In his latest Sky Sports column, Paul Merson says Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United all have defining matches this weekend, even though it is early in the season.

Spurs are still without a win or a goal in the Premier League after three games and will play against an unbeaten Everton team on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports, in front of their expectant fans.

Meanwhile on Sunday, the Manchester derby takes place as Michael Carrick's inconsistent United team take on a City side facing their first big test in the post-Pep Guardiola era.

Read below for the Magic Man's thoughts on two massive fixtures...

'Everton is a cup final for Spurs'

Spurs have to beat Everton this weekend. It's a cup final for them - I'd go as far as to say this is their season on the line.

If they lose to Everton, then you starting thinking: this is going to be another grind of a season. Here we go again. You would start really, really worrying as a Tottenham fan.

But if they go and beat Everton, you start going two games without a defeat, they'll be on four points. Then all of a sudden you can build from there.

It's not as big as the Spurs vs Everton game on the final day of last season. If they lost that game, they were going to Lincoln.

But, at the moment, I just don't see this team putting five or six wins on the trot together. So this is a big football match.

The start Spurs have had is Brentford away, Newcastle at home and Nottingham Forest away. If they lose to Everton and have one point from four games, you start to worry.

If they beat Everton, then they've got every chance of beating Aston Villa at home next week. If they don't beat Everton, they're not beating Villa. That's how it works. It's a snowball effect.

When you win football matches, you expect to win the one after. But if you don't, the confidence goes.

'I still don't see Man Utd in my top five'

Man Utd have got the Manchester derby - and their season is in the balance too. If you beat Man City, you're flying. If you get beat by Man City, here we go again.

It would be one point from two games including the Everton game. And other teams are winning around you.

I've said all along: I don't think Man Utd have bought very well. The squad isn't big enough. It's nowhere near enough.

Defensively they're nowhere near good enough. They let in two goals against Everton - and they were two good goals, but one of them was from the edge of the box. Everybody's behind the ball.

When you're winning, put another forward on. Don't take a forward off and put a defender on. Don't give that team the opportunity.

Instead, if you put a forward on for a midfielder or a forward, it changes the game completely. If you're the other manager, you think: 'Oh no, what am I going to do?'.

Instead, Man Utd just invited pressure on. Just don't do that, especially if you're a big team.

If you're Coventry and you go in front at Everton, you of course put a defender on 100 per cent. But when you're Man Utd, I don't see the need to do that.

If you're dictating the game, Everton don't get that chance for Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

So I am worried - and this is why I didn't put Manchester United in my top five at the start of the season. Nothing's changed for me since then. When you draw games, it hurts you.

'Time to find out how good Man City are'

I don't think Man City have been great. But sometimes I look at teams when they keep winning and they haven't played well as a real worry for the other sides.

Sometimes wins can cover cracks - but City have got Erling Haaland scoring goals. And they kept a clean sheet against Coventry last time out, that's a positive for them.

City have got some big games coming up against Man Utd and Liverpool. That's the test to know where City are under Enzo Maresca.

If City win those two games and the match against Sunderland in between, they're not going to be far off the top come the end of the season.

If they don't get at least two points out of those two games, then Arsenal could run away with the league title a bit. I have Chelsea down for third in the league and they're already miles off Arsenal.