as Thibaut Courtois highlighted last season. "We put in a lot of crosses, but this year we don't have Joselu, a natural striker up front," he said after being knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal.

Coach Xabi Alonso has a vast array of talent in attack that he likes to rotate. Adding Kane would give the Spaniard an even bigger selection headache. The Bayern forward isn't accustomed to that, and Lewandowski's expiring contract and Kylian Mbappé's tremendous form make Barcelona a more attractive option. It's hard to envision Kane combining with Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Pedri and not being successful, as Barça create plenty but are often wasteful in front of goal. As the starting striker, Kane would be a perfect fit in Barcelona's swaggering attack.

A longer stay in Munich?

With his current form, ability and profile as one of the world's best players, Kane is a suitable fit for a club that challenges for a league title and the Champions League every season. It's why he says he's open to a new contract with Bayern Munich.

"In terms of staying longer [at Bayern], I could definitely see that," he said Oct. 6. "I spoke openly a couple of weeks ago that I have not had those conversations with Bayern yet, but if they were to arise I would be willing to talk and have an honest conversation."

Despite being a tantalizing prospect for many clubs, Kane has repeatedly spoken of how happy he is in Germany -- maybe to the point where he himself didn't expect to enjoy it this much.