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... Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 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. 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.
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