Man City face Chelsea test as pressure builds on Ten Hag

City players celebrate in front of their fans after the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on October 29, 2023. – City won the game 3-0. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) /

Premier League leaders Manchester City travel to Chelsea on Sunday with Erling Haaland in ominous form as Arsenal and Tottenham seek to recover from their first defeats of the season.

Early-season results boosted hopes of a genuine title race but City were the only team in the top five to win last weekend.

At the other end of the table, the bottom four sides are in danger of being cut adrift even before the season is a third of the way through.

AFP Sport picks out three talking points ahead of the action in the English top flight.

Man City turn on style
Manchester City recently had an uncharacteristic mini-wobble but they have responded in emphatic style, hitting 17 goals in five games in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola’s champions are back on top of the Premier League, taking advantage of slip-ups from Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals for City last season, is in red-hot form, with 15 in the current campaign so far.

City travel to Chelsea on Sunday not knowing exactly what to expect from Mauricio Pochettino’s inconsistent team, who beat nine-man Tottenham 4-1 on Monday.

But the treble winners will be full of confidence, having won their past six matches against the Stamford Bridge side in all competitions without conceding a single goal.

Pressure back on Ten Hag
Manchester United got out of jail last week when Bruno Fernandes struck a last-gasp winner to earn a 1-0 victory at Fulham and ease the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

But