Ten KEY questions for Matchweek 5's fixtures

Will Man Utd bounce back from tough week against Fulham?

“We haven't got as many points as we would have liked at this point, for sure, there's no getting away from that,” head coach Michael Carrick said after the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City that left Manchester United with four points from four games, the same record as former head coach Ruben Amorim had four matches into last season.

“But we don't need a break or a restart or anything, we've just got to move on and get winning again.”

The impending three-week international break makes it imperative that Man Utd do not let the damaging defeat in the derby affect this weekend’s game. A disappointing 3-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday in the EFL Cup - after leading 2-0 - was another setback.

More dropped points could leave Carrick and the club stewing on an unwanted record. Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, Man Utd’s worst return after five Premier League matches is five points, accumulated in the second post-Fergie year when the Louis van Gaal era got off to a tricky start.

A draw at Fulham would equal that record, a defeat would beat it. Those are the kind of headlines Carrick will know he needs to avoid.

It is, of course, far too early in the season to be making judgements. Only 12 of the available 114 points have gone. To illustrate how much is left to play, technically Coventry City – pointless and rock bottom – could break the all-time record for points won in a Premier League season (100, set by Man City in 2017/18).

Nevertheless, there is always noise around Man Utd and there will inevitably be recriminations if Man Utd fail to win at Craven Cottage, despite the fact that Alvaro Arbeloa won his first point as Fulham head coach last weekend with an impressive 0-0 draw at Liverpool.

Fulham will be tough opponents but nobody at Man Utd will be using that as an excuse. As Carrick has suggested, they need to bounce back.

Can Chelsea's defence improve against counter-attack kings Brentford?

“For sure, it’s some repeated patterns that we are making,” manager Xabi Alonso said of Chelsea’s defensive errors and goal concessions. “It will take time to fix them.”

Chelsea have conceded nine Premier League goals this season, which is the second-most among non-promoted clubs, and at least two in each of their four matches. It goes without saying that Alonso’s side must improve on that record if they are to challenge for honours.

It might simply be a case of needing more time to absorb Alonso’s ideas, in turn reducing gaps between players and making the system more difficult to play through.

Notably, his Bayer Leverkusen side conceded 49 Bundesliga goals in his debut campaign and then just 24 in year two, when Alonso’s team won the title without losing a single game.

Similarly Leverkusen’s possession average rose from 51.8% in 2022/23 to 62.1% in 2023/24 while their number of high turnovers rocketed from 169, the second-fewest in the division, to 367, which was at least 54 more than any other Bundesliga team.

Under Alonso, the principles of possession domination, purposeful forward-thinking football, and hard pressing only come with time.

In the short-term that suggests Chelsea may need to prioritise basic defensive principles, cutting out the errors that have led to “soft” goals, as Alonso has said.

Friday’s trip to Brentford will require perfection in this regard. Keith Andrews’ side can be explosive on the counter-attack, while they also rank second for Expected Goals (xG) from set-pieces (2.34). Chelsea have already conceded three goals from set-pieces and two from errors.

Will Spurs or Villa claim first wins of the season?

The biggest game of the weekend is at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at lunchtime on Saturday, where two clubs with European ambitions hope to win their first Premier League match of the season.

Neither Aston Villa nor Spurs will have expected the campaign to start this way. Both are winless and in the bottom five, struggling to adapt following summers of significant player turnover.

There is, of course, plenty of time to turn their respective seasons around. But a victory on Saturday would go a long way to redefining the narrative, whereas defeat could cement opinions and see heads drop as we enter what would feel like a very long three-week international break.

Both Roberto De Zerbi and Unai Emery will likely welcome the extended international break, not only as a chance to reset but to provide time for players to recover from injury and time to finesse some ideas on the training ground.

That process will be a lot more comfortable with a win under their belt, a lot more difficult if residing in the bottom three.

Will Man City build on derby win against Sunderland?

Sunderland’s first appearance in European competition in 50 years was a moment for their supporters to saviour. Man City fans should also be pleased to see the Stadium of Light hosting UEFA Europa League football.

Finishing seventh last season was a remarkable achievement for Sunderland but it comes at a cost. Playing twice a week, juggling domestic and European competition, is a challenge for any club but particularly for one whose participation came as a surprise.

Do Sunderland have the squad depth to cope? Only time will tell but they could hardly have asked for a more difficult test to follow the physical and emotional exhaustion of their first European adventure in half a century.

Man City are riding high after maintaining their 100 per cent record with a hard-fought victory at Old Trafford last weekend, a result that, overcoming the man disadvantage, will have forged strong bonds in the camp.

They have all the momentum for the visit of a potentially tired Sunderland side who are yet to win away from home, losing at Ipswich Town and drawing at Brentford in their opening two.

