Written by Jacob Whitehead
The summer 2024 transfer window is over and Premier League clubs must finalise their squads for the first half of the season before this weekend’s matches.
There is a lot of seriousness at this time of year. Predictions are treated as if they are contracts written in blood or whips poised to provide a flogging once May rolls around. These things matter deeply. We hate your club. I get it. But there is still space for fun — for debates across pub tables, for office wind-ups and for thought experiments taken too far.
This piece started from a hypothetical question during a conversation with my editor: where would a Manchester City second XI finish in the Premier League?
So we decided to go one step further — and rank every Premier League first and second XI in one, giant 41-team table.
(Q: Forty-one teams, Jacob? A: Chelsea had enough players for a third XI.)
The Athletic asked our club correspondents to provide the line-ups, before a small group at our London HQ (yes, another bias, cuff me) ranked them, according to our expert collective opinion.
Generally, we decided to do this on a player-by-player basis — ignoring coaching and culture as much as we could — to have this as a straightforward test of depth and strength. Think of it as the ‘on-paper’ test.
So would Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ beat Everton’s starters? Are champions City’s second team better than crosstown rivals United’s first-choice unit? Which club have two almost-even-strength XIs — and who has the biggest difference?
This is our list.
1. Manchester City 1st XI
Simple. The reigning champions, no weak points… and then they go and add Ilkay Gundogan.
2. Arsenal 1st XI
Similar to City. New signing Mikel Merino strengthens the midfield and they’ve not lost any major players, but are slightly weaker than City in attack.
3. Liverpool 1st XI
We would listen to the argument that Liverpool’s starters could be placed above Arsenal’s on a player-by-player basis, but the seven-point difference between the two clubs in last season’s final table is instructive. Liverpool’s midfield possibly need one more year together to fully bed in.
4. Manchester City 2nd XI
John Stones and Nathan Ake are elite centre-backs in a second XI. That’s almost enough to compete for a hypothetical top-four spot — and then add in Phil Foden, Savinho and Jeremy Doku as well. Woof. James McAtee is the odd one out, but give the 21-year-old a couple of months under Pep Guardiola in this team and one suspects he’ll be fine.
5. Manchester United 1st XI
It’s close, but we’re giving City’s second XI the edge. United’s best side still includes players who have either question marks over form or their ability to adapt to the Premier League. There is more certainty with their rivals down the road at the Etihad. Despite the spending under Erik ten Hag — this is his team now, in the third season of his managerial reign — there are still weaknesses here.
6. Chelsea 1st XI
Speaking of spending… there is plenty of talent here, but also questions. Can Robert Sanchez improve? Will Marc Cucurella continue his renaissance? What is Nicolas Jackson’s ceiling? In six months, this group could be ranked higher — or, more likely, there will be several new names in it.
7. Tottenham Hotspur 1st XI
A balanced side that perhaps lacks the top-end ability of some of Chelsea’s best players, but with a higher floor. Not a huge drop-off to their second team either, as you’ll see shortly.
8. Newcastle United 1st XI
Eddie Howe’s side were so injury-hit last season that you might have forgotten this particular side exists. There’s a notable gap on the right wing — it was a tough summer window for them — but if Sandro Tonali returns to top form after that lengthy ban, this is a strong spine.
9. Aston Villa 1st XI
This reprises a long debate with The Athletic’s Aston Villa correspondent Jacob Tanswell on the opening day of last season. A tough call — it’s fair to put Villa above Newcastle — but, on a player-by-player basis, the latter’s midfield gives them the edge.
10. Arsenal 2nd XI
It was tempting to put this side behind Liverpool’s second XI, but there are hardly any holes. This lot could compete for a Europa League spot if all went well. Bags of experience and some real talent in attack.
11. Liverpool 2nd XI
This depends on how you feel about 21-year-olds Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley. I’m high on them —and Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo are strong forward options.
12. Brighton & Hove Albion 1st XI
This feels weird because Brighton are a very good side — especially after almost £200million ($261m) of summer spending — but we were tempted to have them lower than 12th. Their new signings have not yet settled and James Milner and Danny Welbeck are past their peak years. Also, culture and coaching transform Brighton’s players into stars, seeing them play well above their level. An unbeaten start to the season means they get the benefit of the doubt.
13. Manchester United 2nd XI
Decent defence, but like United’s first XI, there are adaptation questions. This midfield looks so easy to play through.
14. Tottenham Hotspur 2nd XI
There is a lot to love from having 18-year-olds Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in this side — though the team would possibly be too reliant on either Richarlison or Timo Werner wearing his shooting boots on a matchday.
15. West Ham United 1st XI
There was lots of talk over the summer about West Ham’s transfer window — but it’s the carryover attacking trio of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta who provide their quality. There is potential for an excellent centre-back pairing, too.
16. Chelsea 2nd XI
If Marc Guiu and Mykhailo Mudryk prove themselves as Premier League players, then 16th is too low for this team — but much of this XI are either unproven or out of form.
17. Crystal Palace 1st XI
Largely a proven side at Premier League level — it will be interesting to see how loan signings Trevoh Chalobah and Eddie Nketiah settle. The defence looks much stronger with Marc Guehi still in there.
18. Fulham 1st XI
A similar profile to Palace’s finest. Although Fulham’s defence looks stronger, Palace have a better attack. High floor, low ceiling.
19. Wolverhampton Wanderers 1st XI
An everchanging side, with some excellent players — Rayan Ait-Nouri, Pablo Sarabia, Matheus Cunha — but other unproven options. Still unclear if they have solved the striker questions.
