Man United should be in a RELEGATION battle in worrying sign for Erik ten Hag

Manchester United should be locked in a relegation battle according to their 'expected points' total, stats supremos have revealed.

Erik ten Hag's side apparently deserve to sit 15th and just six points ahead of the bottom three at this stage, while Chelsea should be in the top four.

The table is calculated based on the expected goals totals in each side's games so far, with the totals calculated by Stats Perform.

Arsenal would be top of the table with a couple of points of breathing room over Manchester City if life worked according to expected goals.

There would be a 12-point gap between Liverpool in third on 64 points and Chelsea on 52.

All the same, Chelsea fans would definitely take a Champions League spot considering that in real life they are ninth in the league and behind Manchester United.

United's position might be down to them allowing other clubs to have so many shots against them. They rank among the worst sides in the top flight for allowing shots on goal.

They reached a particular low when Brentford managed 31 strikes against them and Chelsea and Liverpool hit 28 in subsequent games.

The expected points table is fairly true to what we've seen in real life.

Sheffield United still prop up the standings while Luton are 19th and Burnley are 18th, so just in the wrong order.

Crystal Palace and Wolves are level on points with Man United but below them in the table.

Newcastle will be impressed to see themselves fifth in Stats Perform's standings.

Despite being 13 points behind Aston Villa and 10 behind Tottenham in actuaity, they are above them on expected points, meaning they msut be either wasteful or really unlucky around the goalmouths when it comes to match day.

Considering their upcoming fixtures in contrast to