THE current Premier League season reaches an important point this weekend as all clubs play their tenth match.

That is a fair time to look at the league table and gauge how things may pan out between now and May. If that’s the case, we are in for a treat. One point separates the top five, and four of those are in action tomorrow.

So PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKLY is going to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each of the teams who could be top by Saturday evening.

MANCHESTER CITY (P9 W6 D2 L1 GD 11 – 20 pts) v West Brom (A) (3pm)

STRENGTHS

ON their day, Manchester City have hit some real heights already this season. Their first halves against Manchester United and Everton and full game against Bournemouth were the best anyone has played. When they click, their brand of total football is very difficult for opposition to stop.

In Kevin De Bruyne, they have a player who scores and makes goals and if he stays fit and City keep winning, he will be a strong contender for Footballer of the Year. The strength is definitely in midfield with the under-rated Fernandinho, the magician David Silva and Raheem Sterling, who has been rejuvenated by Pep Guardiola.

If City can find a way to grind out results, especially away from home at places like West Brom where they head tomorrow, they should stay in the mix for most of the season.

WEAKNESSES

IT is incredible to think that a team on top of the table at the end of October can have gone six games without a win in all competitions. That shows there is a real problem.

Guardiola is trying to impose a revolution on the football club and that can have seismic effects.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart has been dispatched on loan, Yaya Toure has been marginalised and the futures of Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany are up in the air. That is a huge decision to take on the stalwarts of City’s Premier League titles of 2012 and 2014 and recent bad results have created a sense of uneasiness.

The Catalan is desperate to stick to his footballing philosophy at all costs, even if things are not going to plan at the moment. Claudio Bravo does not look to be an improvement of Hart, and there are still huge question marks over the defence, as all four full-backs are over 30 and will soon need to be replaced.

ARSENAL (P9 W6 D2 L1 GD 10 – 20 pts) v Sunderland (A) (12.30pm)

STRENGTHS

THERE is a very nice balance to the Arsenal team this season with players in their prime like Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, experience in Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny, and eager youngsters like Alex Iwobi.

On their day, they still play great football and they have a wonderful array of options in midfield, so creating chances should not be a problem. The decision to push Sanchez further forward makes them play quicker, especially on the counter attack. There is no reason why the Chilean can’t become like Carlos Tevez or Luis Suarez in that forward role.

WEAKNESSES

WELL, it’s Arsenal and eventually they let you down. That was the case last Saturday when they entertained Middlebrough on the back of six straight wins in the league and ended up fortunate to draw 0-0 at home. For most of the 12 years since they were last Champions, the Gunners have succumbed to the pressure at some part of the season and usually in a dramatic way. That creates a self-fulfilling expectation that it will happen again, and that nervousness permeates from the stands to the players.

Olivier Giroud has barely featured this season because of injury but question marks remain as to whether he is good enough to lead a title-winning forward line. That means the emphasis is on the attacking midfielders to score the bulk of the goals.

They should – I said this last week – take three points off bottom-placed Sunderland, but the following two games against Tottenham and Manchester United will probably give us a more accurate barometer of Wenger’s class of 2016/17.

LIVERPOOL (P9 W6 D2 L1 GD 9 – 20 pts) v Crystal Palace (A) (5.30pm)

STRENGTHS

WHEN Liverpool hit their straps, they are an irresistible force. They score goals and make chances for fun and it’s all done at blistering pace. Put simply, they are a joy to watch when they reach those heights. The front four of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana offers a lovely mix of sheer pace, goals, creativity and skill.

There is no European football for Liverpool to deal with, so while their rivals pick up injuries and undergo bouts of travel and disruption, the Reds can rest and recuperate in midweek, ready to launch a blitzkrieg on their next league opponent.

Jurgen Klopp is the ideal manager for the club and the fans are desperate to get behind him, which at the newly-expanded Anfield is making for an incredible atmosphere and can intimidate the opposition.

WEAKNESSES

LIVERPOOL are a very forward-thinking team. Their strength is virtually all at the top end of the pitch. Loris Karius has recently replaced Simon Mignolet in goal, but that position does not seemed settled yet, which is never ideal. Plus, is a combination of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren good enough at central defence?

The defeat at Burnley in August when they enjoyed 81% of possession was a warning of what can happen when the attack doesn’t fire and there is still a feeling that they have not completely eradicated such shock results.

It is now 26 years since Liverpool were last Champions and that is an incredible length of time. A whole generation of fans have never seen their team win the league. That creates a pressure of its own and the weight of history can be difficult to overturn. They were so desperate to get it done in 2014 and yet it was snatched away from them by Manchester City on the finishing straight.

TOTTENHAM (P9 W5 D4 L0 GD 9 – 19 pts) v Leicester (H) (3pm)

STRENGTHS

TO be unbeaten after nine games and sitting second in their Champions League group at the halfway stage is positive news for Tottenham. This group of players and manager is new to the demands that Europe’s premier competition brings, so they are showing good resilience. After their disappointment of losing out to Leicester for the title last season, there is no sign of them suffering a hangover, which hints at a strong core of players.

The spine of the team when fit – Hugo Lloris in goal, centre halves Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Dele Alli in midfield and Harry Kane up front – is excellent and is the most balanced in the league. They can play when they want, and battle when required. The days of Spurs being a soft touch are long gone with Mauricio Pochettino in charge.

WEAKNESSES

THE last two draws at West Brom and Bournemouth, without Harry Kane, perhaps showed that Spurs don’t have the depth of squad of their rivals. Their bench often contains one or two youngsters, which while very admirable, points to a lack of numbers.

Vincent Janssen is still without a Premier League goal and the doubts are growing that the Dutchman can be a top level Premier League striker, and Son Heung-Min will chip in with a few goals, rather than share the main burden.

They have already drawn four times and last season they drew 13, which demonstrates that they are hard to beat, but in title-winning seasons, it’s often about turning one point into three from tight matches that takes you from bridesmaid to bride.