Big Weekend: Manchester United v Liverpool, Van de Ven’s nightmare, Hurzeler faces ‘role model’ Arteta

Erik ten Hag faces another crucial home game against Liverpool soon after a Manchester United defeat to Brighton. Micky van de Ven must exorcise some demons.

Game to watch: Manchester United v Liverpool
More than two years on from Erik ten Hag’s first win as a Premier League manager, his long-term suitability to the role at Manchester United remains uncertain. “We can talk about tactics but it’s all about attitude,” he said after that victory, an echo of a line he used earlier this month.

Ten Hag needed to beat Liverpool at Old Trafford in August 2022. His reign had started with a 2-1 defeat against Brighton after considerable summer investment was made to turn around the mess he had inherited. By August 2024 he has to conquer those same visitors in the aftermath of both a 2-1 loss to Brighton and a significant transfer expense designed to address a problem he has either helped create or not done enough to solve.

The season is young but the question of how precisely this iteration of Ten Hag’s Manchester United is different to the one which toiled enough last season for the owners to explore the availability and quality of prospective coaching replacements is fair.

No team had more of their Premier League games – 19 of 38 – settled by a one-goal margin last season; already in 2024/25 Manchester United have won 1-0 and lost 2-1 in matches which could easily have gone the other way. Too much still seems to be left to chance, Andreas Pereira messing up a two-versus-one attack or Joshua Zirkzee’s ludicrous offside the prime examples, for this to be in any way sustainable at an elite level.

But Ten Hag is still an excellent manager and this remains a ridiculously talented group of players, not just capable of delivering in this sort of game but possibly geared specifically towards thriving in one-off fixtures. If their recent meetings with Manchester City did not underline that point, past matches with Liverpool themselves make it difficult to ignore.

While Liverpool avenged that 2-1 defeat in Ten Hag’s third game with a 7-0 thrashing at Anfield eight months later, the Reds have found increasingly baffling ways of not beating the same opponent since. Jurgen Klopp’s side had 34 shots in a 0-0 draw last December, were leading in the 86th minute and then during extra-time of the 4-3 FA Cup defeat in March, and absolutely dominated most of a meeting the following month but still required a late penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw.

But this is a different Liverpool and the sort of chaos Manchester United feed off seems unlikely to affect them quite as profoundly. The start to the Arne Slot era has been understated, impressive and quietly authoritative. A pair of 2-0 victories is the kind of feat which feels beyond Sunday’s hosts.

A repeat of Ten Hag and Slot’s last clash would be enjoyable. But it is difficult to figure out which part of that game is least likely to be duplicated: a 3-2 win for the former, or Antony scoring.

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Player to watch: Micky van de Ven
Ange Postecoglou set himself up for a fall by stating that he saw no reason to rewatch Tottenham’s 6-1 defeat to Newcastle in April 2023 before their last meeting a little over four months ago.

“My research on it was more on individual players,” the manager said. And few provided more points for further investigation and analysis  after a 4-0 humbling than Van de Ven.

It was the Dutchman’s disastrous performance which contributed most to Postecoglou’s darkest day yet in charge. Van de Ven’s excellent debut season was tainted by Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak as he was booked, left entirely sprawled for two goals and tried to catch an opponent offside in their own half for another.

Van de Ven recovered by the end of the season and has impressed again at the start of this, culminating in his fine assist against Everton. A return to St James’ Park – very possibly with a target on his back – will be the ultimate test.

Manager to watch: Fabian Hurzeler
“I watched almost every game from Brighton, I watched a lot of Arsenal, of City,” said Hurzeler upon his unveiling as Brighton manager in the summer. That homework on “role model” Mikel Arteta and his fabled process will be thoroughly examined at the Emirates on Saturday.

At least one of the four perfect starts to the Premier League season will receive its first blemish this weekend. Liverpool and Manchester City both have their own obstacles to overcome but Arsenal against Brighton is a most fascinating fixture.

If anything, Brighton have looked better. The imposing nature with which Everton were swept aside was juxtaposed by the grittier side they had to show in a victory over Manchester United they could easily have let slip through their fingers. Already no club has used more players than the Seagulls’ 19 across the opening two games; their squad has been fuelled and furnished by a significant summer spend.

Hurzeler has been at the heart of it all, confounding critics of his appointment. His substitutions in the Manchester United win were influential and already his tactical flexibility in comparison to predecessor Roberto De Zerbi feels refreshing. But he will know from his watching brief that there are few steps up quite as sharp as Arsenal away.

Team to watch: Crystal Palace
The wave of momentum was never likely to maintain through an entire summer but the final months of last season feel like a distant memory for Crystal Palace.

There is a reason Oliver Glasner’s birthday wish was “that I don’t have to answer questions about the transfer window”. None have been as tumultuous or trepidatious as Palace’s. Interest in their brightest and best players cannot have come as a surprise but Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen leave considerable holes to fill and even Jordan Ayew’s impact will be difficult to replace.

It seems that the window has been navigated without losing Marc Guehi. Newcastle are reported to be walking away from negotiations after their 427th rejected offer and the centre-half will form a crucial part of the foundations Glasner will hope to build on with far fewer distractions moving forward.

Chelsea have the opposite problem: the football is an awkward interruption to the real business of transfers. But their thrashing of Wolves teased a bright future and put Enzo Maresca’s side on the right track.

Palace, with zero points from two games, four goals conceded and Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock their only Premier League goalscorer so far this season, might have chosen a different game with which to head into the international break.

Football League game to watch: Burnley v Blackburn
The Burnley exodus has been even more extreme than most could have predicted. Josh Cullen is the only player of the ten with the most Premier League minutes for the Clarets last season to not have either already been sold or pushed towards the exit ahead of the deadline.

Sander Berge, Dara O’Shea, Charlie Taylor, Wilson Odobert and Zeki Amdouni have gone, raising more than £60m. James Trafford, Vitinho, Josh Brownhill and Lyle Foster may follow, perhaps doubling that income. The manager has changed, the squad has been transformed and the Championship, as it turns out, might not be a complete cakewalk.

Four-goal wins over both Luton and Cardiff suggested Scott Parker was in for another light second-tier stroll but defeat to Sunderland posed some uncomfortable questions and Blackburn would not mind exploring them further.

John Eustace has had his own degree of squad churn to handle since taking over in February, but two wins a draw to start the season has distanced Rovers from last season’s relegation battle and Burnley will provide an extensive appraisal of their promotion credentials.

European game to watch: Leverkusen v Leipzig
There is Celtic versus Rangers for the less cultured among us, but if Union Berlin hosting St Pauli does not sate the Bundesliga appetite on Friday evening then Leverkusen and Leipzig are happy to oblige by Saturday teatime.

Reigning champions Leverkusen have started with their usual late ridiculousness, with Florian Wirtz scoring the winner against Gladbach in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage-time.

Leipzig were a little more understated in beating Bochum 1-0 through new signing Antonio Nusa’s goal and Marco Rose’s side will be inevitably eager to avenge a pair of 3-2 defeats to Leverkusen in 2023/24 – the second of which obviously featured a winner in second-half stoppage-time.

Referee to watch: Simon Hooper
The poor bloke has to avoid conspiracy shouts from Nottingham Forest while simultaneously keeping Wolves happy. Two more referee-obsessed teams would be hard to find. Thank f*** he supports Swindon.

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