Manchester United ended the previous campaign in confident and convincing fashion, overcoming Brighton 3-0 thanks to goals from Patrick Dorgu, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo.

It was a performance that could only be described as a statement of intent - one that stirred excitement among supporters and offered a glimpse of what this team could become under Carrick’s leadership.

With the release of the Premier League fixture list, much of the discussion surrounding United has focused on the perceived difficulty of their opening run. Opta have suggested that Carrick’s side have been handed the easiest start to the 2026/27 campaign.

While that may be true on paper, football has a habit of making fools of predictions.

One of the reasons fixture lists can be misleading is because the opening weeks of a new campaign are often the most unpredictable. Coaches are often still trying to fathom the extent of players’ fitness in the early parts of the season.

August tends to be an unknown quantity for many teams in the Premier League - take Sunderland for example; they began the early parts of the season in the Champions League places.

If United do not show the right attitude and application from the very first whistle, they may just get mauled by the Tigers. 

On the wider context of the fixture list, supporters should not be fooled into thinking the Reds have an easy ride to start the season. Excluding the newly promoted teams Hull and Ipswich in the first two games, United face Everton away, City at home and Fulham away to conclude August and September.

Everton and Fulham are difficult places to go - they have a habit of making a nuisance of themselves. As for the Manchester derby, form goes out the window - anything can happen.

What may favour United in those fixtures is not superior quality but the fact they will present as a more settled unit. City, Fulham and Ipswich will need to adapt to managerial changes, while Hull and Ipswich again adjust to life in the Premier League.

If you agree with the data or not, another reason why supporters of a United persuasion may view this differently is because they know their side has often struggled in matches where they are expected to dominate.

That inconsistency against lower-ranked opposition has been a recurring theme.

It was only as recently as last season that that trend continued, with dropped points at home to sides they would have expected to beat more comfortably. Wins against Everton, Wolves and West Ham at home showed flashes of quality, and on their day they were capable of pushing even eventual champions Arsenal.

There is also a broader point emerging about the overall quality of the league. The idea that the Premier League is becoming more “open” is supported by the fact that teams like Sunderland and Bournemouth are now breaking into European places, something that would have been far less common in previous years. It suggests the gap between the traditional top sides and the rest is narrowing.