Beset by infighting and off to their worst league start for decades, Manchester United host Bournemouth needing to snap a seven-game winless run to quell talk of another mid-season managerial change. Michael Carrick’s men are 13th in the Premier League and could even drop into the bottom three if results go against them this weekend. At the other end of the table, Manchester City aim to extend their flawless start to the season at Aston Villa, despite doubts over the club’s future in the English top-flight.
Third-placed Brighton are dreaming of an unlikely title challenge but face a stiff examination when they travel to Liverpool. United’s return of seven points from their opening seven games is their lowest of the Premier League era. Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca is the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a new club.
AFP Sport looks at the pick of the Premier League action this weekend: The Red Devils sank to new depths during a terrible start to the season in a 4-1 thrashing by Champions League debutants Como in midweek.
Captain Bruno Fernandes took aim at his manager’s passive tactics after the match, saying United had to be more “brave”. “Whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run and you don’t run forward, and you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win,” said the former United midfielder. “How we are responding, getting better, is really fantastic,” Emery said after Villa beat Viking to make it three wins from three in the Champions League.
