Last week, Manchester United lost their perfect record at home after a 0-0 draw against Newcastle.
Tomorrow, Louis van Gaal’s team, who advanced to the Champions League group stages in midweek, will be eager for the three points at the Liberty Stadium when playing Swansea City who inflicted a double on United last season.
To assess clubs based off one game and presenting them as fact is not ideal especially when players and teams have anywhere between 37 and 50 games left, including cups, to rectify mistakes.
Three games in, and little more than guesswork is still the most prevalent manner of forecasting the next nine months of soccer.
United are still unbeaten after three matches but a major concern for the club would be a lack of goals in the domestic competition.
It isn’t just the strikers who seem to be missing the back of the net, it is the entire team even though on Wednesday they hit four past Bruges in Belgium.
Many had believed that Van Gaal tinkered a little too much with Rooney last season, having deployed him in midfield for quite a few games but this season the English striker has featured as the lone striker for United.
Rooney scored three in Bruges but the game against Newcastle was his 10th Premier League outing in a row in which he was un-able to find the net.
Garry Monk reckons Swansea can be well pleased with their early-season form despite seeing two points slip through their fingers at Sunderland last weekend.
The Swans continued with their unbeaten start to 2015-16 following a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.
But the truth is that they should really have been celebrating victory after missing a string of chances to add to the lead given to them by Bafetimbi Gomis in the opening half.
In the only previous six top-flight clashes between United and Swansea on Welsh territory, the outcome is a balanced affair – two victories each.
2014-15 Swansea-United - 2-1
2013-14 Swansea-United - 1-4
2012-13 Swansea-United - 1-1
2011-12 Swansea-United - 0-1
Division One (old)
1982-83 Swansea-United - 0-0
1981-82 Swansea-United - 2-0
Manchester City embarked on a brilliant start to the new Premier League, having gathered all nine points at stake, scoring eight goals and conceding none.
This afternoon the Sky Blues entertain newcomers Watford at the Etihad Stadium.
Adjectives like impressive, flawless, resilient, exciting and superb were the order of the day in the sports pages as Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini heaped praise on his players for their all-round performance in beating Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park.
Victory at Everton equalled a club record of nine successive Premier League wins but, more importantly, they sent an ominous warning to their rivals.
Watford are also undefeated but they’re also searching for their first win after three draws.
After gaining seven points from nine outings, Leicester City take on Premier debutants Bourne-mouth at the Goldsands Stadium today.
The Cherries kept their fans on the edge of their seats in their last outing after winning a see-saw match 4-3, including the first hat-trick of the season via Callum Wilson, at West Ham.
Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester were looking for their third victory in a row in their last outing against Tottenham but they could not go beyond a one-all stalemate.
Following a goalless draw with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, misfiring Arsenal travel to the north to take on Newcastle United.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has had to juggle some of his players in defence and midfield, carefully trying to maintain competition for places while keeping everyone happy.
The Frenchman says that picking his team in each game has become ‘an impossible job’.
Today, a London derby in the offing is the duel between champions Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho hailed Pedro’s instant impact after the winger scored on his debut in the 3-2 win over West Brom.
Pedro also set up Diego Costa for Chelsea’s second before Cesar Azpilicueta added a third as the Blues held on for the win after John Terry’s second-half dismissal.
Fifth-placed Crystal Palace have already lost at home to Arsenal in another capital derby on the second day.
At Anfield, Brendan Rodgers’s side play West Ham. The Liverpool boss has no plans to abandon his possession-based approach even if Christian Benteke’s arrival has provided the Reds’ attack with a different dimension.
However, Rodgers insists he has always strove to play a style of football that is pleasing to the eye and sees no reason why his new no.9 should change that.
Weekend fixtures
Premier League
Aston Villa-Sunderland
Bournemouth-Leicester
Chelsea-Crystal Palace
Liverpool-West Ham
Man. City-Watford
Newcastle-Arsenal - 13:45
Stoke-West Brom
Tottenham-Everton - 18:30
Tomorrow:
Southampton-Norwich - 14:30
Swansea-Man. United - 17:00
Standings: Man. City 9; Leicester, Liverpool, Man. United 7; C. Palace 6; Swansea 5; Everton, Norwich, Arsenal, Chelsea 4; West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth, A. Villa 3; Stoke, Tottenham, Newcastle, Southampton 2; Sunderland, WBA 1.
Tricky Three: Man. City 1, Arsenal 2X, Tottenham 1X.
The Championship
Brentford-Reading
Bristol City-Burnley
Derby-Leeds - 13:05
Huddersfield-QPR
Hull-Preston
Ipswich-Brighton
MK Dons-Birmingham
Nottm Forest-Cardiff
Rotherham-Fulham
Sheffield Wed.-Middlesbrough
Wolves-Charlton
League One
Blackpool-Walsall
Bradford-Port Vale
Bury-Oldham
Colchester-Scunthorpe
Doncaster-Fleetwood
Millwall-Chesterfield
Peterborough-Gillingham
Rochdale-Barnsley
Shrewsbury-Burton
Swindon-Sheffield Utd
Wigan-Crewe
Monday:
Coventry-Southend - 20.45
League Two
AFC Wimbledon-Exeter
Accrington-Northampton
Barnet-Cambridge
Crawley-Wycombe
Dagenham-Stevenage
Hartlepool-Carlisle
Leyton Orient-Bristol Rovers
Luton-Portsmouth
Morecambe-Notts County
Oxford Utd-Yeovil
Plymouth-Newport
York City-Mansfield