Premier League updates from the 4.30pm (BST) kick-off
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36m agoTeams in full: four changes for United, none for Ipswich
42m agoRashford starts!
It’s full time in the 2pm games. Chelsea have beaten Brighton 4-3 in a game that wasn't quite as close as it sounds. Leeds and Brentford have drawn 1-1, and Sunderland have bucked the trend I mentioned by beating Fulham 1-0 after losing last weekend.
So Fulham join Palace, Coventry and Spurs on nul points after two games, while Chelsea and Brentford emulate Man City in starting with successive wins. Do join John Brewin for more.
How bad were United last weekend? The result was a shocker, and so was the defending at set pieces –but they didn’t concede in open play, did create plenty of chances and led their manager to say that they “did some good things”. For United Writing, the free microsite I run with Rob Smyth, I tried to weigh up the good, the bad and the ugly.
It will be interesting to see how United’s front three line up. Bryan Mbeumo started most of the pre-season games at centre-forward and was probably United’s best player, along with Mason Mount. But because Amad had to pull out of the Hull game with injury, Mbeumo went back to the right wing, and Matheus Cunha started as a deep-lying, if not quite false, 9. Rashford has played more often in the middle for United than either of them, but the chances are that he’ll start on the left, where he offers more width (and pace) than Cunha.
Gary O’Neil reverts to his first XI and sees no reason to change a winning team.
Man United (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha.Subs: Darlow, Mazraoui, Yoro, Martinez, Santos, Lacey, Zirkzee, Dorgu, Sesko.
Ipswich (4-2-3-1) Scherpen; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Nunez, Lukic; Fatawu, Enciso, Maeda; Emersonn.
Subs: Walton, Furlong, Egeli, Kipre, Palacios, Ouattara, McAteer, Clarke, Akpom.
Marcus Rashford, who came on at half-time last weekend and played more key passes in 45 minutes than Bruno Fernandes managed in 90, is rewarded with his first start since he was frozen out by Ruben Amorim in December 2024. He replaces Patrick Dorgu on the left. Michael Carrick also shakes up his defence, bringing in Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez, and in midfield Andrey Santos gives way to Kobbie Mainoo.
Afternoon everyone and welcome to the Arnold Mühren derby. It’s a game that looms larger now than it did before the season began. Then, it seemed like a surprising choice for the Sunday-teatime slot, but since last weekend it has looked rather shrewd. Ipswich hit the ground running with a win over Sunderland, while Manchester United slipped on a banana skin at Hull.
Michael Carrick still has his proud record of winning two-thirds of his matches as United boss (in both his stints). And one of the things his team did well last season was bouncing back from disappointment. After losing at Newcastle, they beat Villa at Old Trafford; after losing to Leeds at home, they went to Chelsea and won.
Gary O’Neil, though, has a 100pc record as manager of Ipswich – played two, won two. He made nine changes for the League Cup game against Leicester and still emerged with a 3-1 win. His first XI, now featuring Julio Enciso and Sasa Lukic, come to Old Trafford with nothing to lose.
As I write this, at half-time in the 2pm games, no club in the Premier League have lost their first match of the season and won their second (or taken the lead today). Can United change that? They badly need to, with a Manchester derby looming and an October fixture list that includes trips to Atletico Madrid, Leeds, Como and Chelsea.
For Ipswich, it’s the first of three games against the big names in 17 days. The other two are at Portman Road: Liverpool in the league on Friday and Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on 15 September. So this is just a warm-up.
Back soon with the teams.
