Liverpool head into the latest round of Premier League fixtures top of the pile after a rare weekend that saw both Manchester City and Arsenal fall to defeats.
Last Saturday, City slumped to an away loss at Bournemouth, while Arsenal lost 1-0 at Newcastle United which allowed Arne Slot's Liverpool to reclaim top slot after their narrow win over Brighton at Anfield.
It was only the third time since the start of 2017/18 that both of the previous season's top two lost on the same day in the Premier League. City and Liverpool are both back in action on Saturday, with Pep Guardiola's champions facing Brighton on England's south coast (9.30pm UAE) and the Merseysiders taking on Aston Villa at Anfield (midnight).
Before those matches, Brentford tackle Bournemouth in London, Crystal Palace entertain Fulham at Selhurst Park, West Ham United host Everton at the London Stadium and Wolves clash with Southampton in the Midlands (all at 7pm).
Sunday sees Manchester United up against Leicester City at Old Trafford, Nottingham Forest versus Newcastle at the City Ground and Tottenham Hotspur at home to Ipswich Town (all at 6pm). Chelsea and Arsenal clash at Stamford Bridge in the late game (8.30pm).
Can Slot's Liverpool maintain momentum?
There are no signs of Slot's stunning start to his Liverpool reign coming to a halt with their 4-0 midweek demolition of Bayer Leverkusen in the Uefa Champions League making it 14 wins from 16 games for the Dutch manager.
The manner in which they beat Leverkusen – coached by former Liverpool player Xabi Alonso, who turned down the chance to replace Jurgen Klopp as Reds manager in the summer – was particularly impressive.
The German double winners, who also reached the Europa League final last season, were ripped apart after the break following a goalless first half with Luis Diaz bagging a hat-trick and Cody Gakpo grabbing the other.
It meant that Liverpool are now the only side in the 36-team competition to maintain a 100 per cent record after four games and are now top of the table both domestically and in Europe.
“Things have gone so well with the new manager, it wasn't easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp's shoes,” said Diaz after the game at Anfield. “Hopefully, we'll have something to show for it at the end of the season.”
Will Man City end losing streak?
City manager Guardiola's fears after losing to Spurs in the League Cup that his team were “in trouble” due to mounting injuries in his squad came to fruition this week.
Last weekend's loss at the Vitality Stadium – that ended a 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League – was followed up by a midweek humbling at Sporting in Lisbon, meaning City had lost three times in a row for only the second time since Guardiola joined the club in 2016 (the other being in April 2018).
Sporting's coach, Ruben Amorim, will soon become a regular foe as he prepares to take over at Manchester United on Monday and will have already endeared himself to the red half of the city for overseeing such a result against their rivals in blue.
Bernardo Silva admitted the team are “in a dark place” but should find some light if he remembers that the last time City went on such a losing streak, they ended up winning the title by becoming the first Premier League side to reach 100 points in a season.
“It is a tough challenge, but I am here,” insisted Guardiola ahead of taking on eighth-placed Brighton. “It will be a tough season – we knew that from the start. But this is what it is. I like it, I love it, I want to face it and lift my players.”
Who wins battle at the bottom?
A very different set of problems are facing rock-bottom Wolves who head into Matchday 11 one point and one place behind opponents Southampton and still awaiting their first victory after their worst ever start to a Premier League campaign.
It is only the third time in the club's history they have failed to win any of the first 10 games, losing four out of five games at Molineux and having conceded 27 goals – the division's worst defensive record.
Manager Gary O'Neil is struggling to keep fans onside with the Molineux crowd responding to a triple substitution in last week's draw with Crystal Palace with a loud rendition of “you don't know what you're doing” – never a good sign for a coach, but O'Neil insists he has “zero concerns” about his position.
Southampton, meanwhile, finally have a win in the basket thanks to Adam Armstrong's 85th minute goal to seal a 1-0 win over Everton at St Mary's Stadium, having taken one point from their opening nine games.
“It's a big relief. I have happiness, pride and gratitude with the players, the staff, owners and the board. It's been a tough period,” admitted Saints manager Russell Martin.
Can Wood fire Forest to win over former club?
Having finished just one place outside the relegation zone last season, Nottingham Forest's superb start to the new campaign has seen them reach the heady heights of third in the table.
Nuno Espirito Santo's men brushed aside West Ham 3-0 at the City Ground last week which meant Forest had won three Premier League games in a row for the first time since May 1999.
Among the goals again was in-form Chris Wood, with his close-range header putting Forest into a first-half lead taking the New Zealand striker's tally to eight in 10 games – second only to Erling Haaland's 11 for Manchester City in the scoring charts.
And Wood goes into Sunday's game against Newcastle hoping for a repeat of the hat-trick he scored against his former club last season – which earned Nuno his first win after taking over as manager – as he looks to match his best top-flight goals tally of 14.
“Chris has a work ethos that always amazes us. We are delighted to have him, not only the goals but the way he helps,” Nuno said last week. “He is in a good moment. What we want is to provide the platform and the environment for him to keep producing.”
Will Odegaard's return lift Arsenal?
Like Manchester City, Arsenal have suffered a stumble in the title race with their own run poor run of results and injury problems that has seen them drop down to fifth in the table, seven points off top spot.
The Gunners have managed just one point from three matches, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting that his side “deserved to lose” at Newcastle.
They followed that up with another 1-0 away loss, this time against Inter Milan following a controversial Hakan Calhanoglu penalty after Mikel Merino was harshly penalised for handball. Arsenal were also denied a spot-kick of their own when Inter goalkeeper Jan Sommer appeared to punch Spanish midfielder Merino in the head while going for a cross.
This was a much-improved Arsenal performance, though, against the reigning Serie A champions who sit second in the current table just a point behind leaders Napoli. “The way we played tonight, the team can go to Chelsea and win,” insisted Arteta at the San Siro.
There was also a welcome return to action, albeit as a 93rd minute substitute, for key midfielder Martin Odegaard who has been out of action for two months with an ankle injury.
