With just 12 points separating 5th from 17th, the Premier League can’t be accused of being uncompetitive.
But such a bunched-up table means a few wins – or a run of defeats – can make a big difference.
As we prepare to enter the January transfer window, we’ve taken a look at how each of the league’s 20 managers can improve their squads for the second half of the season.
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
What’s gone well?
The Gunners are top of the league and through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, so Wenger can be pretty pleased so far.
What hasn’t?
Only one Arsenal player, Joel Campbell, has avoided injury in 2015. One of the best starting line-ups in the league counts for nothing if you can’t pick your best players.
What does he need?
A solid holding midfielder is the main priority. Someone with durability, toughness and positional nous. Victor Wanyama could fit the bill, while Mohamed Elneny is an option if they want someone with a better range of passing. We wouldn’t rule out bids being made for both.
Remi Garde (Aston Villa)
What’s gone well?
Very little. Villa haven’t won in the league since the opening day and are yet to match Derby County’s record low tally of 11 points.
What hasn’t?
They’re not mathematically relegated, at least.
What does he need?
Villa are short in a lot of areas, but the main priority should be a striker who can produce goals out of nothing. Easier said than done, but Charlie Austin could potentially be coaxed away from QPR.
Eddie Howe (Bournemouth)
What’s gone well?
The Cherries are outside the bottom three and have recorded famous wins over the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.
What hasn’t?
Injuries to key men has meant fringe players featuring a lot more than they would have anticipated. If they go down, the absence of Callum Wilson and Max Gradel will be major factors.
What does he need?
Players with experience of surviving a relegation battle. Sunderland’s Jordi Gomez is available and could be an option, while Howe might be tempted to try reuniting Crystal Palace frontman Dwight Gayle with Glenn Murray.
Guus Hiddink (Chelsea)
What’s gone well?
Willian has been the only real bright spark of a dismal season, but at least the Blues are still alive in Europe.
What hasn’t?
League form under Jose Mourinho was unimaginably bad, but the champions will hope to be over the worst of it now.
What does he need?
In the short-term, someone to take the pressure off Diego Costa up front. In the longer term, a successor to John Terry at the back. Jamie Vardy could tick one of those boxes, if Roman Abramovich doesn’t mind paying a little over the odds.
Alan Pardew (Crystal Palace)
What’s gone well?
Palace made a statement of intent with the big-name signing of Yohan Cabaye and have seen a marked improvement in the defensive performance this season which has seen them concede just 16 goals in 19 league games.
What hasn’t?
They say that defense wins championships, but you need some goals too. A return of just 23 goals this season puts them just one goal – though admittedly also one point – ahead of the apparently struggling Manchester United.
What does he need?
Yohan Cabaye, Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie can create chances all day long, but that’s no use if there’s nobody there to finish them. A new striker with Premier League goalscoring experience could come in handy – could Pardew raid former club Newcastle for Ayoze Perez?
Roberto Martinez (Everton)
What’s gone well?
Romelu Lukaku has delivered on his promise, while Gerard Deulofeu has thrived since joining from Barcelona on a permanent basis.
What hasn’t?
Everton have struggled defensively without injured captain Phil Jagielka, keeping just two league clean sheets since the end of September.
What does he need?
Might Martinez capitalise on the uncertainty at former club Swansea and test their resolve with a bid for Ashley Williams? It would give the Toffees options if they’re forced to sell John Stones.
Claudio Ranieri (Leicester City)
What’s gone well?
Everything that could have done, and then some. No one thought the Foxes would be anywhere near the top four, and many fans would have been happy to just stay in the league.
What hasn’t?
Success breeds interest in top players, and Ranieri will have to fight to keep hold of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.
What does he need?
Keeping hold of the main men is the principal priority, but the boss will hope assistant Steve Walsh can help him unearth more gems from across Europe. Austrian international Aleksandar Dragovic has been linked with the club, and could join up with compatriot Christian Fuchs.
Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
What’s gone well?
Some headline wins against Manchester City and Chelsea suggest things could be looking up for the Reds, but talk of a title push was clearly premature.
What hasn’t?
A long injury list has held the club back, with the absence of Daniel Sturridge and Danny Ings leaving them light in attack.
What does he need?
Reinforcements at both ends of the pitch are required, and utility man Kevin Grosskreutz could be a handy stopgap. In terms of attackers, Schalke’s Leroy Sane seems to fit the bill, but he won’t come cheap.
Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City)
What’s gone well?
City have thrived in Europe, winning their Champions League group to set up a second-round meeting with Dynamo Kiev, while record signing Kevin de Bruyne is looking like money well spent.
What hasn’t?
Raheem Sterling has provided some great moments, but is yet to justify his hefty price tag, while the club have been unconvincing defensively without injured captain Vincent Kompany.
What does he need?
Pellegrini needs someone he can trust to provide competition to Yaya Toure and Fernandinho in front of the back four. Fernando is not that man, but might Pellegrini look to bring in Andrea Pirlo on loan from sister club New York City FC during the MLS off-season?
Louis van Gaal (Manchester United)
What’s gone well?
A number of youngsters have been given their first-team chance, while United are still within touching distance of the top four.
What hasn’t?
Bluntness in attack and a perceived uninteresting style have left Van Gaal’s job hanging in the balance, with reports that the Dutchman has offered his resignation only for the club to refuse.
What does he need?
Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial haven’t delivered enough to justify United letting their other forwards leave. A new addition is needed up front, and who they get depends on how much they would be prepared to spend. Summer target Diafra Sakho could provide the mobility and Premier League experience they require.
Steve McClaren (Newcastle United)
What’s gone well?
