UK Edition
Premier League 'Big Six' winners and losers so far, by corresponding fixtures from last season
The Manchester clubs will battle it out for the title, all is not well at Chelsea, and the rest of the big six have major issues to resolve.
Those are some of the sweeping conclusions already being drawn just a few games into the new season.
But are we perhaps being a little premature? One of the ways to assess how excited or gloomy each of the six clubs should be about their start to this season is to look at how they got on in the corresponding fixtures in the last campaign.
In this regard, United look to have shaken off the bluntness which plagued them for much of last year, while Tottenham's home form has taken a major hit. Manchester City have made an excellent start, but they are only two points better off than they were from the equivalent fixtures last season.
So, who has progressed and who has regressed in the early weeks of the 2017-18 campaign?
1. Manchester United - 4 points up from last season
Last season's stodginess has given way to a swagger in recent weeks, as United have started converting the chances they were contriving to miss at the start of Jose Mourinho's reign.
West Ham and Everton have each been thumped 4-0 in the last few weeks, whereas last season they each escaped Old Trafford with 1-1 draws.
In total, United have scored 16 goals in their opening five matches, which is an increase of six from the equivalent fixtures last season. If they can turn other home draws from last season - such as those against Stoke, Burnley, West Brom, Swansea and Bournemouth - then they have a real chance of winning their first title since the end of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign in 2013.
2017-18 season: Pld 5, Pts: 13, GF: 16, GA: 2
2016-17 season in equivalent fixtures: Pld 5, Pts: 9, GF: 10, GA: 4
2. Manchester City - 2 points up from last season
City's scintillating start should perhaps not come as much of a surprise, given that they won their first six league games last season, and their first five two years ago.
In addition, looking at their fixtures so far, City performed similarly well in the equivalent matches last season, taking eight points from the four fixtures they have played this season (their opening day match against Brighton is excluded for our purposes, since their is no equivalent fixture from last year). Turning March's 1-1 home draw against Liverpool into a 5-0 win this season has been the biggest statement of intent from Pep Guardiola's side so far.
Given their recent strong starts and subsequent struggles, City will be wary of getting too carried away by their stellar opening to this campaign.
2017-18 season (Brighton match excluded): Pld 4, Pts: 10, GF: 14, GA: 2
2016-17 season in equivalent fixtures (Brighton match excluded): Pld 4, Pts: 8, GF: 9, GA: 2
3. Liverpool - 2 points down from last season
Liverpool achieved better results in their equivalent fixtures last season, with wins against Watford and Burnley becoming draws this time around.
Jurgen Klopp's side seem to have no difficulty getting themselves up for the big matches (the slightly skewed 5-0 defeat at Manchester City aside), so the decisive factor for them this season looks to be how they will do against the less-fancied sides.
Those dropped points against Watford and Burnley will therefore be a concern to Klopp but at least he saw his side turn last season's home defeat to Crystal Palace into a 1-0 win a few weeks ago.
2017-18 season: Pld 5, Pts: 8, GF: 9, GA: 9
2016-17 season in equivalent fixtures: Pld 5, Pts: 10, GF: 8, GA: 5
4. Arsenal - 2 points down from last season
Arsenal as we know are nothing if not consistent, and this season has largely carried on the theme of them beating the teams you would expect them to beat, and losing the matches they're expected to lose.
The difference from last season's equivalent matches is that in May Arsenal picked up a rare win at Stoke (they reverted to type and lost 1-0 at the start of this season) but that was counterbalanced to an extent by them picking up an unexpected point at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (they lost 3-1 there last season).
2017-18 season: Pld 5, Pts: 7, GF: 7, GA: 8
2016-17 season in equivalent fixtures: Pld 5, Pts: 9, GF: 10, GA: 7
5. Chelsea - 2 points down from last season
The reigning Premier League champions have dropped five points in home matches against Burnley and Arsenal - fixtures they won at a canter last season.
Thankfully for the Blues, they turned last season's away defeat at Tottenham into a smash and grab win in August, but overall they have picked up two fewer points and scored far fewer goals this campaign compared to the equivalent matches in 2016-17.
2017-18 season: Pld 5, Pts: 10, GF: 8, GA: 5
2016-17 season in equivalent fixtures: Pld 5, Pts: 12, GF: 14, GA: 3
6. Tottenham - 5 points down from last season
Spurs' home form since moving to Wembley has taken a massive hit, with just two points from their three league matches there this season. By way of comparison, Tottenham won all three of the equivalent fixtures last season (including against eventual champions Chelsea), with a cumulative goal difference of plus eight.
Overall, Tottenham have already dropped three more points at home this season than during the entirety of the 2016-17 campaign.
2017-18 season (Newcastle match excluded as no equivalent fixture): Pld 4, Pts: 5, GF: 5, GA: 3
2016-17 season in equivalent fixtures (Newcastle match excluded as no equivalent fixture): Pld 4, Pts: 10, GF: 10, GA: 2