The Premier League season is sorted at the top and bottom. But all of the bits in between are intriguing. The fact that there are five Champions League spots up for grabs this year - combined with struggles from some of the usual top tier sides - has made the middle of the pack more interesting than ever.
Suddenly, teams that would be so far removed from the European conversation are in with a shout. Meanwhile, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham find themselves well off where they might expect to be. Piece it all together, and this isn't necessarily the slump to the end of the season that the table might suggest.
This weekend will, no doubt, revolve around the Manchester Derby. Ruben Amorim has failed spectacularly for Manchester United, but won his first iteration of this fabled fixture a few months back. His eyes will undoubtedly be on his side's Europa League clash next Thursday. Still, this is always a big game.
Meanwhile, it's an important weekend for a couple of players. Bukayo Saka is returning back to fitness, and made an immediate impact in his first appearance since undergoing hamstring surgery. Marcus Rashford, too, has been in the headlines. After two poor years at United, he has recaptured some of his old magic at Aston Villa - and could be crucial if they are to get a Champions League push-boosting win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
GOAL US looks at all of those plot points and more in Premier League Primer, a weekly rundown of what to watch from an American perspective in England's top flight.
