Key Points of the Weekend

Could Sunderland push for Europe?

Sunderland kept up their fine start to the season with their win at Chelsea over the weekend which moved them up to second in the table and saw them record the best start made by a newly promoted team in 17 years after nine games.

Could they push for Europe this season?

Their strong start to the season will certainly give them confidence that they can challenge for Europe because they'll want to keep it up for as long as they can.

But the players won't be thinking about it because they'll only be thinking about staying up and taking one game at a time.

The last newly promoted team to finish in the European places was Wolves back in the 2018/19 season when they finished 7th under Nuno Espirito Santo and no team has got closer ever since.

There is still a long way to go and a lot can change between now and the end of the season.

But if Sunderland can stay in and around the European places, they could be in the conversation for Europe.

Could Fulham be in a relegation battle?

Fulham are on a run of four straight defeats following their defeat at Newcastle on Saturday which left one place and three points above the relegation zone.

Could they be in a relegation battle this season?

They haven't played badly in their recent games as they have shown some encouraging signs in one of two of their games including their defeat at Newcastle.

But they haven't been clinical enough in front of goal as they've had a number of good chances in games but haven't been able to take them.

They didn't bring in many signings over the summer with young Josh King and record signing Kevin being their only notable buys.

The one player they should've brought in was a centre forward because they haven't been clinical enough in recent games and haven't really replaced Aleksandar Mitrovic since he left.

Rodrigo Muniz has shown patches of good form since he's been at the club but hasn't delivered on a consistent basis.

Raul Jimenez on the other hand showed signs of rediscovering his best form last season by scoring 12 goals which marked his best return since fracturing his skull a few years ago. But he's getting on a bit at the age of 34.

The Cottagers have established themselves as a Premier League club over the last couple of seasons and have a more than good enough squad to stay out of a relegation dogfight.

But they need to start winning games and quickly if they're to avoid being sucked into a relegation dogfight.

Is Arne Slot under pressure?

Liverpool's poor run of form continued over the weekend following their defeat at Brentford which was their fourth straight defeat in the Premier League.

Is Arne Slot under pressure?

The reds have been far from convincing to watch this season as they've looked vulnerable at the back and their new-look attack is yet to gel together.

They spent a lot of money in the summer which led to many people believing that they were going to be the favourites for the title this season.

But none of their signings apart from Hugo Ekitike have delivered as Florian Wirtz is still adjusting to the Premier League, Alexander Isak still isn't match fit and both Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have been far from upgrades on Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.

Slot does have credit in the bank after leading the reds to the title last season, but his team are not playing with the same control they had last season as they've been easy to play against and have looked very open at the back.

His team this season is meant to be his team after he won the league last season with what was Klopp's team.

But they haven't look like a team all season and if results don't improve over the next few weeks, Slot could find himself under pressure.

How long does Vitor Pereira have at Wolves?

Vitor Pereira might've signed a new contract at Wolves last month, but there is no doubt that he is a man under pressure as his Wolves side are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League and still chasing their first win of the season.

I asked last month if the club regret offering him that new contract because of their poor start to the season and as their results haven't improved since then, I'm asking how long he has at the club?

Their defeat to Burnley on Sunday was a game they had to win and a game that represented their best chance of getting three points on the board. But they didn't make the most of the opportunity despite showing resilience to get back into the game after going 2-0 down before conceding late on to lose the game.

With just two points gained from nine games so far this season, Wolves already look set for relegation and their performances suggest that also they're looking open at the back and are struggling to score goals.

It was always going to be a tough season for Wolves after losing two of their best players in the summer in talisman Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ai-Nouri.

But I still thought that they would have enough to stay up as they do have some decent players in their squad.

Their next game against Fulham is a massive one and one they should target as their best chance to get some points on the board as Fulham are also on a poor run of form.

If they lose that game, Pereira's days at the club could be numbered as they have a tough run of games after that with Chelsea, Aston Villa, Man United and Arsenal in four of their next six games.