Premier League entertainment rankings: 'Set Piece FC' Arsenal in the bottom half along with Tottenham while non-Big Six sides prove the most watchable

Unsurprisingly, the team that is currently bottom of the real Premier League table is also bottom of these rankings. Unless you're a West Brom fan hungry for a delicious hate-watch, who on this planet is tuning into Wolves games thinking 'ooh yeah that should be a fun one'?

Maybe new manager Rob Edwards will work some magic and get the side he used to play for firing again. Maybe Jorgen Strand Larsen will rediscover his shooting boots. Maybe one of their many South Americans will turn into Pele reincarnated. Don't count on it, though.

Heading into and out of the season's third international break, Burnley sit above the relegation zone. Yeah, go and double-check if you want, it's a little hard to believe, but it's true. Scott Parker has a recent history of his teams getting slaughtered at the top level, yet he's somehow made the Clarets a fairly respectable outfit again in the Premier League. They at least have a chance of survival, unlike the newly-promoted teams of the last few seasons.

Nevertheless, this has come at a cost. Unlike Vincent Kompany's side who tumbled to relegation in 2023-24, this version of Burnley are much more compact. They will earn more points in the real world than style points in this ranking.

From the outside looking in, it would be very easy to assume that Daniel Farke has stuck to his high-octane principles which have served him so well as a Championship manager. However, in an attempt to keep his job in the Premier League, he's had to revert to a much stodgier brand of football.

Elland Road is home to one of the most intimidating crowds in the country, though the team that plays there could do with some more on-ball quality if they are to rise back up this list akin to the days of Marcelo Bielsa.

You have to feel for Marco Silva. He's worked wonders with Fulham but seldom seems to receive the backing he needs in the transfer market to ever take them to that next level.

His sides are largely perceived as defensive - which is quite funny given he was seen as a hopeless, forward-thinking romantic at Hull City, Watford and Everton - but they still do possess some trickery in the form of Alex Iwobi and youth product Josh King. The squad has gone a bit stale, though that's hardly his fault.

It's a minor miracle that West Ham even rank this high. Are they really more entertaining than four other Premier League teams? In isolation, probably not, but they do have a couple of arguments in their favour. Their names are Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta.

The Irons are facing a scrap to avoid relegation, and new manager Nuno Espirito Santo may have to rely on the star power of this left-footed duo to save them from the Championship. The Portuguese coach has relied on such individual brilliance and attackers in tandem before, so it's a proven system.

It's difficult to pinpoint where exactly Nottingham Forest should rank. They came into the season with a direct, counter-attacking identity under Nuno, binned that off for a failed attempt to play expansively under Ange Postecoglou, and are now hoping Sean Dyche might sh*thouse them to safety.

On paper, Forest still have enough talent, pace and goals to make them a worthwhile watch. We'd just like to see more of them under their third manager of 2025-26 first.

For 2023-24 and 2024-25, Tottenham may have very well topped these rankings. Father Time gets us all in the end, however.

Spurs have swapped the thrills of Postecoglou's flawed tactics for a more sensible approach under Thomas Frank. Unfortunately for the fans who pay among Europe's highest ticket prices, this has made them awfully boring to watch. The one-man show of Mohammed Kudus has saved them at points, and the future returns of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski ought to help too, but boy it's been quite the change in N17 so far.

Ironically, Frank's former side, Brentford, have become a more enthralling watch, in part due to his departure. The Bees came into 2025-26 with the masses doubting whether they'd be able to survive having lost their manager and two main goal-scorers in Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.

Keith Andrews, their set-piece coach turned gaffer, has gone back to basics. Much like the Brentford side of their first Premier League season, they have relied almost entirely on dead-ball situations, including the hilariously long throw-in of Michael Kayode, and transitions. Their directness, particularly against the division's best sides, has made them a loveable underdog again.

The curious case of Arsenal is partly what inspired this ranking and the chatter that preceded it. The Gunners are at last favourites to win the Premier League and are among the top dogs in the Champions League, though it has cost them their title as one of football's purest teams. The house Arsene Wenger built is now home to 'set piece again, ole ole' chants while the hosts struggle to make meaningful attacks from open play.

Does that matter? Not if the season ends in silverware. It's ramped up the pressure to win something, you could say.

Aston Villa have left their horrendous start to the season in the dust and look like the top-four contenders of old again. But they simply don't pass the eye test in the same way they used to.

During Unai Emery's first two-and-a-half seasons, Villa swarmed all over anyone who came to their patch of the West Midlands. They would launch wave after wave of attacks before their visitors kneeled before their might. Bar the visit of Bournemouth before the November international break, they've lacked that ruthlessness of old. The attacking potential is still in there, which is why they still rank this highly even with their auspicious form this term.

The weird squad-building of Chelsea, featuring many attacking midfielders and wingers of little differential, has arguably stifled their entertainment value. Enzo Maresca's men have been subjected to boos and jeers from their own fans on multiple occasions for building up too slowly, which is in part a tactical issue, but also one down to how bloated both their roster and schedule is.

