MANCHESTER United and Liverpool got their new campaigns off to winning starts.
Against Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford respectively, they’ll be hoping for more of the same.
Given that this is just the second weekend of the new season, a lot could go wrong for these big guns, although one would expect them to navigate the tricky ties with some success.
Man United were indebted to a late strike from new signing Joshua Zirkzee.
Erik ten Hag would have been pleased to see the striker open his goal-scoring account for the club, but perhaps more importantly, see his side claim all three points.
The Dutch coach would also have been heartened by the performances of two other new recruits: Noussair Mazraoui, who started the match, and Matthijs de Ligt, who, like Zirkzee, came on as a substitute in the second half.
They also performed admirably, raising expectations for a giant club that could only finish eighth in the league last season.
If Man United can somehow beat Brighton in today’s early kick-off, then they will have been adjudged to have done well – a win is a win.
The Seagulls got the new season off to a pacy start, brushing aside Everton 3-0 in the biggest win of the first weekend of the season.
When they welcome Brentford to Anfield tomorrow, Arne Slot will feature in his first home league game as boss.
Brentford, who carved out a nice victory over Crystal Palace last weekend, have agreed in principle to sign 22-year-old Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg.
However, this promising transaction will take a backseat as these teams clash in a match that can cause Slot significant challenges during his Anfield debut.
Notwithstanding this, Liverpool should emerge from the late kick-off with a good result, one that should keep the momentum up at the Merseysiders, the only side (at the time of writing) yet to sign a player in this transfer window.
