MANCHESTER: Manchester United travel to historic rivals Leeds on Sunday with pressure mounting on manager Michael Carrick, while Manchester City aim to extend their perfect Premier League start despite uncertainty over their future. Brighton, just two points behind second-placed Arsenal, could be among the big winners if City face severe sanctions for breaking financial rules.
United are off to their worst league start in 40 years, with one win from six games, and were also knocked out of the League Cup by Brighton last month. The club was plunged further into turmoil when defender Lisandro Martinez criticized the hierarchy over a lack of investment after Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid. The Argentine targeted technical director Jason Wilcox after United added only three midfielders in the transfer window. Yet Martinez himself has been at fault for goals conceded against Fulham and Tottenham in recent weeks.
Leeds have not beaten United at Elland Road since 2002, but they did inflict the only home defeat of Carrick’s interim spell last season when the sides met in April. Carrick risks becoming the latest manager unable to reverse United’s decline since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, but he said the hostile atmosphere was a chance to bounce back. “What a great game (on) Sunday to prepare for. It’s a fantastic game for us, for the club, for the history, for the supporters,” he said.
City top the table with six wins from six, but that may count for nothing if they fail to overturn a guilty verdict on more than 100 charges of breaking Premier League rules. Enzo Maresca’s side won 3-0 at Liverpool last weekend and rallied in the second half of a 4-2 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. City deny wrongdoing, and the case, which began eight years ago, has at least a few months to run before the appeal is heard and any sanction announced. “My underlying thought is none of this is good for football and there are no winners,” said former England manager Gareth Southgate. City can go six points clear when they host Ipswich on Saturday, with Arsenal not playing until Sunday at Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal’s only defeat this season was a 3-0 thrashing by Brighton, whose rise under owner Tony Bloom’s data-driven approach has carried them through the divisions and into Europe, though they have yet to play Champions League football. Despite routinely selling star players to richer clubs, smart recruitment has kept them thriving. Manager Fabian Hurzeler wants a harder edge against rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday. “We want to be ruthless,” he said. “We have to keep building this together with our fans and not be the nice football club anymore.” — AFP
Fixtures (Kuwait time)
Saturday: Everton v Chelsea (2:30 pm); Fulham v Hull, Brentford v Liverpool, Manchester City v Ipswich (all 5 pm); Newcastle v Aston Villa (7:30 pm)
Sunday: Brighton v Crystal Palace, Leeds v Manchester United, Bournemouth v Sunderland (all 4 pm); Nottingham Forest v Arsenal (6:30 pm)
Monday: Tottenham v Coventry (10 pm)
