Man Utd fixtures: Next six games after Brighton home defeat

Manchester United slumped to a third defeat in four games with a 3-1 reverse at home to Brighton on Saturday.

Another damaging loss compounded the barrage of off-field incidents that have hung over the club like a dark cloud. Across the opening month of the new campaign, the various situations involving Mason Greenwood, Antony and Jadon Sancho have been far from helpful.

Following a second consecutive home loss to Brighton, here are the next six fixtures that Manchester United must navigate as they seek to repair their season.

While it’s a cliche, there is a lot to be said for a change of tournament when a team is struggling for league form. That being said, a trip to face Bayern Munich is rarely viewed as a confidence-building opportunity and Erik ten Hag may wish the fixture list had been a little kinder with its order.

If Man Utd are convincingly beaten by Bayern at the Allianz Arena, it would immediately make it seem like they are just fighting for second place in the group along with Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen.

This is the sort of fixture that Manchester United simply need to be winning if they are to do anything of note in the Premier League this season. While many assume that Burnley will start to hit something of a stride, they have not started their first season back in the top flight very well.

Vincent Kompany’s side became the first Premier League club in more than two decades to begin the new season with three straight home matches, yet the Clarets failed to collect a single point. Nevertheless, the likes of Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund will still need to show an improved clinical edge away from home.

Another competition for Ten Hag to deal with, and there is some pride on the line with this one. While it is not the most important tournament that United are in this season, the Dutch coach will want to retain the title that he won during his first campaign in charge.

Providing some more players have returned from injury by the time this game comes around, Ten Hag may use it to build up some fitness. The likes of Sofyan Amrabat, Mason Mount and Facundo Pellistri could be afforded some minutes and a chance to prove a point.

Palace are back in town. It will be interesting to know whether they bother heading back to London or not between the two fixtures. Perhaps Gary Neville will put them up in Hotel Football for a couple of nights.

It is always a challenge for managers to plan their two starting XIs in these instances and any prep can be ruined by an injury or suspension from the first match, so there is plenty of thinking to be done.

If Manchester United do lose the opening game of the Champions League group stage to Bayern Munich, the pressure will really be ramped up for the visit of Galatasaray.

The Turkish team are regarded as United’s biggest threat to second place in the group, with Copenhagen expected to finish last. Shocks could certainly happen, but anything other than a win here will be cause for major concern, and many feel Galatasaray could be very strong.

Brentford look set for another season in which they have enough to steer clear of the bottom of the table, but there are probably too many teams ahead of them for a European charge to really be successful.

United will hope that by the time this game comes around, they will be in a good run of form and can approach the match with confidence. It should be a routine victory if they play their cards right.

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