Manchester United
Last season, Manchester United picked up 13 points against the other members of the 'Big Four'. Compare and contrast with Chelsea (nine), Arsenal (six points) and Liverpool (four) and you start to see one of the big factors in the retention of their Premier League title.
In a division so dominated by four sides, the contests between those four have become more important than ever. It's not a coincidence that they finished in exactly the order written above. Sky Sports do like to hype up these games, but while the big clashes often do not live up to their promise in terms of drama, they are the matches that decide the destination of the league title.
That's why this Sunday is so crucial for Manchester United. They travel to Chelsea, where they lost for the only time in that elite mini-league last season, and if Luiz Felipe Scolari's boys continue their fine start to the season then United will be nine points adrift already. Staunch United fans will point to this time last year, when they were in a similar position, but the difference this season is that both Chelsea and Liverpool are much stronger.
Alex Ferguson showed he recognised how vital this game was in his team selection for the match against Villarreal on Wednesday night. By essentially resting Brown, Vidic and Anderson he made it very clear where his early season priorities lie.
In a season that promises to be one of the most competitive in some time, losing early ground could be fatal.
Alex Ferguson's Team Selection
If you pay north of £30million for a striker, the chances are you won't leave him on the bench very often.
That means Alex Ferguson has quite a quandary this weekend. Who of his four forwards to play? Against Liverpool he tried to accomodate Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, and it didn't work. This weekend he has the added 'problem' of his best player returning to fitness.
So what does he do? Someone is going to be left out, and it will be down to Ferguson to decide who gets a rest each weekend, but he'll have to do it carefully, and he'll have to get it right pretty quickly, for the reasons detailed above.
Tottenham Hotspur
Yes, yes - again, but the only side in the Premier League without a victory are going to have to start winning soon.
Gianfranco Zola
Welcome back Franco. Potentially the nicest man in football returns to London this weekend with his first managerial gig - one that he himself admits is a massive gamble for both himself and West Ham.
"I know this is a big risk," he said on his appointment. "I am putting myself on the line completely. All the goodness I've done is on the line."
On paper, Zola is massively unqualified for the task of managing a top ten Premier League side. Experience? Assistant coach of the Italian Under-21s for two years and...er, that's it. Qualifications? He doesn't even have the much sought-after UEFA Pro License yet, much less experience of handling 'prickly' egos like Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer.
And therein lies the big concern about Zola. Will he be too nice? Everyone will love Franco when things are going well, but at West Ham 'going well' is not a state that sticks around for too long. He'll get his side playing attractive football for sure, but when heads need to be cracked, will he be able to?
Perhaps that's what he's brought Steve Clarke to do, but leadership must sometimes be hard to command respect.
The good news for Franco is that he starts against the only side who have provided more comic material than West Ham in recent years: Newcastle. Fresh from being well beaten by Hull last weekend, the rudderless Toon travel to London without a manager, and with their owner sipping Mojitos in Dubai while trying to flog the club to any passing sheikh.
The Blackburn Defence
Four games, 11 goals conceded, four in each of the last two games. No wonder they're in the relegation zone.
Manchester City
Even with their multi-million pound trinket, Manchester City were always unlikely to beat Chelsea last weekend.
This Saturday, when Portsmouth visit, is when it really starts for Mark Hughes and his players. This is where what basically amounts to a nine-month audition begins. For the players, it is to justify their own place in the side before City's wedged owners can start flashing their cash once again, attempting - however fancifully - to replace Michael Johnson with Cesc Fabregas and Richard Dunne with Sergio Ramos.
For Hughes, it is to prevent himself from becoming the next Claudio Ranieri. A highly-rated and well-liked manager, incumbent at a club taken over by a glamour-hungry and impatient new owner, who will spare no expense in order to win things, and quickly.
Last weekend the battle of the nouveau rich was uneven. Chelsea had a five-year head-start after all. However, this weekend they face an altogether more realistic task, and indeed the sort of task they should succeed at if they are to mount a credible UEFA Cup challenge, never mind cracking the top four.
Nick Miller