Can unbeaten Hull take advantage of Newcastle’s defensive issues?

Hull City’s brilliant start to the Premier League season could well get even better this weekend, that is unless Newcastle United are able to improve upon a leaky defence that has conceded eight league goals this season – including four against Leeds United on Monday.

Newcastle have faced more shots than any other side in the Premier League so far this season (76) and only Crystal Palace (8.2) have a higher Expected Goals Against (xGA), with 7.6, reflecting defensive issues that stretch back to the start of the calendar year. Only Palace and Chelsea, with 42 and 40 respectively, have conceded more Premier League goals than Newcastle's 39 in 2026.

That should have the Tigers licking their lips. Hull are hoping to become the first promoted side to avoid defeat in their first five games since Portsmouth in 2003/04, while a win would make them the first to hit double figures for points this early since West Ham United in 2005/06. Portsmouth finished 13h in 2003/04, while West Ham ended 2005/06 in 9th.

Will Bournemouth v Liverpool produce fireworks on Iraola's return?

Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Fulham last weekend will have pleased Andoni Iraola more than most onlookers. Instead of focusing on his side’s inability to create chances Iraola will have noted the defensive sturdiness, given that chaotic matches defined the early parts of his AFC Bournemouth tenure.

Things might get a bit more manic on Sunday. Bournemouth are dealing with their own transition under Marco Rose and have conceded twice in three of their four Premier League matches so far. Add to that their likely tiredness after their first-ever Europa League game this week and Liverpool should, at least, score goals.

They will likely concede them, too. Bournemouth have scored in every Premier League game this season and, more importantly, Rose is continuing the high-octane, high-pressing, direct football that his predecessor Iraola is now instigating at Liverpool.

When two similar attacking systems come together, it can lead to fireworks.

Can free-scoring Brighton crack Arsenal's sturdy defence?

Fabian Hurzeler’s side have made an impressive start to the season. They are the top scorers, with 13 goals and have forced more high turnovers than any other side (41).

That suggests Brighton & Hove Albion will be aggressive and assertive, boldly pushing at Arsenal much in the way Sunderland did last weekend, when a brilliant David Raya penalty save shortly before Bruno Guimaraes’ winner is possibly all that stood in the way of a shock defeat for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Can Brighton go one step further?

Their hard-hitting approach might be what’s needed to crack a defence that’s as sturdy as ever; Arsenal have faced just 2.7xG in total so far in the Premier League and almost a third of that (0.8) was Sunderland’s penalty.

Or, it could open the game up to the extent that a newly-freed Arsenal – unshackled, creatively and psychologically, after finally winning the title last season – can stretch their legs.

Can Leeds continue excellent start against leaky Palace?

A quietly excellent summer transfer window has been followed up by a strong start to 2026/27 for Leeds, whose supporters will be beginning to dream of Europe – and rightly so.

Leeds have eight points from four Premier League matches, their best start since 2001/02 under David O'Leary, the season after they reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The style of their 4-1 win at Newcastle on Monday night was arguably one of the club’s best nights since then, because after a rollercoaster couple of decades Leeds are firmly on the up.

Since December 2025 Leeds have won the fifth-most points in the Premier League, behind only Arsenal, Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool.

If they beat Palace, Leeds will be in the hunt for European places. And victory is certainly on the cards: Crystal Palace have faced the most xG, with 8.15, conceded the most goals (11), faced the joint-most shots on target (26) and allowed their opponents the most touches in their own box (164) in the Premier League.

Can Forest end home goal drought against Coventry?

This might look like a bigger game for Coventry, considering Frank Lampard’s side have lost each of their opening four Premier League matches without scoring a goal.

But this is a real opportunity for Forest, who after a slow start under Oliver Glasner were lifted by a late winner at Villa Park last weekend.

That win could be the catalyst for an upturn in form and certainly Forest couldn’t have asked for a better game, on paper, to follow it up than Coventry at home.

Forest are yet to score a goal at the City Ground in 2026/27. A goal or two, and three points, would reframe the start Glasner has made.

Will Ipswich maintain positive start away at Everton?

Incredibly, Ipswich are already halfway to their Premier League win total in 2024/25, when they only won four matches.

A win at Everton this weekend would take their points tally to nine, would keep them in the top half, and, most likely, would cause an awful lot of established Premier League teams to start worrying.

All three promoted clubs went straight back down in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, and, before a ball had been kicked, many people assumed Sunderland’s and Leeds safety last season was an anomaly.

But if Ipswich follow Hull’s superb start suddenly the relegation spots open up. If those two continue to thrive then pretty much every club in the bottom half come November will have to start seriously considering whether they are in a fight to stay up.