United Can Sign Off In Style

After back-to-back 4-0 wins, the Premier League season couldn’t have started much better for Manchester United.

The rampant Reds saw off West Ham with ease at the Theatre of Dreams on the opening weekend, before patience paid off against Swansea as a devastating spell of three goals in four minutes late on at the Liberty Stadium sealed another resounding victory.

Jose Mourinho's men have already issued a huge early statement of intent in a bid to win the club's first league title since 2013 and up next is a team who experienced the unique euphoria of being champions for the first time just two years ago.

United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford this weekend and will be desperate to bank another three points and put in another positive performance before the top flight is put on hold for a fortnight during the international break.

Ironically, after two four-goal wins without reply, the corresponding fixture last term was the only league game in which the Reds hit four as a blistering first-half display swept aside a Foxes team who were devoid of confidence and struggled with the weight of expectation following their astonishing title triumph.

After staving off the threat of relegation last term, the rejuvenated East Midlanders have made a steady start to the new season – their first full campaign under Craig Shakespeare's stewardship – and were unfortunate to lose 4-3, having led 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium, in the curtain-raiser to 2017/18 after worrying the Arsenal defence throughout.

It has got better since as Leicester earned a dominant 2-0 win over newly-promoted Brighton at the King Power Stadium last weekend before securing their place in the Carabao Cup third round by seeing off Championship side Sheffield United 4-1 at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.

But Leicester, who lost all three meetings with United last season under their title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri, will find it much tougher against a water-tight Reds defence which has yet to concede a goal so far - with Phil Jones and Eric Bailly performing well as the preferred centre-back pairing.

The atmosphere against the Hammers was electric and will no doubt be the same on Saturday evening, such is the positivity running through the club right now. United fans have had plenty to cheer about so far and will be hoping for more of the same.

Everything is looking rosy for United so far, with a number of positives to take from the opening two games – late goals, a free-scoring attack, substitutes making an impact, a solid defensive shape and players standing out.

Everybody has played their part so far and United have benefited from having a settled team, which could be chosen for a third successive match against the Foxes. As a result of the Reds' impressive form, a number of players who were instrumental to last season's success have had to watch on from the sidelines – which only emphasises the strength in depth at Mourinho’s disposal.

As always, United will have one eye on what is happening elsewhere across another busy weekend but four of last season's top five will play on Sunday.

Manchester City are the only other likely title rivals in action on Saturday when they make the long trip to Bournemouth for the lunchtime game. Pep Guardiola's side will be looking to bounce back after Monday's stormy 1-1 draw at home to Everton, in which both sides ended with 10 men. But the Reds will benefit from the fact that points will be dropped at Anfield, where Liverpool welcome Arsenal for an early-season heavyweight clash.

Elsewhere, Tottenham will be hoping to recover from last weekend's defeat by Chelsea when Burnley visit Wembley. While across the capital, Antonio Conte's reigning champions will be aiming for their first home win of the season against a new-look Everton side, who have won four of their five games in all competitions so far.

Heading into the third weekend, United are one of only three teams to still boast a 100 per cent record – along with surprise packages Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion – but Mourinho isn’t getting carried away just yet and will know that tougher tests lie ahead.

The table-topping Reds, nevertheless, will be hoping to maintain the momentum and continue to set the early pace by signing off the first month of the season in style.

THIS WEEKEND'S OTHER FIXTURES

Saturday 26 August (15:00 BST unless stated)
Bournemouth v Manchester City (12:30)
Crystal Palace v Swansea City
Huddersfield Town v Southampton
Newcastle United v West Ham United
Watford v Brighton

Sunday 27 August
West Bromwich Albion v Stoke City (13:30)
Chelsea v Everton (13:30)
Liverpool v Arsenal (16:00)
Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley (16:00)