The Premier League ‘big six’ head-to-head table of 2023-24: Chelsea strong…

There’s some debate over whether the concept of the ‘big six’ is relevant in the Premier League in 2023, with Newcastle United in the Champions League and Aston Villa and Brighton punching well above their weight to bloody the noses of the established elite.

Still, the fact remains that the same six clubs – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea – tend to be the only ones that finish in the top four (Newcastle bucked that trend last term and it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up), while being responsible for six of the top seven wage bills and comfortably the most-expensively assembled squads in terms of transfer fees.

And it’s often the much-hyped meetings between these top clubs that can make or break their seasons. We’re now 11 games into the 2023-24 campaign and have enjoyed a fair few of these blockbuster clashes, most of which have actually lived up to the expectations.

Last season Manchester City had the best record in ‘big six’ clashes last season. They did the double over runners-up Arsenal, which proved pivotal in ending the season five points clear at the top of the table. But they’ve lost their first ‘big six’ clash of 2023-24 with a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Arsenal – their first league defeat to the Gunners since 2015.

Pep Guardiola’s men recovered by producing a dominant performance in the Manchester derby, beating their city rivals 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Late drama saw Mikel Arteta’s side come out on top against Manchester United in their first ‘big six’ clash of the season and they went on to draw 2-2, twice losing the lead, in their home North London derby. They then went on to beat Manchester City in the league for the first time in Mikel Arteta’s reign before coming from two goals behind to draw 2-2 away to Chelsea.

Ange Postecoglou has made an excellent start to life as Spurs boss, with a statement-making 2-0 victory over Manchester United followed by their spirited draw at the Emirates.

Tottenham maintained their form with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over nine-man Liverpool, and have now just taken one point fewer from ‘big six’ matches than they mustered in the entirety of last season – though they came back down to earth with their first defeat of the season, 4-1 at home to Chelsea in a madcap game that saw them reduced to nine men.Played: 2

Won: 0

Drawn: 1

Lost: 1

Goals for: 2

Goals against: 3

Goal difference: -1

Points per game: 0.5

6. Manchester United

Played: 3

Won: 0

Drawn: 0

Lost: 3

Goals for: 1

Goals against: 8

Goal difference: -7

Points per game: 0.0