What Have We Learnt From the Opening Three Weeks of the Premier League Season?

Three Weeks Deep - What Did We Learn?

We are officially 'well into' the 2026/27 Premier League season, which means already that we have a vague grasp on some of the storylines we are likely to see across the duration of the ongoing campaign.

We've got relegation contenders earmarked, shock surprises to keep an eye on as well as some early clues as to who will be jousting for the ever-competitive Premier League crown by the end of the term.

With the midfield lining up, several sides chasing the summit and more battling away at the foot of the top-flight table of England's divisions, these are a handful of the main points we have learned already in the 2026/27 Premier League.

Stop Writing Off the 'Worst' Promoted Side

You thought it, I thought it - fuck it, we all thought Hull City would go down with an absolute whimper this season. But the opening exchanges of this Premier League campaign have shown anything but that being the case.

The Tigers returned to the top flight for the first time in a decade in shocking circumstances. Following a season in which they almost returned to League One, they were slapped witha transfer embargo and allowed only to sign free agents and complimentary loans to bolster their side. The likes of Joe Gelhardt and Ollie McBurnie were amongst these signatures, and under Sergej Jakirovic they absolutely paid dividends.

Good morning to anyone who hasn't yet conceded a @premierleague goal. 🐅 pic.twitter.com/sM6y4hVCiN

— Hull City (@HullCity) September 7, 2026

The plucky Humberside outfit stayed consistent through the term and eventually managed to sneak into the playoffs, where they were at their clinical best to dispatch favourites Millwall in the semi-final before squaring off with Southamp- sorry, Middlesbrough at Wembley where a late, late McBurnie winner sent them back to the top flight against all pre-season expectations.

Were we so blind to assume that such an innate fighting character, now free of the shackles of transfer bans and equipped with an eye-watering sum of money from the Wembley success and all of their savings held during the transfer ban, would not do well?

No fewer than 18 new faces have waltzed through the entrance of the MKM Stadium this summer, with a third of those coming on Deadline Day. They took a squad which wasn't ready to be promoted (but was anyway) and have strung it high with fantastic-looking signings and experienced older heads.

Hull City fans taking the piss out of Man United and we’re only at gameweek one…

Incredible 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/GtDmhY86mI https://t.co/MWFAmmHmSx

— george (@StokeyyG2) August 22, 2026

And that has translated onto the pitch. They knocked off Manchester United in a major upset to start their season, before defeating fellow promoted side Coventry City and earning a credible point at Villa Park. They are currently the only Premier League side not to have conceded a goal yet.

After last year's collective fingers all pointed at Sunderland going straight back down, before they eventually got into Europe. This year, it was all but a bygone conclusion that Hull would be off.

But if a Black Cat can survive, who decided that a Tiger cannot?

Chelsea Have Finally Nailed Their Dugout Issue

Chelsea are one of the most chaotic, unpredictable football clubs in the country, nay, the world and have been even more so over recent years.

Since Todd Boehly and BlueCo smeared their filthy-rich mitts all over Stamford Bridge, the West London outfit has been a constantly changing shop when it comes to managers, players and just about everything else in between.

Enzo Maresca betrayed them last season, and Liam Rosenior just about ruined them. Callum McFarlane got them limping over the line, and their next permanent manager was left with a mammoth job to get a pulsating, ebbing football club back towards where they belong.

And then, suddenly as a light going out, it's all quiet. It's all calm.

The latest team updates from Xabi ahead of Leeds. 🗣️

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 8, 2026

Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen side is one of the most brilliant teams of the 21st century. He led them to an invincible Bundesliga title, and was just one result away from completing an unprecedented undefeated treble, only for Atalanta to beat them to the Europa League in the final.

He took those talents to Real Madrid, where he was ousted early despite seemingly doing quite well in the job. After some soul-searching, he's landed at Chelsea and looks to have made a huge impact on the Blues already.

Chelsea look cohesive and powerful. There is a notable dynamic change in terms of the effort put in by his players and how structured their football seems to be. And Reece James, now assisted by the leadership qualities of veterans Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, looks just about prepared to run through a brick wall for the club.

I do not think that Chelsea will win the Premier League this season. But with signings like Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacoix looking superb so far and with the fat trimmed off, like Garnacho and Jackson, they are looking once more like the club they are supposed to be.

The European Race is Going to be Marvelous

In each of the last handful of Premier League seasons, there have been results and runs that have left the wider footballing world scratching their chins in disbelief.

Crystal Palace's FA Cup win against Manchester City was one. Nottingham Forest flirting with a Champions League place and ending up in the Europa League was another. Sunderland and Brighton returning to Europe last season was another again.

Time and time again, the midfield of England's top-flight rear their heads and surprise us consistently, and it's left the Premier League once more in place as the most competitive and intriguing league on the planet.

Football belongs to everybody.

Brian Howard Clough. Double European Cup winner.

🔴🌳 #NFFC pic.twitter.com/SwI4bDIvYr

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 20, 2021

Who will it be this season? Forest have teething issues, but are looking better by the game under Oliver Glasner who has hit a full system reset on the club after last season. Everton look daring and full of promise in a bid to finally do something interesting under David Moyes. Keith Andrews and Brentford came inches away last season, and are doing all the right things to show that last term need not be a one-season wonder.

The action this season has already been rather pulsating, and that only seems to be what is to be expected for the coming months of the season. The various races that open up over the course of a whole season swap and switch at a moment's notice, as is their volume and circumstance, but the European spots remain coveted and fricticious.

To the victor goes the spoils, however, and there will be more teams than ever with a serious claim to one of those continental bookings.