Five games into the Premier League season and, in a sense, nothing has changed. Last season's winner: Manchester City. This season's leader: Manchester City.
Last season's top four: City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa. This season's top four: City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
While I don't think you'd be wrong to plant your flag there -- "City will win the league again, and the top four will remain unchanged" -- five games is just enough games to be dangerous. It's enough time to start to think what we've seen thus far will remain true for the rest of the season. But we know, from research, that it's not until around the 10-game mark when what we've seen really starts to impact what we will see for the remainder of the campaign.
But that doesn't mean we can't dip our toes into those waters. So, let's take a look at some of the trends that have emerged from the first month or so of the season, and assess whether they're likely to continue.