They’re ahead of Sunderland. That’s about it.
What hasn’t?
The fixture list made things tough for McClaren to begin with, but since then the problems have been of his own making. Some bizarre team selections have left fans confused on more than one occasion.
What does he need?
Despite Rob Elliot’s recent resurgence, a new goalkeeper might be needed, while the Magpies are also short of options in defence. Napoli man Kalidou Koulibaly is high on their list in the latter category, while McClaren could try to curry favour with fans by looking to bring back cult hero Jose Enrique from Liverpool.
Alex Neil (Norwich City)
What’s gone well?
Despite concerns over the strength of the Norwich squad, Neil has got the best out of his players to pick up some important wins.
What hasn’t?
For all the impressive results against high-flyers, they may live to regret dropped points against the teams around them in the table.
What does he need?
While Neil’s midfielders have offered a lot going forward, strikers Cameron Jerome and Dieumerci Mbokani need to add to their goal tally. Former Canaries frontman Kei Kamara has enjoyed a surprise resurgence in MLS, scoring 22 goals in 2015, and the club could do a lot worse than bringing him back for another loan spell, while Steven Naismith is thought to be on his way for £8m.
Ronald Koeman (Southampton)
What’s gone well?
Summer signings Virgil van Dijk and Cedric have slotted straight in, helping the Saints stay out of danger.
What hasn’t?
Other new arrivals Jordy Clasie and Oriol Romeu are yet to catch fire, while Jay Rodriguez’s return from a long-term absence hasn’t quite gone to plan.
What does he need?
Porto’s Gianelli Imbula has been linked after the Portuguese side’s European exit, allowing Southampton to solidify their midfield and give more freedom to the likes of Sadio Mane and Dusan Tadic.
Mark Hughes (Stoke City)
What’s gone well?
The exciting front four of Bojan, Shaqiri, Arnautovic and Afellay have been mesmerising when they’ve been in form.
What hasn’t?
When that quartet hasn’t impressed, things have looked much less enthralling. The Potters have drawn a blank seven times in their first 19 games of the season.
What does he need?
More options in attack. Hughes has a knack of reviving fallen stars, and there could be value in a move for Carlos Vela with MLS circling.
Sam Allardyce (Sunderland)
What’s gone well?
Allardyce has picked up a couple of clean sheets since replacing Dick Advocaat…and…well…the pies are quite nice?
What hasn’t?
Three wins from 19 games tells you all you need to know.
What does he need?
Defence will likely still be the main priority Carl Jenkinson is out of favour on loan at Upton Park and Allardyce might look at doing a deal with parent club Arsenal for his services, while centre-back Lamine Kone is thought to be on his way from Lorient in France.
Alan Curtis (Swansea City)
What’s gone well?
The first month of the season was very promising, with Andre Ayew making an instant impact and Bafetimbi Gomis looking capable of replicating the goalscoring form he showed at Lyon.
What hasn’t?
Things have gone downhill ever since, with key players falling out of favour and Garry Monk losing his job, leaving caretaker boss Curtis with a rebuilding mission,
What does he need?
With Gomis linked with a move away and Eder unimpressive since his summer arrival, strikers are the order of the day. But it might be a case of loans rather than permanent deals, and if Chelsea let Loic Remy leave on a temporary deal it’s hard to see Swansea finding a better option.
Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur)
What’s gone well?
Spurs have become very difficult to beat. And we mean very difficult. This is mostly due to the emergence of Eric Dier and Dele Alli in midfield, and the inspired signing of Toby Alderweireld.
What hasn’t?
Nabil Bentaleb’s injury worries might have been a bigger blow were it not for the previously unheralded Alli-Dier axis, while question remarks remain over what the club would do if Harry Kane was to suffer a similar blow.
What does he need?
Another number nine would be useful, but it’s going to be difficult to find someone willing to be a backup to Kane. Saido Berahino, out of favour at West Brom, is Spurs’ most likely option.
Quique Sanchez Flores (Watford)
What’s gone well?
The success of the Deeney-Ighalo strike partnership wasn’t expected to carry over so smoothly from the Championship, but they’ve made it work.
What hasn’t?
When you make so many signings, some players will be left unhappy, but Victor Ibarbo and Adlene Guedioura will wonder why they haven’t seen more game-time.
What does he need?
Roma winger Juan Iturbe could be a huge statement signing for the Hornets, but they need to work just as hard on holding onto Odion Ighalo.
Tony Pulis (West Bromwich Albion)
What’s gone well?
The usual Pulis stuff. Defensive solidity, some surprise wins, the reemergence of a winger (James McClean, up until his red card against Bournemouth, was very impressive).
What hasn’t?
The usual Pulis stuff. Falling out with players, some surprise defeats, failing to get the best out of high-profile attacking signings.
What does he need?
Spurs winger Andros Townsend is the sort of direct player who could work well in the Baggies’ system, providing he doesn’t get converted into a full-back.
Slaven Bilic (West Ham United)
What’s gone well?
Some big away wins had the Hammers putting themselves forward as top four contenders before being brought back down to earth.
What hasn’t?
Injuries. Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell, James Tomkins, Angelo Ogbonna, Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang, Reece Oxford, Alex Song, Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Enner Valencia, Victor Moses, Andy Carroll, Nikica Jelavic and Diafra Sakho have all missed games through injury this season. That’s significant.
What does he need?
Sakho has been a huge miss, with Carroll forcing the team to change its style when stepping in. Even if Carroll stays amid interest from the likes of Sunderland, a renewed move for Alvaro Negredo could suit Bilic down to a tee.
