We look ahead to the weekend's action and pinpoint a series of potential talking points.
Have Spurs spread their money wisely?
Ahead of this weekend's North London Derby, it is impossible to suggest that Spurs have not re-invested the proceeds from the forthcoming Gareth Bale deal impressively. The array of attacking talent at Andre Villas-Boas' disposal now forces the club into a battle for the top three rather than four - if Spurs do miss out on the Champions League then the Portuguese may expect to be relieved of his duties.
However, is there a danger that the club have over-invested on attackers? Etienne Capoue and Paulinho are exciting prospects, but was their £28million outlay necessary with Sandro and Moussa Dembele already on board?
Spurs conceded 46 goals in the Premier League last season, the most in the top seven. They will welcome the return of Younes Kaboul after a season decimated by injury, but he must hit the ground running after such a long layoff.
Sunday will be the first significant examination of the club's defence this season. If it stands up to the test, supporters will have confidence in their side's top four ambitions. The Emirates is a ground at which they have conceded 19 goals in their last four visits.
Martinez needs a victory
Everton supporters will have looked at their side's first three Premier League fixtures (Norwich, West Brom and Cardiff) and have been confident of a largely positive start to Roberto Martinez's reign.
However, Martinez is still looking for his first league victory. They did lead at Carrow Road and were only thwarted by an inspired Ben Foster last weekend against the Baggies, but the fact remains that anything less than five points from the opening trio would be considered below par. For that target to be achieved, victory is necessary.
The Goodison club gained a reputation for being slow starters during David Moyes' tenure, but only once did he fail to win any of his first league games of the season. With matches against Chelsea and Manchester City to come in the next few weeks, improvements in results, if not performance, is needed.
Can Sturridge continue his scoring run?
Whilst there must be concerns about Liverpool's relative lack of incoming business this summer, one could argue that the club's most impressive business was done in January. The principle case in such an argument is the current goalscoring form of Daniel Sturridge, whose two League Cup goals in midweek took his impressive tally to nine in seven games.
The secret to Sturridge's renaissance (and therefore England call up) stems from Rodgers' use of his forward. As the image below demonstrates, at Chelsea last season Sturridge was utilised predominantly on the right wing, where he failed to affect the game as he would like.
At Anfield, the absence of Luis Suarez has allowed Sturridge to flourish as he has been able to operate in a more central role, and Liverpool have felt the benefits. Facing Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand may be a more strenuous task, but Sturridge's ability influence may be a deciding factor in Liverpool's potential success on Sunday.
More signs of Di Canio revolution needed
"Adam Johnson has warned supporters that the Paolo Di Canio revolution won't turn Sunderland into an overnight success," reported one newspaper this week, but it was rather unnecessary advice in truth. The club's total of one point from
