The English Premier League reached a crucial milestone in the season on Wednesday night when the teams (bar Manchester United and Fulham) had their 10th games of the campaign. With a quarter of the season completed, most teams have played a cross-section of their rivals and the form is becoming established. That means, as usual, that the current table is likely to prove a good guide to the final standings. Last season, for example, only one team (Newcastle) dropped out of the top 10 after this point in the season, and just six of the 20 teams moved by more than four positions by the end of the season. This is a good time, then, to take stock of the season so far and assess where some of the teams might go from here.
1. Liverpool have made their best start to a Premier League season and must be taken seriously as title contenders. Already they have matched their best total of the past six seasons in the big four mini-league, thanks to wins over Manchester United and Chelsea, and that is a big step forward. A weakness last season was lack of goals, and hence too many draws, against top-half teams - this season they have won six and drawn one of their seven games against current top-half teams. So far, so good, though the home 0-0 against Stoke was a sign that in the long run they may lack a cutting edge.
2. Chelsea have a more attacking outlook under Luiz Felipe Scolari, though they paid the price for playing too narrow against Liverpool. That may have given other teams a clue about how to stop Chelsea, though so far that has proved an almost impossible task - against teams outside the big four, Chelsea have taken 22 out of a possible 24 points, scoring 21 goals and conceding only two. Backing Chelsea on the handicap has become a more attractive prospect under Scolari, with six of their seven wins coming by a margin of two goals or more.
3. Manchester United are well placed, considering they started the season without the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo, though they are two points short of their total at the same stage last season. Since Ronaldo's return they have won four and drawn one of their five league games, and they are a good handicap bet at home when he starts.
4. Arsenal were top with 26 points after 10 games last season and ultimately did not last the pace. They are throwing in too many wobbly performances to be confident about their chances, though they could benefit from staying out of the spotlight this time and cannot be ruled out if key players Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott hold their form from here on in.
5. Anyone waiting for Hull's bubble to burst may be disappointed. No team with 20-plus points after 10 games has finished the season outside the top 10 in the past decade, and the lowest benchmark by a team with a similar profile was Middlesbrough's 12th place, with 43 points, in 1995/96. Hull have had an easy fixture list, with eight of their first 10 games against teams currently in the bottom half, but their bubble is more likely to deflate slowly than to burst.