With over 700 minutes of Premier League action played by each club, the standings continue to offer followers of England’s top flight surprises.
This match weekend saw last year’s champions Liverpool dethroned by serial second-placers Arsenal on the heels of a late defeat to Chelsea.
Manchester United were offered a chink of light amid the tumult of their season with an important home win against Sunderland, and Tottenham muscled their way into the top three after a fine performance against Leeds.
At the bottom of the table, things went from bad to worse at Burnley as they stuttered to defeat against Manchester City, and Wolves were unable to lift themselves off the bottom of the table after drawing with Brighton.
But despite having endured a miserable start to the season under head coach Vitor Pereira, the Black Country side are not the team that have spent the most time chasing their opponent’s lead.
Wolves supporters might even feel more aggrieved, with their side having held a lead for a respectable 129 minutes and nine seconds of their season so far – or 18.3 per cent of match time – despite failed to win a single Premier League match.
Wolves may be rock bottom of the Premier League standings but they have led for chunks of the season
Manchester City have held the lead for the longest amount of time – but sit fifth in the table
Bottom of the table for the most minutes led are instead current relegation rivals West Ham, with the east London club having led their opponents for a scant 25 minutes and six seconds.
The number accounts to a miserable 3.6 per cent of their Premier League season, with the lions’ share coming in their late 3-0 thumping of Nottingham Forest.
The Hammers also led for a paltry nine minute against Chelsea, before they were beaten 5-1 by the Blues.
West Ham are currently perched above Wolves in the table, but fellow relegation zone side Burnley occupies the penultimate slot in the lead table, having led their rivals for 53 minutes and 23 seconds this season, or 7.6 per cent.
Scott Parker’s men have only led against Sunderland, who they defeated 2-0 at the end of August.
At the top of the standings is Man City who, despite sitting fifth in the Premier League table, have led for a mammoth 60.2 per cent of their matches, or 423 minutes and 14 seconds.
Pep Guardiola and Co have lost their lead twice this season, including against title rivals Arsenal in their 1-1 draw, and in their 2-1 defeat to Brighton.
Bournemouth have held onto their lead the second-longest, but for significantly less time – 291 minutes and 11 seconds, with Arsenal rounding out the top-three.
Man United fans will be disappointed to learn that they have led for over 254 minutes – 35.7 per cent of their time on the pitch – but only come away with three wins to their name.
Less surprising are Liverpool’s numbers, with Arne Slot’s last-minute stars in the mid-pack of their rivals, with just 30.4 per cent of their matches played with the lead.
The Reds’ dominance in the dying minutes of matches looks to have been temporarily halted, with both Chelsea and Crystal Palace beating the champions at their own game by netting their own late winners over the past week.
