Manchester United's next six Premier League fixtures compared to Arsenal, Liverpool and other rivals

International players are due to return to Carrington in the coming days as Manchester United prepare to resume their Premier League season against Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon (3pm).

An underwhelming start to the campaign has seen United pick up six points from their opening four matches. Erik ten Hag and his squad have already slipped to two defeats in North London alone, while the schedule will start to become action-packed as they also get ready to compete in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

In between their next six Premier League fixtures, United play Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen in the marquee European competition, while a Carabao Cup third-round meeting with Crystal Palace has been put in the diary for Tuesday, September 26 (8pm). That means United have 10 games in just six weeks.

Here, we take a closer look at their upcoming top-flight matches and how they compare to their main rivals;

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The verdict: You cannot help but draw your eyes to the Manchester derby. United have winnable games before then - although nothing is guaranteed in the Premier League these days - and Ten Hag will need to tot-up a good points tally from their five matches before welcoming City to Old Trafford next month. Arsenal have an especially tough sequence, on paper, between now and November with Tottenham, City and Chelsea to come, while United and other Champions League sides will have to factor in fixtures in other competitions. This is where the schedule really starts to ramp up for most top-four contenders,