Thursday 26 November 2015 11:47, UK
With just two points separating the top four teams, the 2015/16 Premier League season has been competitive, unpredictable and captivating.
Leading the way after 13 matches are surprise package Leicester, ahead of Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, while defending champions Chelsea are languishing down in 15th after a poor run of results.
Here are a few reasons why this may have been the most exciting start to a Premier League season ever…
Shocks and surprises
Leicester's rise to the top has been remarkable, West Ham's away wins have been impressive, but Chelsea's shocking start to the season has been unprecedented.
Seven defeats and 23 goals conceded makes them the worst-performing defending champions in Premier League history, with Gary Neville labelling one of their first-half displays earlier in the campaign as "ridiculous".
They have been unpredictable and unrecognisable from the efficient side that won the league last season with three games to spare.
While they flounder down in 15th just six months after being crowned champions, Leicester top the table just six months after narrowly avoiding relegation to the Championship.
Claudio Ranieri's table-toppers have lost only once in 13 league matches and are the leading scorers in the top flight with 28 goals which has seen Jamie Vardy net for a record-equalling 10 consecutive games.
West Ham have also played their part in upsetting the equilibrium, starting with a win at the Emirates on the opening day and following it up with victories at Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
"Nobody can turn up and expect to beat teams this season. It is so unpredictable," wrote Paul Merson ahead of last weekend, which saw Arsenal and Man City both suffer shock defeats.
Mind the gaps
Not only has the gap between first and fourth never been smaller at this stage of a Premier League season, but the gap between fifth and 11th is also nearly as small as it has ever been.
Just two points separate the sides in the Champions League spots, which is significantly less than in recent seasons and also much less than the Bundesliga (14 points), Ligue 1 (14) and La Liga (9).
At this same stage last season there were 11 points between first and fourth and one bookmaker had already paid out on bets that Chelsea would win the league.
There is also little to choose between the teams from fifth down to 11th. Only in four previous seasons has there been less than the current margin of five points, while just two points separate West Ham in sixth and Stoke in 11th.
Away day joys
With 13 matches gone, home wins have never been as hard to come by in a Premier League season.
The total of 48 away victories is the highest-ever at this stage of the campaign, with every team having won at least once on the road.
Leicester and Southampton are both unbeaten away from home while West Ham and Crystal Palace have both pulled off shocks by winning at Stamford Bridge and Anfield.
Teams have not just been sneaking 1-0 victories either, with six of the top 10 sides having scored more goals on the road than at home.
Jamie Carragher said Liverpool's 4-1 win at the Etihad on Saturday was "as good as anything" he can remember in the Premier League.
Who's going to win the title?
In Germany it is Bayern Munich, in France it is PSG, but who is going to triumph in the Premier League? Right now, nobody knows.
In late September, Neville said it was one of the "strangest" starts to the season he can remember and that we could have "one of the most interesting leagues we have had in a long time."
Two months down the line and little seems to have changed, with Neville saying: "If you'd have said to me that you will be watching Leicester v Manchester United on Saturday and it was first v second, I'd have said you are mad."
Given the competitive nature of the league, even Chelsea are not completely out of contention, even though Jose Mourinho said this week that it is "mission impossible" for them to retain their title.
Goalfests
There might not have been a record number of goals scored, but there have been high-scoring contests almost every week so far.
Leicester set the ball rolling on the opening weekend with a 4-2 win over Sunderland before Bournemouth edged a seven-goal thriller at West Ham and Chelsea beat West Brom 3-2.
Manchester United then won 3-2 at Southampton before Arsenal scored five against Leicester, Manchester City hit Newcastle for six and then the Magpies dished out the same treatment to Norwich.
Bournemouth have been on the wrong end of 5-1 defeats to City and Tottenham while Everton recorded their biggest win in eight years as they beat Sunderland 6-2.
Most recently, Liverpool produced a scintillating display to win 4-1 at City and Spurs won by the same scoreline against West Ham.
