Man United Seek Reset Against Brighton After Early Struggles
16th September 2023
United have only won two matches in the opening four games and are six behind leaders Man City.

- Manchester United host Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
- The Red Devils lost 3-1 to Arsenal before the international break.
- Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool will be keen to extend their impressive form
Manchester
United and Chelsea are under pressure to get back on track as the Premier
League returns from an international break, while Manchester City aim to
maintain their perfect start to the season.
Tottenham,
Liverpool and Arsenal are also in impressive form with 10 points from a
possible 12 -each with the chance to climb to the top of the table if champions
City stumble against in-form West Ham at the London Stadium.
Brighton to
deepen Man Utd crisis?
Defeats to
Tottenham and Arsenal have already left Manchester United six points off the
top of the table, dampening hopes of a first Premier League title challenge
since 2013.
Brighton
won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history last season but it
would not be a shock should the Seagulls emerge victorious again.
United
struggled in home victories over Wolves and Nottingham Forest last month and
face a step up in class against Roberto De Zerbi's men.
Brighton
have shrugged off the sale of some of their prized assets to win three of their
first four games and have scored more Premier League goals than any other club.
Erik ten
Hag will be hoping new signings Sofyan Amrabat and Rasmus Hojlund can give
United a much-needed lift.
Hojlund
impressed as a substitute on his debut at Arsenal before the international
break, while Amrabat is yet to feature after signing on loan from Fiorentina on
deadline day.
Money can't
buy Chelsea goals
Despite
leading the Premier League again when it came to money spent in the transfer
window, Chelsea have won just one of Mauricio Pochettino's first four league
games in charge.
The Blues
have splashed out more than £1 billion ($1.25 billion) on new players in three
windows under the ownership of a consortium fronted by Todd Boehly.
Yet they
still suffered from a familiar lack of cutting edge in their 1-0 defeat at home
to Forest two weeks ago.
Chastened
by their worst Premier League season for decades in 2022/23, Chelsea insist
they are playing the long game, with huge fees bet on promising youngsters
becoming stars of the future.
But failure
to beat a Bournemouth side yet to taste victory in the league under Andoni
Iraola on Sunday will have alarm bells ringing at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle
suffer slow start
Newcastle
will return to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years next week,
but after a rapid rise fuelled by Saudi cash, the Magpies are suffering
something of a reality check.
Eddie
Howe's men have lost three of their opening four games, seriously undermining
any title aspirations.
Howe can
point to a tough run of fixtures as mitigation for the slow start.
But after
consecutive defeats to City, Liverpool and Brighton, he needs a return to
winning ways against Brentford this weekend to restore a sense of calm before
jetting off to face AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Fixtures
Saturday (Times
in EAT)
Wolves v
Liverpool (1430)
Aston Villa
v Crystal Palace, Fulham v Luton, Manchester United v Brighton, Tottenham v
Sheffield United, West Ham v Manchester City – all at 1700)
Newcastle v
Brentford (1930)
Sunday
Bournemouth
v Chelsea (1600)
Everton v
Arsenal (1830)
Monday
Nottingham
Forest v Burnley (2145)
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France-Presse