Manchester United next five Premier League fixtures compared to Liverpool and main rivals

After playing the final Premier League match before September's international break, Manchester United are also involved in the first one after it. They travel to Southampton on Saturday lunchtime.

The visit is the second of back-to-back away games on the south coast, three weeks after their 2-1 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion. After winning 1-0 at home on the opening night of the season against Fulham thanks to a late Joshua Zirkzee goal, Brighton scored even later through Joao Pedro to settle the scores.

But by the closing stages of their final fixture before the gap, with Liverpool, Old Trafford was almost empty after being well-beaten by their rivals from down the M62. After easing into the campaign - with one match per week - they face seven games in 22 days across September and the first week of October as the Carabao Cup and Europa League begins in earnest.

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Here, we highlight their upcoming top-flight matches and compare them to the seven clubs who finished above United last season;

Southampton (A) - Saturday, September 14 at 12.30pm

Crystal Palace (A) - Saturday, September 21 at 5.30pm

Tottenham (H) - Sunday, September 29 at 4.30pm

Aston Villa (A) - Sunday, October 6 at 2pm

Brentford (H) - Saturday, October 19 at 3pm

The verdict: Taking on Tottenham and visiting Villa either side of an away game against FC Porto is the stretch which really stands out for United. With a trip to Selhurst Park, where they were well-beaten barely four months ago, preceding that match, the Southampton game takes on even greater importance.

Tottenham (A) - Sunday, September 15 at 2pm

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