The Premier League season has been fascinating so far. Chelsea and Liverpool have caught the eye of everyone this term. But it is not only them who have attracted the attention. Like every classic English league campaign, this one’s been full of surprises as well. There are teams up and down the table which have raised the eyebrows of the spectators.

Struggling champions Leicester City

Leicester surprised everyone last season by winning the Premier League. They have not stopped surprising us this season either. No one expected them to put up a strong defense for their title. But their showing in the league this season has been astonishingly poor. They are currently languishing at 16th, three points above the drop zone.

N’Golo Kante has been a huge loss. He was the engine in the midfield that took Leicester to glory last year. But his loss isn’t the main reason why they find themselves in a relegation battle. The loss in form of last season’s golden boot runner-up, Jamie Vardy and the PFA player of the year, Riyadh Mahrez has been detrimental to this season’s hopes. New signings Islam Slimani and Ahmed Musa have also failed to get the goals required.

It’s not just the goals department where they’ve struggled. Leicester’s title win last term was based on a very strong defense. This is not the case now, they have conceded 31 goals in 18 games itself. They let in just 36 goals in all of last season. The rock solid partnership central defensive partnership of last season Robert Huth and Wes Morgan has been anything but that. Maybe it’s the age that has finally started to show.

West Ham fail to light up the London Stadium

West Ham ended last season very close to a Champions League spot. On top of that, the fact that they were finally moving to a big stadium filled their fans hopes of achieving great things this term. But it hasn’t been such a smooth transition for Slaven Bilic’s men. They find themselves in 11th spot, and nothing suggests that they would hit the highs of last season any time soon.

The biggest blow has been the form of Dimitri Payet. Regarded as one of the success stories of last season, his performances have let the Londoners down. His body language and attitude have been questionable. He has looked uninterested in most of the games and doesn’t look interested in staying at West Ham for long.

New signings Andre Ayew and Sofiane Feghouli have failed to add to the attacking quality to the team. The erratic form of Michail Antonio and Diafra Sakho hasn’t helped either. Constant injuries to Andy Carroll has been a concern too. Plus, their European commitments have exposed the lack of depth in the squad.

Pulis waves his magic wand on West Brom

Tony Pulis has a fantastic record in the Premier League. His teams don’t play the most entertaining form of football. But they are solid. And that’s exactly what West Brom have been. Pulis’ men finished a lowly 14th last season. But there has been a change of fortunes this season.

The Baggies’s form has been built on a very solid defense, just like any Tony Pulis team of the past. Defenders Gareth McAuley, Allan Nyom and Jonny Evans have been the backbone for that. They have conceded just 22 goals in the 18 games they’ve played, which is impressive for a team with the aspirations of landing a spot in the Europa League.

The attacking players have also done a decent job for the Baggies. Salomon Rondon has got 7 goals so far. His strengths have been utilised to full effect by the other attackers, Nacer Chadli and Matt Philips. With the likes of Saido Berahino and Hal Robson-Kanu in the ranks they look set to put a challenge for a place in Europe next season.

Southampton continue with the flourish

When Southampton lost Ronald Koeman and Sadio Mane in the summer, not many expected them to survive in mid-table, let alone the top 8. Their board has once again got an appointment bang on the money. Claude Puel has done marvellously well to maintain the quality that we saw from the teams under Pochettino and Koeman. It is surprising how they continue to progress in the right direction despite losing their best players and managers.

Virgil van Dijk has been the stand out player for the Saints. His strength and defensive stability at the back and dominance from set-pieces has been vital for Puel’s men. He has gone on to become one of the stand-out defenders in the Premier League attracting attention from various top sides in Europe. Alongside him, Jose Fonte has been solid as well.

Charlie Austin looked in fine form during the start of the season. He had scored 6 goals in 13 appearances and looked in fine touch but a shoulder injury ruled him out for a large part of the season. His loss would be huge for Southampton but the performances have shown that their hopes will not be derailed. New signing Sofiane Boufal and Jay Rodriguez would be expected to contribute more towards the business end of the season if the Saints want to improve on the 6th place finish of last season