20. Aston Villa 2nd XI
Strong, with an experienced defence and midfield. If Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia can service Jhon Duran — in this hypothetical world, he would be kept happy by starting every game — this side would do well.
21. Bournemouth 1st XI
A little like a B-list Brighton, this is a side who play far better than the sum of their parts. That said, Antoine Semenyo has been one of the early stars of the season. The defence is young but talented.
22. Newcastle United 2nd XI
Tough to know where to place this side. They have a massive amount of Premier League experience and in a fit Callum Wilson, they have a goalscorer, but it just feels like they lack a little juice. Expect a lot of 1-1 draws.
23. Brighton & Hove Albion 2nd XI
Strong defence, high potential in midfield, Evan Ferguson up front. I like it — they could be higher.
24. Nottingham Forest 1st XI
Had a long debate over whether this is a better first-choice side than Everton’s. Forest probably have better attacking options in Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White, and Elliot Anderson has started well after his move from Newcastle.
25. Everton 1st XI
For all Jarrad Branthwaite’s quality at centre-back, Everton are struggling for full-backs, and the midfield is functional rather than high-quality. It is time to accept Dominic Calvert-Lewin should be judged on his output over the past three seasons rather than his golden 25-goal haul for club and country in the 2020-21 campaign.
26. Brentford 1st XI
Their recruitment has not been particularly good over recent seasons and this team look much weaker without the recently sold Ivan Toney. Thomas Frank has had them playing above themselves, but on a player-to-player basis, this is not a massively strong group outside the full-backs and midfield.
27. Bournemouth 2nd XI
Not a big drop-off from their first XI — there are exciting attacking options in Luis Sinisterra, Alex Scott and Dango Ouattara, while Philip Billing and Ryan Christie are solid Premier League starting options. This is a second XI we’re particularly high on. Bournemouth have good depth.
28. Fulham 2nd XI
Originally started this side lower, but the more I looked at that front six, the steadier it seemed to me. Had to google Steven Benda, mind.
29. Wolverhampton Wanderers 2nd XI
It’s 11 players wearing old gold shirts in a team that feels strangely temporary. Not a particularly creative side, but with pedigree.
30. Leicester City 1st XI
Lacking the star power and athleticism Leicester used to have, but the defence has a lot of Premier League experience. Jamie Vardy clings on.
31. Brentford 2nd XI
Not a huge difference between Brentford’s two sides — there’s a nice blend of youth and experience in the defence and midfield here, and this front three are highly rated. Fabio Carvalho’s talent is well-known and Keane Lewis-Potter is still a player of promise, while Igor Thiago is expected to become their first-choice striker and was signed this summer to be Toney’s replacement.
32. West Ham United 2nd XI
For all the first-team signings they made this summer, West Ham don’t have the depth of some of their rivals. There is some talent in that attacking quartet, though.
33. Crystal Palace 2nd XI
Maybe this is around where we cross the line into likely relegation candidates. Some Roy Hodgson heritage here. It is not going to be pretty football with this XI.
34. Ipswich Town 1st XI
I’m bullishly optimistic about a lot of the players in this side — Jacob Greaves, Leif Davis, Sammie Szmodics — and Kieran McKenna is an excellent coach. Under the metrics of this exercise, however, Ipswich struggle for talent compared to other sides.
35. Southampton 1st XI
Personal preference (and prerogative) to place Ipswich above Southampton. I would listen to arguments for Southampton to be 34th, but they feel light in midfield and up front.
36. Chelsea 3rd XI
Well now. This side cropped up a lot in our debates. There are lots of very talented players here as part of Chelsea’s shotgun-esque transfer strategy, but the majority are unproven. That makes them very hard to place — but if we imagine dropping them into the Premier League now, it is harder to say they are better than any club’s first XI.
37. Leicester City 2nd XI
In the battle of the lower-table candidates’ second XIs, Leicester come out on top (in a manner of speaking). Nothing flashy here, but some established Premier League players.
38. Everton 2nd XI
Really struggling in defence but Abdoulaye Doucoure is still a good player and Tim Iroegbunam has been a rare bright spark in the season’s opening weeks.
39. Nottingham Forest 2nd XI
A bewildering collection of names, which will be slightly confusing for new boy James Ward-Prowse. Simply cannot see this side winning many games.
40. Southampton 2nd XI
As expected by this point of the table, this is not a particularly strong team. Ronnie Edwards and Tyler Dibling are good prospects though, as is loanee Lesley Ugochukwu, who might have featured in a Chelsea fourth XI without his transfer.
41. Ipswich Town 2nd XI
The end of the exercise and, like Manchester City’s first XI being at the top, this is not entirely surprising. Major lack of elite-level experience. Excited to watch Jack Clarke in the Premier League, though.
Takeaways
So what’s the use of this? At its heart, this is a fun thought experiment during an international break. It can, however, serve as a useful test of depth — which clubs will lose the most quality if they suffer a rash of injuries?
With their two XIs sitting first and fourth, Manchester City are the side with the fewest places between them — but such is the strength of their first team, and the comparatively wider margins at the top of the league, it seems a stretch to call them the two most equally matched squads.
Instead, Bournemouth (21st and 27th) and Brentford (26th and 31st) emerge as the closest-matched sides — their squad members are all of a relatively similar level, and as such, they are injury-resistant. On the flip side, by our rankings, West Ham are 15th and 32nd — a gap of 17 places, the largest of any club. There is always hope at the start of the season — but their depth is cause for concern.
Additional opinions: Mark Carey
(Top photos: Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan and Carney Chukwuemeka of Chelsea; Getty Images)
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