Four rounds in, the Premier League table is no longer a draft. Manchester City have 12 points from 12 and travel to the Emirates on Sunday, where Arsenal have not lost since March. Hull City, written off as relegation candidates in August, sit in the top six and walk into Anfield on Saturday. This is no longer a story about a newcomer who is "still hanging on". It is a story about a side that has learned to hang on and is now testing whether it can press.
Saturday: Liverpool vs Hull
Liverpool took six straight points after two opening draws: 3-1 at Ipswich, 2-0 against Fulham. The side has rediscovered the verticality missing in August, but last spring's level is still a way off. Hull arrive unbeaten, with the league's second-stingiest defence behind Arsenal. Their manager talks about "thirty points by New Year" — a modest line only on the surface. For Liverpool this is a patience test: if the first goal does not come before half-time, Anfield will get nervous, and Hull know how to live off other people's nerves. Elsewhere on Saturday: Chelsea vs Newcastle, Manchester United vs Sunderland, Brentford vs Aston Villa.
Sunday: Arsenal vs City
The main event. Enzo Maresca's City have a perfect start and four wins from a £440m summer. Arsenal have five straight clean sheets at the Emirates in all competitions and a Saka who has scored in every home game this season. City are used to coming to London and taking three points. Arsenal are used to the chaser's role and have not confirmed it so far this season. A defeat cuts the Gunners adrift from the top until at least the October break. A draw leaves everything as it is: City first, no questions answered.
What else to watch
Everton vs Brentford and Leeds vs West Ham close the programme on Monday. Spurs and Villa carry crises of different depth: three points each, they meet on Saturday night, and one of them has to surface. Five matchweeks is not yet a sample you judge a season by. It is a sample you judge character by. For Liverpool and Hull that test comes on Saturday. For Arsenal and City, on Sunday.
