Manchester United have the ‘weakest’ front three out of the top six Premier League teams for Gary Neville. So, HITC Football has ranked the regular starting offences from each club.
Erik ten Hag invested heavily in strengthening the offence at Old Trafford over the summer by signing Antony from Ajax. But Neville cannot see where the money the Red Devils spent in recent years is. So much so that he feels they would take forwards from each rival team.
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Only Chelsea have scored fewer goals in the top-flight this season than Manchester United out of the top six clubs. The Blues have only hit 17 goals in 13 fixtures to the Red Devils’ 18 in 13 matches. Their records are the 12th and 11th best in the Premier League respectively.
Manchester City have registered the best offence through 13 matches with 39 goals, 18 of which belong to Erling Haaland. Arsenal are second with 31 ahead of Newcastle United on 28, Tottenham Hotspur on 27 and Liverpool on 25. Fulham and Leicester City both have 23.
Brighton & Hove Albion (22), Brentford (21) and Leeds United (19) have also scored more than Chelsea and Manchester United. The Blues and Red Devils’ tame attacks see the pair rank just seventh and fifth in the overall standings with 13 and 11-point deficits to Arsenal.
Neville claims Manchester United have the ‘weakest’ front three among the top six
Ten Hag failing to get Manchester United to fire on all cylinders with £81.5m Antony, plus Marcus Rashford, £73m Jadon Sancho and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has left Neville dismayed at the distance he sees between his former team and their rivals.
“United’s front three are the weakest out of the top six,” Neville told Sky Sports. “You think of [Dejan] Kulusevski, [Harry] Kane, Son [Heung-Min at Tottenham] – United would take those three. Arsenal have [Bukayo] Saka, [Gabriel] Jesus [and Gabriel] Martinelli.
“Liverpool have [Darwin] Nunez, [Luis] Diaz, [Diogo] Jota, [Mohamed] Salah and [Roberto] Firmino – you’d definitely choose three of them over what United have got. You’d take Chelsea’s, even. United’s front players aren’t as good as they should be.
“Although Erik ten Hag is getting the maximum out of them. I don’t know where the money has gone again – the spend over the past four or five years. There are signs that they are getting better, but they aren’t back.”
So, with Neville suggesting Manchester United have the ‘weakest’ front three among the top six Premier League clubs, HITC Football ranks each team’s most frequently used lines.
1. Manchester City: Haaland is flying in the Premier League’s best front three
Manchester City are striving to defend their Premier League title with the best attack over the first 13 games. Haaland has played a vital role in their efforts with a league-leading 18 goals through his maiden 12 appearances since joining from Borussia Dortmund for £51m.
Pep Guardiola has regularly rotated his front line but has often paired the 22-year-old with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden. The former has also offered two goals and five assists from 13 games. While the latter has hit home six and created three – only Haaland has hit more.
So, HITC Football ranks Manchester City top for having the best front three among the top six Premier League clubs. The Citizens have multiple stars firing and one hitting prolifically.
2. Arsenal: Jesus fit like a glove in his club’s front three with Saka and Martinelli
Jesus has fit in like a glove beside Saka and Martinelli at Arsenal since he moved to north London. Mikel Arteta paid Manchester City £45m in June for the Brazilian, who has struck five and created five goals in 13 games. His dogged approach is also key when not scoring.
Martinelli also boasts five goals through 13 games, whilst creating two. While Saka has hit four and created six. The pair are proving relentless threats at Emirates Stadium and have been integral to Arteta leading the Gunners to the top of the table with their endless grit.
3. Liverpool: Injury-hit Reds still have one of the Premier League’s best front threes
Injuries have hit Jurgen Klopp’s attack badly this season to see the Reds fall out of the top six places. Liverpool currently rank eighth in the Premier League table and are without Diaz and Jota until after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after they suffered calf and knee injuries.
Diaz had struck three and created two goals in eight games before his injury. His and Jota’s absences have seen Klopp change tact to use Salah (six goals, three assists), Firmino (six goals, three assists) and £64m transfer Nunez (three goals, two assists) in the Reds’ attack.
4. Tottenham: Kane is carrying the goalscoring burden as Kulusevski creates
Kane is carrying the burden at Tottenham with the 29-year-old scoring 11 of his team’s 27 goals so far. The England captain has hit the back of the net eight times more than any of his teammates. Son and midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rank in second with three each.
Kulusevski has only scored once so far this season but the 22-year-old has created a joint-team high four assists with Ivan Perisic. The Swede has also only featured eight times due to a hamstring injury. He made his return from the bench in defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
5. Manchester United: Ten Hag needs to get Sancho or Ronaldo scoring
Ten Hag needs to find a way to get Sancho or Ronaldo scoring as the pair have only struck two and one goal respectively. The former has also only laid on one assist, whilst the latter has not created any. Fred has influenced as many goals (one scored) as Ronaldo this term.
Rashford leads the scoring chart at Old Trafford with four plus two assists. Antony has hit three goals since his deadline day arrival from Ajax. While Anthony Martial, who has only started one game and featured in three more due to injuries, has scored and created two.
6. Chelsea: Last in our rankings of the top six Premier League club’s front threes
While Neville claims Manchester United have the worst attack among the top six Premier League clubs, Chelsea sit last in our rankings. Graham Potter has only seen the Blues score nine goals in his seven games in charge. Thomas Tuchel also only saw eight over six games.
Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling are the top scorers at Stamford Bridge so far this season with three each. Mason Mount and Jorginho rank second with two, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of seven players to have found the back of the net just once this term.
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