Man City 115 appeal: What happens next as Premier League soccer returns amid 10-time champions' guilty verdict

The Premier League returns this weekend. Manchester City are top of the table after five wins out of five under new manager Enzo Maresca.

The last of those was a rollercoaster 5-3 win over Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium, where visiting striker Brian Brobbey wrought muscular havoc as he plundered a hat-trick. City ultimately prevailed in a thriller, with Anotine Semenyo twice on target.

They benefitted from a couple of contentious refereeing calls, with some brave truth-tellers on social media declaring this was further proof of bias in City's favour from the Premier League. Those tinfoil hats don't fit so well now.

Manchester City 5-3 Sunderland feels like it occurred in another dimension. Top flight football in England must plough on in the knowledge that its most successful team of the era - the winner of eight of the past 15 Premier League titles -has been found guilty of more than 100 breaches of the competition's financial rules between 2009/10 and 2017/18.

Despite this, Citystrongly maintain their innocenceand havelodged an appeal. As the once simple and uncomplicated pleasure of soccer returns to our screens this weekend, the City case will recede - if only slightly - into the background.

Here's a breakdown of where we stand and what happens next.