All eyes on Ten Hag, possible banana skin for City, and best game to watch out for: talking points for Premier League weekend

Ten Hag under scrutiny ahead of Villa trip after tale of two clubs in Europe

If you compare Manchester United and Aston Villa’s European pedigree and told fans of 20 or even 10 years ago that one would be beating Bayern Munich a day before the other drew to Porto, few would get them the right way round. Well, maybe a couple of deeply optimistic Villa fans, but nobody else.

But if you asked anyone in the last couple of weeks, they’d probably have it right. Erik ten Hag’s team’s poor form on the continent continues as they now have only one win from their last ten European fixtures. Thursday night saw them draw 3-3 with Porto after letting a two-goal advantage slip, only to be rescued by a Harry Maguire header in stoppage time.

On Wednesday, the mood was much more positive than that at Villa Park: in their first ever Champions League game, a stunning lob from Jhon Durán saw Villa beat six-time winners Bayern Munich.

The results mean the home team (Villa) enter this weekend’s match on a historic high, while their visitors United are under serious scrutiny. Despite assurances that Ineos are still supportive of their Dutch manager, how much longer will that last? United’s defensive frailties were exposed once again on Thursday and the manager’s halftime decision to substitute Marcus Rashford, who scored one and assisted another, left some fans confused and frustrated.

It’s still early days in the season, and Ten Hag called again for patience after last night’s result. If his team perform on Sunday on what can be a tough away day at the best of times, it could just above stave off some criticism - for now.

Aston Villa v Manchester United is live on Sky on Sunday at 2pm.

Could Fulham continue City’s winless streak - and allow rivals to gain ground?

Talking about a ‘winless streak’ feels ridiculous when discussing Manchester City considering they’ve drawn once to Arsenal and once to Newcastle (through an Anthony Gordon penalty), but rival clubs can only hope Fulham pull off an upset this weekend and put a further dent in their record.

The champions are a point behind Liverpool at the moment and after the serious injury to midfielder Rodri, they need a morale boost in the league. Fulham are certainly the underdogs - but they’re no doormat. They’re actually sixth in the table after an impressive start to the campaign which has seen them beat Leicester, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest.

City have proven themselves to be capable of wins without Rodri - take their 4-0 midweek victory over Slovan Bratislava - but they’ve also proven themselves fallible in the league this season, conceding early to Brentford and Ipswich and dropping points twice.

Is it far-fetched to suggest Fulham could get something from this game? Probably. But if they do - and yes, it’s a big if - it’s a golden opportunity for Liverpool and Arsenal, who have Crystal Palace and Southampton respectively this weekend. It would be a much bigger shock for either of those two to drop points this weekend than for City to do so against Fulham.

If City draw, it presents Liverpool with a chance to open up a three-point gap, and for Arsenal, City, and Villa to leapfrog the champions. It’s still early days, and City tend to ramp up their performance as the season goes on - but it would be a very interesting sight to see them lower than second in the table. City host Fulham on Saturday at 3pm.

Brighton v Tottenham is the matchup of the weekend

The south coast is the place to be this weekend, and not for the weather. Bournemouth and Southampton are both on the road, but Brighton’s Amex Stadium will host what looks to be a thrilling encounter with Tottenham Hotspur. Only one point separates the two sides, making it the closest match table-wise this week - and based on how both teams have played so far, expect goals.

Only Manchester City and Chelsea have scored more than Spurs so far this season, while Brighton have been brilliant to watch. The pace and energy on the wings from the likes of Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh has made them a fantastic watch for the neutral, and they’ve taken at least a point from every game except last weekend’s 4-2 loss to Chelsea (which saw a freakish four-goal haul for Cole Palmer after Brighton had originally taken the lead).

Fabian Hürzeler’s side promise excitement, having both conceded and scored in all but two of their league fixtures so far. Spurs, meanwhile, dismantled United last weekend, have won their first two Europa League matches, and have the air of a side growing in confidence.

Brennan Johnson seems to be hitting a patch of form and Dominic Solanke is finding his shooting boots - resulting in a first England callup in seven years. However, Spurs have the burden of having played on Thursday night, and Son Heung-min is unlikely to be fit for the weekend after picking up an injury against Qarabağ FK in the Europa League.

Last season saw a win apiece in this fixture in the Premier League. These are both teams on an upward trajectory; can one take an early chance to knock the other off course? The two face off at the Amex at 4.30pm on Sunday, live on Sky.

Which managers are already under pressure?

It might be too early to talk about sackings, but we are entering potential ‘beginning of the end’ territory for a few bosses whose sides are languishing low in the table.

Gary O’Neil is in an uncomfortable position - namely, bottom of the table with Wolves. They’re on -10 goal difference, and have a single point. Though their last few fixtures have been pretty tough (Newcastle, Liverpool, and Villa have all featured), that continues a pattern of poor results at the end of last season too. They travel to Brentford tomorrow at 3pm.

Closest to O’Neil’s side in the table are Russell Martin’s Southampton; the boss is under pressure there too after winning only one point so far this season (at home against Ipswich Town) and his tactics have many worried.

The approach of playing out from the back, which Southampton have for the most part stuck to stubbornly, has come under criticism for being naive in the top flight. Things are not about to get any easier if they take that same approach to face Arsenal’s pressing attackers at the Emirates tomorrow. TalkSport reports that the hierarchy at the club are split over Martin’s position, with owner Dragan Solak reportedly not happy with his performance. While a possible loss to Arsenal for a newly promoted team is not exactly doomsday, more defeats with the exact same playbook will surely spell the end of Martin’s tenure.

A willingness to shift his tactics tomorrow - even if it doesn’t bring them three points - could be much better for his standing than a loss by his traditional methods. Flexibility should be the name of the game when they face Arsenal at 3pm tomorrow.

Another not-so-honourable mention goes to Julien Lopetegui. He is highly, highly unlikely to get the boot so early into his tenure at West Ham, but a slip-up in this weekend’s match against Ipswich would be a tough one to explain to supporters.

The Tractor Boys have proven themselves to be able to cause problems for teams higher in the table, drawing with Aston Villa last weekend, and if the Hammers come away with anything but a win against this newly promoted side it will undoubtedly fuel Lopetegui’s opponents in the fanbase. That match takes place at the London Stadium tomorrow at 3pm - again, it’s very unlikely to lead to a sacking for the Irons boss, but potentially dropping points could sway fans in the wrong direction for him.