The Premier League reaches its second weekend of the new season with Brighton & Hove Albion leading the pack.
By Ian King
Their 3-0 win at Everton last weekend was enough to put them on top of the table at the end of the first round of matches, and their performance on Merseyside will only further have built confidence that new manager Fabian Hürzeler can unlock something in his squad to propel them up the league table.
Hürzeler is a gamble, of that there is little question. At 31 years old he’s the youngest permanent head coach or manager in the history of the Premier League and the only one to be younger than the league itself. But at Goodison Park his team was fluid and well-organised. There had been some concern over Brighton’s wellbeing at the time of the departure of Roberto De Zerbi. It’s fair to say that many of those fears have already evaporated.
Manchester United, meanwhile, may be under new management – if not quite new ownership yet – but their opening game against Fulham hinted that not quite as much might have changed at Old Trafford over the summer months as many supporters would like. It took a late goal from substitute Joshua Zirkzee to finally secure all three points, but it was a somewhat stodgy performance from a match that they were expected to win. Zirkzee or fellow substitute Matthijs de Ligt could start, if Erik Ten Hag feels that his team needs a freshen up after the Fulham match.
But recent form between the two teams favour Brighton. Manchester United have won two of the last six meetings between the teams in all conmpetitions, and one of those was their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in April 2023, a match which United might easily have lost and eventually only won on penalty kicks. Brighton have won each of the other four meetings between the two teams.
United can take some comfort from the fact that their other win from these last six fixtures came in the last meeting between the two clubs, at the Amex at the very end of last season. United’s win that day wasn’t enough to improve their final league position of 8th, but it was a decent win which contributed towards a positive end to their season. A win for Brighton will keep them top of the table for a couple of hours. A win for United would be further proof that things might finally be starting to change at Old Trafford.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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