It is very difficult to enjoy a successful season in the Premier League without the foundation of a strong home record.
Unsurprisingly, that truth has held up again during the current 2016-17 campaign, with the English top flight's worst home team, Crystal Palace, currently occupying a relegation place and its best, Chelsea, on their way to being crowned champions.
Who has the best home form?
| HOME ONLY | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 8 | 28 | 36 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 5 | 25 | 35 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 29 |
| 4 | Burnley | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 29 |
| 5 | Everton | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 28 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 27 |
| 7 | West Brom | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 26 |
| 8 | Manchester City | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 25 |
| 9 | Manchester United | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 24 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 21 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 20 |
| 12 | Watford | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 19 | -1 | 19 |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 18 |
| 14 | Southampton | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 18 |
| 15 | West Ham United | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 18 |
| 16 | Hull City | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 22 | -5 | 16 |
| 17 | Swansea City | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 14 |
| 18 | Middlesbrough | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 13 |
| 19 | Sunderland | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 12 |
| 20 | Crystal Palace | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 10 |
The Blues have steamrolled the opposition at Stamford Bridge this season, with their only defeat in west London coming back in September against Liverpool. Antonio Conte's side have conceded just eight goals in 13 matches while netting 36 of their own, and tied the club record for consecutive home wins in all competitions (12) by beating Swansea City.
Luis Enrique confirms Barca exit
They have been challenged when it comes to home supremacy by Tottenham, who are the only team the league to remain unbeaten on their own patch. Hugo Lloris has been nearly unbeatable at White Hart Lane, allowing just five goals in 13 games to complement the impressive tally of 30 netted by Harry Kane, Dele Alli and the rest of the Spurs attack.
One of the most surprising dominant home teams, however, is Burnley, who have made life extremely difficult for visitors to Turf Moor this season. Only Chelsea and Spurs have amassed more points at home than Sean Dyche's side so far this season, and they look poised to avoid relegation comfortably as a result.
At the other end of the table, it is miserable reading for Palace, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, who have tasted victory at their own stadiums just three times each in 2016-17. Boro's attack has struggled badly at home while Swansea, who have only a slightly better record but have improved under new coach Paul Clement, have leaked goals.
West Ham, meanwhile, have had mixed success since moving to the Olympic Stadium, losing as many as they have won (five) for the sixth-poorest home record in the Premier League, while both Manchester United and City's title hopes have faltered on their inability to turn one point into three in close games.
What about away form?
| AWAY ONLY | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 16 | 12 | 27 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 27 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 24 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 22 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 21 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 18 |
| 7 | Everton | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 16 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 22 | -1 | 15 |
| 9 | West Brom | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 14 |
| 10 | Southampton | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 17 | -3 | 12 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 26 | -7 | 12 |
| 12 | Stoke City | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 12 |
| 13 | Watford | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 24 | -12 | 12 |
| 14 | Swansea City | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 29 | -15 | 10 |
| 15 | Middlesbrough | 13 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 9 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 30 | -15 | 8 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 24 | -14 | 7 |
| 18 | Hull City | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 28 | -22 | 5 |
| 19 | Leicester City | 13 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 27 | -19 | 3 |
| 20 | Burnley | 12 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 25 | -19 | 2 |
It is perhaps a endorsement of Pep Guardiola's swashbuckling style of football that City boast the joint-best away record in the league despite their convincing defeats at Leicester City, Tottenham and Everton. Clearly, the pros of the Catalan's desire to attack even away from the Etihad Stadium outweigh the cons, with City winning a league-best nine matches thanks to a goalscoring punch which is matched only by Arsenal.
Barca actually get more penalties than Real
Chelsea's strong rearguard has seen them do well enough to maintain their comfortable lead at the top of the overall table, while Man United - perhaps troubled less often away from Old Trafford by opponents defending deep - are not far off the top.
If one thing kills Tottenham's title bid it will be their away form, with Mauricio Pochettino's men winning just four times on the road. Spurs have been resolute at the back and occasionally strike gold - three of their four away wins have been by three or more goals. They struggle, however, to churn out ugly victories despite their excellent defence.
Besides the top-four contenders, the most eye-catching area of the away table is the very bottom, with home specialists Burnley propping up the rest having managed to earn just two points on their travels all season. One, coincidentally, came at Old Trafford, where in years gone by United have seemed untouchable. If the Clarets could improve their away form to just average - no small task in the Premier League, we appreciate - they would be on the tails of the Red Devils in the overall standings.
Looking for a key factor behind Leicester's stunning demise? You will find it in their form when they leave the King Power Stadium. The Foxes, like Burnley, are winless away and it has cost Claudio Ranieri his job, with their home form actually quite respectable. Last season they were the top flight's best away team, winning 11 games and losing just two.