PL talking points: Will Spurs go down and can Carrick turn it around at Man Utd?

Sky Sports writers assess the early talking points after five games in the Premier League season; Tottenham currently sit bottom of the table, is this the season they suffer relegation? Man City are top but can Enzo Maresca guide them into contention in his first season?

Are Manchester City really title contenders? Is this the season Tottenham suffer relegation? Is history repeating itself at Manchester United? After just five games, a number of storylines are already emerging.

Here, Sky Sports' team of writers assess the early talking points across an eventful start to the 2026/27 season...

Enzo Maresca was asked in his press conference whether he considered Manchester City to be title contenders after his side beat Sunderland 5-3 in one of the Premier League's most frenetic encounters to date. He gave the standard answer. "Too early to tell".

There is a pragmatic truth in that response. Five games is a small sample size. But I've seen enough to stick my neck out and say they will be right up there.

Maresca has so far made this exciting, dynamic City squad work for him, partly by design, partly by luck. He's lucky he has Erling Haaland . He's lucky the club believe so heavily in his cause they were willing to spend £320m on an entirely new midfield department.

But there is no doubt this squad is packed with entertainers who are determined to win. I like that the burden of scoring responsibility has been more equally shared; both Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki can boast as many goal involvements as Haaland.

And there is obvious momentum after winning seven in a row in all competitions. There will be times where City come unstuck because defensively they are fallible. Haaland will suffer his inevitable dip at some point. Injuries will occur because City's most explosive players, Jeremy Doku in particular, are prone.

The Premier League is an ever more demanding beast and City are no longer Pep Guardiola's possession-based puppets.

But this is a team that will also get better with time. Maresca can now spend the next three weeks polishing up the bits he doesn't like, ready to go again. Barring any major injuries, City can - very probably will - rival Arsenal in the race. Laura Hunter

Inevitable expectations followed when Spurs went big this summer - bigger than they've ever gone before.

Their £334m outlay sat them only behind perennial big spenders Chelsea and Man City across the transfer window.

Of course, any dreams of a return to the halcyon days at the top were always going to be tough to reach in the short term, as many previous clubs have found after a significant turnover of players.

But even with the patience required, sitting bottom of the table, with just two goals and as many points from their opening five games is miles below-par.