Even with only five games in the books for the most competitive top-tier league in Europe, lots has been gleaned by fans and expert onlookers.
Importantly, the race for the title is already shaping up to be a heated one. In the football odds, three teams have split from the chasing pack, despite one only just being in the top half of the table.
From this small, but often telling, sample size, here are some of the key stats that look to shape the rest of the Premier League season for some of the league’s biggest clubs.
A Perfect Start Leads to the Title 30% of the Time
Liverpool have enjoyed a perfect start to their Premier League defence. So, it makes sense that the Premier League 2025/26 betting odds have slid to be even more in favour of the Reds. At -110, they’re the clear favourites to win the title, ahead of the +200 Arsenal and Manchester City out at +650.
With five wins in five games, 11 goals for, and five goals against, Liverpool were five points clear of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bournemouth. What’s interesting, however, is that such a hot start doesn’t always translate to league success.
Only in 2023/24, 2019/20, 2009/10, and 2005/05 has a perfect start ended with the trophy: one of those times was Liverpool’s first title five years ago. That’s a 30.77 percent success rate. Five other times, winning the first five games eventually lands the team second, with a hot streak later in the season often seen as more valuable.
Impressive Results from the Toughest First Five Games
According to the Power Rankings quantified by Opta, Manchester United, Bournemouth, and Arsenal had the toughest opening slate of fixtures. United’s 94.7 score was the highest, while the lowest score offered was the 91.8 of Aston Villa. So, the margins are fine, with each decimal change being significant.
Bournemouth and Arsenal both clocked in with a 94.0 difficulty score. With this as the context, it could be said that each has enjoyed a strong start. The Cherries and Gunners sit on ten points in the UEFA Champions League places, while United came away with seven points from two wins, two losses, and a draw.
Of the big four right now, United only managed to avoid Liverpool. The Red Devils are certainly not ready to challenge for the top four and would do well to land in a Europa League place. So, while sitting 11th isn’t ideal, the results from the first five games are promising. Arsenal should also be satisfied with their opening results.
Manchester City’s Striker Is Unstoppable
Despite only turning 25-years-old over the summer, Erling Haaland continues to play like the most seasoned, cool-headed, and top-quality striker in the Premier League. In terms of his scoring capacity, he’s unmatched across a huge collection of key stats.
For a start, his six goals in five games doubles that of the next-best top scorers. His xG is even more impressive. With six goals and an xG of 6.26, he’s right on the money and has been expected to score more than three more goals than the next-best – Bruno Fernandes, who has a 2.75 xG but only two goals scored.
Further, his 21 shots was six more than Bryan Mbuemo in second, and his ten shots on target were three more than Jean-Philippe Mateta after the five-game mark. For players with at least seven shots, the Norwegian’s 28.57 percent conversion rate puts him joint-third, behind Viktor Gyökeres (3 goals, 42.86%) and Hugo Ekitiké (3 goals, 33.33%).
Pep Guardiola’s new allowance of ceding possession and funnelling punchy counterattacks up to their star striker has gifted the sizable frontman a bounty of chances, which he’s duly taken. As the most functional part of a somewhat stuttered City start, it seems likely that they’ll continue to try to load up Haaland with chances.
With these stats laying the foundations of the campaign, each of these featured teams and players has laid down the gauntlet and will aim to string together another string of successful games.
