Irons show they have the will to beat the drop
Joe Casey looks at the big talking points from the tenth round of Premier League action
The top three in the Premier League all won on a weekend which also saw Wolves become the fourth top-flight club to sack their manager.
Things are looking slightly brighter for the Old Gold's relegation rivals West Ham, however, after they produced the biggest shock of the weekend, beating Newcastle 3-1 at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Here’s what we learned last weekend:
Hard-working Hammers give glimmer of hope
West Ham’s season was going from bad to worse until Sunday, when they showed some much-needed energy and vigour in a vital 3-1 win over Newcastle.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Hammers never let the Toon settle in east London, forcing them into several mistakes and not allowing their midfield to dictate.
West Ham made 41 clearances, 21 tackles and nine blocks in an impressive performance that should give their fans hope that they can extricate themselves from the bottom three under Nuno.
Lucas Paqueta, Callum Wilson and Crysencio Summerville led the way at the weekend, displaying an intensity the Irons have sorely lacked both on and off the ball, while academy product Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes patrolled the midfield, a continual area of weakness.
With a huge game against Burnley looming this weekend, West Ham have at least shown they possess the requisite fight to pull themselves out of the mire. They now need to show it wasn't a flash in the pan.
Manchester City embrace transitions
Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth was notable for a few reasons.
Pep Guardiola has spoken about how the dominant style of football in the Premier League has shifted from one which values controlling possession to creating transitions.
The Citizens seem to be slowly embracing this change. They had less possession than the Cherries on Sunday (51-49), something which would have been unimaginable in recent seasons when they were at home.
Erling Haaland has been the main benefactor of Pep's slight shift in approach.
The Norwegian goal machine loves playing on the shoulder of the last defender and his opener at the Etihad was City's fourth goal from a fast-break situation this season, already one more than they scored in the entire 2024-25 campaign.
Don’t expect Haaland's insatiable appetite for goals to slow down any time soon as he spearheads City's title challenge.
Tottenham suffering an indentity crisis
Swapping Ange Postecoglou's gung-ho tactics for something more measured under Thomas Frank was always going to be tricky for Tottenham and they looked like a team devoid of an identity in Saturday's 1-0 loss to Chelsea.
Spurs were lucky not to be on the end of a more damning scoreline, too, as Chelsea had 15 shots and racked up an expected-goals tally of 2.92 compared to Spurs' three efforts worth a measly 0.05 xG.
Fifth place after ten games is not to be sniffed at but Spurs' issues in forward areas are clear for all to see and no side has exceeded expectations in front of goal more than the Lilywhites, who have scored 17 goals from an xG of 10.16.
Only four teams have a worse expected-goal difference than their -4.3 and Frank's big summer signings have yet to make much of an impact.
Xavi Simons, in particular, has found life difficult and he struggled to impose himself against a physical Chelsea side.
Tottenham rank fourth in the Premier League for pressing but their 51 high turnovers have produced just one shot.
They have lost three of their five league games at home and have now won only two of their last eight games.
Manchester United, Arsenal and PSG lie in wait after Tuesday's Champions League date with FC Copenhagen and Spurs need to start working out what kind of team they want to be sooner rather than later.
A long way back for Pereira’s replacement
The head honchos at Wolves decided they had seen enough on Saturday after the Old Gold slumped to an eighth league defeat of the season at Fulham.
Vitor Pereira, the architect of their survival last season, was swiftly sacked but whoever replaces the Portuguese has a huge task on their hands.
Wolves are bottom of the table with just two points to their name and they have both the worst defence and attack in the top flight.
Wanderers’ underlying numbers suggest they aren't quite as bad as results suggest, but they are already in grave danger of being cut adrift despite only a quarter of the season having been played.
The Molineux faithful are unhappy at the club's owners, there is a dearth of talent in the squad and they are as short as 1-10 to go down. It's not looking good.
The Championship-ification of the top flight
Whether it is down to a lack of quality or the set-piece trend levelling the playing field, it is clear that the floor of most Premier League teams has raised this season.
West Ham were 17-4 to beat Newcastle but did so with relative ease, meaning that the Magpies are just five points off the relegation zone.
Yet Eddie Howe’s side are also just five points adrift of Tottenham and Chelsea, who are fifth and sixth, showing just how tight the top flight is.
There is more than a hint of the Championship about the Premier League this season, and there seems certain to be some more shock results along the way.
Complaints about the quality of play aside, the 2025-26 season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive campaigns at both ends of the table for a number of years.
Read more:
Manchester City 9-2 for the title after Haaland heroics see off Bournemouth
Cornering the market: How to profit from the Premier League set-piece craze
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