How long is a piece of string? It's one of those questions that seems impossible to give a definitive answer to, but it's safe to say that many teams have been inconsistent.
Between second and 12th place, Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton, Fulham and Newcastle are the only teams to have won two games in a row more than once all season, while nine of them have gone three games winless at some point.
Many of the teams we expect to fight for a Champions League place have underperformed this season.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester United all have fewer points at this point than last season.
Aston Villa, playing in the Champions League this season, have won one of seven but are still just four points behind second place. Third-placed Chelsea have won two of six and fourth-placed Arsenal have one of five. Manchester City have lost their last three games and remain second.
It's now arguable that Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Fulham are performing above average compared to many people's expectations and their points tally is significantly better than at this point last season.
Only five teams have won three games in a row – Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
As we enter the busiest phase of the season, many teams will still be hoping for their chances of making inroads in Europe.