Maresca's ideal version of the Blues is one of the Premier League's most fun teams, but they need to consistently reach those heights. Fortunately, Cole Palmer's return from injury is right around the corner and Estevao Willian is mustard.

In life and in football, we as humans can be prisoner to the moment. That's fantastic news for Everton, whose dynamic duo of Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye have made them more appealing to the average fan than ever.

The Toffees possess two of the Premier League's best dribblers, two of the players most likely to skin their man and get you off your seat. These are the guys who make the phrase 'worthy of the price of admission' coherent. David Moyes' showtime Blues at Hill Dickinson Stadium. What a world.

Speaking of 'prisoner of the moment', there hasn't been a more heartwarming story so far this season than that of Sunderland's. The club has been to hell and back over the last decade, and they've wasted no time getting themselves reacquainted with the top-flight.

With a cast of young talent and led by the gritty experience of Granit Xhaka, they've undoubtedly been one of the Premier League's best storylines, with plenty of last-minute madness also on their agenda.

Brighton have earned the right to sit this high in our rankings. You might not know which wonderkids they will select from week to week, you might not see a scorer other than the veteran Danny Welbeck, but they are seemingly committed to playing football in a way that will thrill.

Now, that doesn't always mean that they will pop the ball like prime Barcelona. Sometimes they'll find themselves scrambling having over-played at the back or after committing too many men high up the pitch. Regardless, the Seagulls are excellent value regardless of who their manager is. God bless Tony Bloom.

If your team has to go to St James' Park for the final kick-off on a Super Sunday, then you're basically starting the game a goal down already. Eddie Howe has rebuilt Newcastle into an aggressive, nasty team that can completely overwhelm their opponents at the snap of your fingers.

Replacing a guarantee of goals in Alexander Isak for more of a showman in Nick Woltemade hasn't made them any less exciting to watch, especially at home, but the German striker could do with some more support from his fellow forwards. The disparity between the Magpies at home and them on the road is also cause for concern.

Right, so remember at the top when we said the 'jeopardy' a team is facing will factor into their ranking? Well, Manchester United are the best case study for us to analyse. Think about it. United are gargantuan. 'Hated, adored, never ignored' and all that rubbish. If they win, 'Man Yanited are back', and if they lose they're in a relegation fight again. The swing of hysteria means that every game of theirs has everything on the line.

Ruben Amorim, after nearly a whole year of calling his troops the worst team in United history, has got them rolling it seems. The summer acquisitions of Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have rejuvenated an attack that couldn't hit a barn door. They aren't the best side in the Premier League, but certainly among the most compelling.

Whenever Pep Guardiola decides to walk off into the sunset, away from the gloom of Manchester's typical rainy weather, he will probably decree that his most idealistic Man City team were the 'centurions'. Midfield technicians in David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho guarding the back four like a rabid jackal, Ederson playmaking from his own 18-yard box, two out-and-out wingers in Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane flanking a true marksman in Sergio Aguero.

Nowadays, City have swapped out these intricacies for a more intricate approach - make life as easy as possible for Erling Haaland. The Norwegian machine's relentless pursuit of goals and records is the prevailing narrative at the Etihad Stadium this season as they look to regain their title. Defensive fragilities and a loss of midfield control since Rodri tore his ACL last year have added to their list of imperfections, which bodes well for viewers without any skin in the game.

Arne Slot's first season at Liverpool was, if anything, too simple. They walked to the Premier League title having all but wrapped it up by Christmas. They showed a maturity that was sometimes absent during the rock-and-roll years under Jurgen Klopp.

Their summer reinvention with lavish signings completely reversed that trend. The Reds' high-risk high-reward style is back, now with added comedy and heightened pitfalls. The onus is on Slot to create a new winning formula, and just like United, the consequences can be hilarious.

There's something affable about Crystal Palace and Oliver Glasner. The south London identity, the blue-and-red colour palette, the Holmesdale Fanatics, the Vengabois, the streets-won't-forget cast of stars, their unique playing style that has alerted traditionally bigger sides. Put them all together and you get a team that's worth watching irrespective of your allegiances.

Even after losing Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, the Eagles still have top-drawer talent to feast your eyes upon, from Jean-Philippe Mateta to Adam Wharton, from Ismaila Sarr to Yeremy Pino. It was only fair that this side were immortalised with FA Cup glory at the end of last season, though they will have to settle for the runners-up spot in this list. That's the real quiz. Sorry, Palace fans.

Congratulations, Bournemouth - you are the inaugural winners of GOAL's Premier League entertainment rankings! Andoni Iraola has carved out an identity to die for on the south coast, with his Cherries side playing at a hundred miles-an-hour at all times. His players are instructed to use everything in the tank, at which point they will then be substituted for fresh legs.

Their unabating attitude has withstood the sales of three key defenders in Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Iliya Zabarnyi, while Antoine Semenyo has been the best Premier League player outside the traditional big six so far this season. The football gods had to nerf this Bournemouth side with the smallest stadium in the top-flight. Adding a raucous home-field advantage to Iraola's mix would have been simply too overpowering.