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Premier League

United target recovery as Arsenal face Villa

Manchester United and Tottenham will seek their first Premier League points of the season in a second round that ends with Arsenal’s visit to Aston Villa.

United host Ipswich on Sunday after suffering a 2-0 defeat at promoted Hull in their opener.

Michael Carrick’s side now face another newly promoted opponent, with Ipswich arriving after beating Sunderland 2-1 through Jack Clarke’s late winner. United’s opening defeat offers an immediate warning against underestimating the visitors.

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Tottenham also need an improvement when Newcastle visit on Saturday.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side were beaten 3-0 at Brentford, leaving the Italian with an early test of his team’s ability to respond. Newcastle, meanwhile, will look to build on their performance in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool.

The round begins on Friday with Manchester City’s trip to Crystal Palace.

Enzo Maresca secured a winning league start against Bournemouth, but City needed late goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol to overturn a deficit. A more convincing performance at Selhurst Park would strengthen that encouraging result.

Liverpool welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday as Andoni Iraola pursues his first league victory.

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The Reds twice came from behind at Newcastle, with Dominik Szoboszlai’s stoppage-time penalty rescuing a point. Their next test is to turn that resilience into a winning performance at home.

Chelsea host Brighton on Sunday after Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer all scored in their 3-2 victory at Fulham.

That attacking combination gave Xabi Alonso an encouraging start, although conceding twice underlined the work still required defensively. Brighton should provide a useful measure of Chelsea’s progress after opening with a 4-0 win over Villa.

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Arsenal complete the round at Villa Park on Monday.

The defending champions began with a 3-0 victory over Coventry, while Villa must recover from their heavy opening defeat. For Mikel Arteta’s side, the trip offers an early opportunity to follow a comfortable home win with three points on the road.

Photo: George Wood/Getty Images

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