A few notable dark horses in the Premier League have managed to meddle with the big six sides since 2010.
The Premier League has gained more popularity globally since 2000. As a result, the clubs started to expand their market to generate more revenue for revamping the squad. The competition among the clubs was naturally getting fiercer. The rivalry has no longer been exclusively between Manchester United and Arsenal, which dominated the late 1990s and mid-2000s. Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea was the first to rise to prominence when they won the league back-to-back with Jose Mourinho at the helm of the team. From then on, the two-horse race became a three-horse race, followed by Liverpool, which constantly became the perennial title challenger without winning one.
The 2000s were more famous for The Big Four sitting in the top four consistently, whereas the 2010s marked the beginning of The Big Six era with Manchester City and Tottenham joining the new elites. Spurs might not have yet won the silverware, but the Citizens have emerged as the new giant since winning the EPL in 2012 dramatically. Their dominance got even stronger when Pep Guardiola arrived at the Etihad. Last season, they just clinched their fourth league title in a row, the first one in English top-flight history, as well as breaking a new record in the Premier League. Manchester City tickets are in higher demand today than in the early 2010s.
However, it does not mean that there are no longer dark horses that could meddle with the elite. Some teams did succeed in doing so by finishing in the top six or higher.
Last season, Aston Villa just did it under Unai Emery. They finished third on the table and sealed their berth in the newly formatted Champions League in 2024/25. It will be their first ever UCL for John McGinn and Co. The last time Aston Villa competed in the Champions League was actually before the UCL era, in the early 1980s. The Villans surprisingly snatched the 1982 European Cup title. They even went on to add more silverware by lifting the European Super Cup trophy, beating Diego Maradona’s Barcelona. Therefore, they competed in the 1982–83 season as the reigning champion.
Here are the other teams that did the same as Unai Emery’s men in the 2023–24 campaign, except Leicester City’s unlikely victory in 2016, as they did not only meddle in the big six but toppled them instead.
Everton (2013 and 2014)
The Toffees are the first ones on the list. They were the first ones in the 2010s to do it consecutively in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns. In the former season, David Moyes was still in charge before he headed to Old Trafford in the following season, while in the latter season, it was Roberto Martinez’s first season.
In 2013, Moyes’s men finished sixth with 63 points, above their local rival, Liverpool, in the final standings. Their most notable games of the season were a narrow home win against Manchester United with a single goal from Marouane Fellaini, a 2-0 victory over the reigning champions, Manchester City, and a 2-1 win versus Tottenham. The former Belgian international, Marouane Fellaini, was the key man in the team alongside Phil Neville, USMNT goalie Tim Howard, Leighton Baines, and Leon Osman. The former Standard Liege man was Everton’s top performer in that season with 12 goals and seven assists in 36 games of all competition.
In 2014, Roberto Martinez raised them to a better level by finishing fifth. They collected 72 points, three points clear of Spurs on the sixth and eight points ahead of Moyes’s Manchester United sitting seventh! The Toffees were incredibly in form that season, as they were unbeaten in both fixtures against Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Arsenal. Leighton Baines and Co. even won in both encounters versus the Red Devils and the Magpies, whereas in the other matches, they crushed the Gunners 3-0 and Chelsea 1-0 at their home turf.
Martinez’s team had a great addition to bolster the squad. They had Romelu Lukaku, Gareth Barry, and Gerard Deulofeu signed on loan, plus the return of Ross Barkley from his loan spell in Leeds in the previous season, as well as the emergence of John Stones. Lukaku was the top scorer with 16 goals and seven assists in 36 matches.
Southampton (2016)
The Saints turned into a deadly dark horse in 2015/16. Under Ronald Koeman, they managed to pick up famous wins over the big six teams. Virgil Van Dijk and Co. hammered Arsenal 4-0 and ran rampant against Manchester City as they secured a 4-2 win. They also dismantled Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea on the road. Such led them to finish sixth with 63 points above the Reds, which were three points adrift from Soton.
Koeman relied on several key men in the squad besides Van Dijk. There were Sadio Mane, Shane Long, Maya Yoshida, new signing Oriol Romeu, Graziano Pelle, and Dusan Tadic. The young James Ward-Prowse was already in the squad too. Mane was their top performer with 11 goals and six assists in 36 games of all competition. The 2015/16 season was also the Senegalese’s last season at St. Mary’s before switching sides to Liverpool in the summer.
Leicester City (2020 and 2021)
The Foxes might have won the league with Claudio Ranieri. Yet, it was Brendan Rodgers who brought stability to the big six during his stint in King Power. The Northern Irish boss guided Leicester to finish fifth consecutively in 2020 and 2021 and snatched the FA Cup title in 2021, which was the first in the club’s history. They sat above Spurs and Arsenal by collecting 62 and 66 points, respectively, in both campaigns.
The former Liverpool boss signed several players who became key figures in the team besides the remaining stars, like Jamie Vardy, Marc Albrighton, and Kasper Schmeichel. There were James Justin, Youri Tielemans, Ayoze Perez, and Dennis Praet. Rodgers also managed to improve the form of some names to help their campaign. Caglar Soyuncu, Harvey Barnes, and James Maddison were the notable players in his squad during his stint.
The Foxes’ best performances in those seasons were their stunning away wins over Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham, plus a home victory while taking on Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal, especially in 2020/21. Unfortunately, their form drastically declined in 2022/23 as they fell to the championship.
Newcastle United (2012 and 2023)
The Magpies surely could not be ruled out of the dark horse list. They have been the most consistent team since the Premier League era. They did it in each decade. In the 2010s, they meddled in the Big Six twice, finishing fifth in 2012 and third in 2023. In the former campaign, Alan Pardew was the man in charge, whereas in the latter one, it was Eddie Howe. The one in 2023 was more memorable, as it marked their return to the Champions League after their last one in the early 2000s.
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