Whether Blue or Red, Manchester have dominated the Premier League in the last 20 years, with both United and City putting in multiple appearances in the top 10 most entertaining teams of the millennium.

The study, conducted by spread betting firm Spreadex, is based on the Team Performance betting make-up of every match played by every team in the Premier League over the past 20 seasons.

Teams are awarded points in each match played based on: 25 points for winning the match, 10 points for drawing, 0 for losing, 15 points per goal scored, 10 points for a clean sheet, 3 per corner taken, -5 for each yellow card received and -15 for any red card.

So which specific teams make the top 10? We can tell you who doesn’t – Arsenal’s 2003/4 ‘Invincibles’, who were well off the pace with just 60.95 points.

10. Liverpool 2013/14 – average Team Performance score per match = 71.37
Runners-up in 2013/14, finishing 2 points adrift of Man City, this was the season where both teams breached 100 goals scored. Liverpool actually had the season’s 2 top scorers, with Luis Suarez on 31 goals and Daniel Sturridge on 21.

9. Man United 2009/10 – 73.18
Narrowly pipped to the post by Chelsea by a single point, this United side still manage to make the top 10 despite it being the season they sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million.

8. Man City 2011/12 – 73.47
Years of Abu Dhabi investment and a hoarder’s approach to signings finally paid off for Man City in 2011/12, when they secured their 1st ever Premier League title on goal difference with that thrilling 3-2 victory at home to QPR.

7. Man United 2011/12 – 75.05
Denied the title by Sergio Aguero’s legendary injury time strike against QPR, United can maybe take some small solace in the fact they were actually more entertaining than their City rivals during the 2011/12 season.

6. Man City 2013/14 – 76.03
While no City player could match Suarez’s 31 goals in 2013/14, the champions were hardly short of attacking options, with Yaya Toure on 20 goals, Aguero on 17 and Edin Dzeko on 16.

5. Liverpool 2018/19 – 76.11
Arguably the best team never to win the Premier League, Klopp’s Liverpool only lost one game all season. However, given that game came against Man City, it was enough to deny them the title.

4. Liverpool 2019/20 – 76.66
The most recent, and only unfinished, season on this list, the romping, stomping Liverpool side of 2019/20 have been a joy to watch. They also, sadly, might not end up winning the title if the Premier League is cancelled due to coronavirus.

3. Chelsea 2009/10 – 77.97
Chelsea’s only appearance on this list, Carlo Ancelotti managed an amazing debut season at Stamford Bridge in 2009/10. Propelled by the inimitable Didier Drogba, this team were regularly scoring big, putting 7 goals past Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke, before ending their title-winning season with an 8-0 victory over Wigan.

2. Man City 2018/19 – 81.68
The winners of one of the all-time great title races, the 2018/19 City side held off Liverpool to secure Pep Guardiola’s 2nd Premier League championship in a row. It also saw Aguero match Thierry Henry’s record of 5 consecutive seasons of 20 or more goals in the Premier League.

1. Man City 2017/18 – 82.55
There’s a good reason City’s 2017/18 are the most entertaining Premier League team this side of the millennium: they hold the record for most goals in a single season, with an astonishing 106. They also became the first team in history to reach 100 points, a record Liverpool were chasing in 2019/20 before the coronavirus shutdown.

But while Manchester City top the table in terms of most entertaining teams from individual seasons, they still lag behind their fierce rivals across the City – as well as Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – when it comes to the overall most entertaining team of the millennium as the results from the rest of our study show:

Least Entertaining Sides ever:
1. Derby 07/08: 15.24 (finished bottom)
2. Huddersfield 18/19: 17.79 (finished bottom)
3. Sunderland 05/06: 18.18 (finished bottom)
4. Aston Villa 15/16: 18.45 (finished bottom)
5. Sunderland 16/17: 19.26 (finished bottom)
6. Middlesborough 16/17: 20.87 (finished 19th)
7. Sunderland 02/03: 23.11 (finished bottom)
8. Hull City 09/10: 23.42 (finished 19th)
9. Fulham 2018/19: 23.63 (finished 19th)
10. Derby County 01/02: 23.71 (finished 19th)

Average relegated side: 28.21

Most Entertaining Sides not to win the title: (all finished second)
1. Liverpool 19/20: 76.66 (top with 9 games to play)
2. Liverpool 18/19: 76.11 (following season are top with 9 games to play)
3. Manchester United 11/12: 75.05 (won title following season by 11 pts)
4. Manchester United 09/10: 73.18 (won title following season by 9 pts )
5. Liverpool 13/14: 71.37 (6th following season)
6. Man City 19/20: 71.29 (following season are second with 9 games to play)
7. Tottenham 16/17: 71.03 (3rd following season)
8. Liverpool 08/09: 69.66 (7th following season)
9. Manchester United 01/02: 68.21 3rd (won title by 5 pts following season)
10. Arsenal 04/05: 66.68 (4th following season)

Most entertaining side to go down:
1. Blackpool 10/11: 39.71 (19th)
2. Ipswich 01/02: 38.47 (18th)
3. Reading 07/08: 35.5 (18th)

Least Entertaining sides to stay up:
1. Aston Villa 2014/15: 25.08 (finished bottom the following season by 17 pts)
2. Huddersfield Town 2017/18: 25.92 (finished bottom the following season by 10 pts)
3. Sunderland 2014/15: 26.26 (finished 17th the following season, bottom the year after)

Least Entertaining Side to finish in Top 4:
1. Everton 04/05: 41.05 (finished 11th the season after) – 4th that season

Most entertaining side to miss out on Top 4:
1. Liverpool 2012/13: 60.71 (finished 7th that year, finished 2nd the following season)