With Michael Carrick facing mounting scrutiny at Manchester United, BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton believes the international break could not come at a worse time for a club already under pressure after a difficult start to the season.
"For teams who have had a bad start to the season, United being one of them, it could be a horrible few weeks," Sutton said. "Any negativity is going to just fester, really. There will be speculation about his future, along with all the talk about whether this is a good time to replace your manager." He added that United's upcoming trip to Fulham carries extra significance given the circumstances.
Sutton pointed to United's midweek Carabao Cup defeat by Brighton as a worrying sign, arguing there is little basis for optimism heading to Craven Cottage. He predicted a 2-2 draw, while his guest for this week's predictions column, City-supporting musician Johnny Marr, went for a 1-1 scoreline. An AI model, using Microsoft Copilot Chat, forecast a 1-2 away win for Fulham.
Marr, whose new solo album The Age of Everything arrives on 2 October, used the opportunity to reflect on City's perfect start to the season under new manager Enzo Maresca, including Sunday's derby win at Old Trafford. "I think that derby will be remembered by City fans for a long time," Marr said. "We all feared the worst when Phil Foden was sent off so early, because you don't know what could happen. It should have been a yellow card for him and Bruno Fernandes anyway."
He praised how City's squad, still adjusting to a new manager and several new signings, responded positively despite playing a man down. "It's all a bit of a learning curve for the fans and the club with a new manager and so many new players, so to see how the team dug in and won was so great for City fans," he said, adding that few expected Maresca to win his opening four league games. "But then again, why not? He's shown that he's his own man with his own philosophy. I like him."
Looking ahead to City's Etihad clash with Sunderland, Sutton acknowledged the threat posed by the promoted side, praising their physicality and pressing intensity, but ultimately backed Maresca's team to prevail 2-1. Marr went with a more emphatic 3-0 City win, while the AI predicted a 4-0 scoreline.
Elsewhere in the top-flight predictions, Sutton expects Aston Villa to edge out a winless Tottenham side under growing pressure, forecasting a 1-2 scoreline that would hand Unai Emery's team their first league victory of the campaign. He also tipped Arsenal to overcome a spirited Brighton at the Amex, predicting a 1-2 win for the Gunners, and sees David Moyes' Everton continuing their unbeaten run with a narrow 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town.
Asked to reflect on former City boss Pep Guardiola, who departed in the summer after a decade in charge, Marr said no one expected his tenure to last so long and wished him well, noting that fans loved him not just for the trophies but for his affection for Manchester. Among his favourite City players, Marr singled out childhood favourite Dennis Tueart before naming Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne as standout performers of the recent era, calling De Bruyne "the best player I've seen in a City shirt."
In last week's predictions table, both Sutton and his guest, Dorking Wanderers manager Marc White, correctly picked four results without any exact scores, earning 40 points apiece. The AI model outperformed them with 60 points courtesy of an exact score prediction for Brentford's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. BBC readers claimed their first weekly win of the season, level with Sutton atop the standings, aided by correctly calling Arsenal's 2-0 win at Sunderland.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.