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The standout fixture of the weekend brings together the sharpest contrast from the opening round, while both Manchester United and Liverpool have issues that need urgent attention.

There are four more days of uninterrupted Barclays action this weekend, taking us right through to transfer deadline day.

Social plans can wait anyway.

Game to watch: Aston Villa v Arsenal It is difficult to think of a bigger contrast than the one between Villa and Arsenal heading into the opening weekend.

The Gunners looked refreshed and brimming with confidence, carrying the swagger of champions and boosted by the added energy of high-quality new signings – one of whom was unveiled after joining from Villa on the same day.

Whatever the complete opposite of that looks like, that was Villa at Brighton.

They did have reasons. The spine of their Europa League-winning side has been torn apart; they were missing replacement players through injury as well as some who remained; and a few other new arrivals were not ready. Even so…

The 4-0 hammering – one they would probably have accepted gladly after 40 minutes – has punctured the optimism built up in pre-season, optimism that was itself driven more by Unai Emery’s aura than by any logical expectation that Villa would push forward during such a major transition.

Very few in the Holte End will be expecting a win over the champions on Monday night. But Villa supporters are well within their rights to demand far more character and competence in their first home match as Europa League winners.

Team to watch: Manchester United United were so poor in their first game of the season at Hull, going down 2-0 to a team content to sit deep, break quickly and directly, and make the most of set-pieces.

At least the Red Devils have the opportunity on Sunday against another similar opponent to prove it was an isolated display. Except, it was not…

United were troubled by the same shortcomings under Michael Carrick last season. Across his 17 matches in charge, the Red Devils dropped points in five games: Bournemouth, West Ham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Leeds. Every one of those matches underlined their difficulty in breaking down low blocks and the lack of a Plan B when Bruno Fernandes is unable to produce his usual moments.

It is a tactical issue Carrick has to solve. Dropping five or six points in the first two matches against promoted teams would be an unacceptable start by the standards of any United season, especially one that had generated as much expectation as this one has in recent years.

Manager to watch: Andoni Iraola Iraola is in a position similar to Carrick’s in that Liverpool showed a clear and obvious weakness on the opening weekend, and the Reds manager is expected to address it quickly.

Newcastle cut through Liverpool’s midfield at St James’ Park. Not completely at will, because the Reds had most of the ball, but enough for the home side to score twice and leave Iraola with a problem to solve.

A new, dominant No. 6 would be a major boost before the deadline, but Liverpool seem rather occupied buying every winger available.

So Iraola must find an answer using the players already at his disposal – and, to be fair, they should be enough. But right now the balance between Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz looks off.

“I don’t want to tell Gravenberch, ‘Don’t carry the ball and don’t arrive to the box.'” Iraola said before the visit of Oliver Glasner’s Forest. He does not need to say that. But the point has to be understood that if Gravenberch goes forward, someone else has to hold their position.

Liverpool’s midfield was nowhere to be seen for Newcastle’s opening goal, but they had recovered into shape in time before conceding the second so soon after equalising. They were simply far too soft in the middle as Yoane Wissa was allowed to glide through.

Iraola has admitted there are problems. Now we wait to see what he has done to fix them.

Player to watch: Sandro Tonali His former club could make this an especially difficult first week for Tottenham Hotspur’s record signing.

Tonali made his Premier League debut for Spurs at Brentford last Saturday, but rather than showing why Roberto De Zerbi was determined to spend £100million on him, he was pushed out of the limelight by the Bees’ own record purchase, who cost less than half as much.

Spurs put that miserable start behind them by easing to a Carabao Cup victory over Charlton, a game that included an exciting cameo from their latest expensive signing.

Tonali, however, was nowhere in sight, with De Zerbi explaining that the Italian had remained at Spurs Lodge to work on his fitness: “Sandro has to work to feel better in terms of physical condition.”

Which naturally raises the question: what exactly was a player signed in early July and not involved in the World Cup doing all summer?

De Zerbi has already said Tonali will start against a side likely to be even more determined than Brentford were to keep their former player under wraps. That makes Saturday evening the ideal moment for him to begin justifying that transfer fee.

EFL game to watch: Middlesbrough v West Brom Wrexham hosting Birmingham gets the Championship weekend under way on Friday night, but all four matches involving the US-owned clubs have ended level this season. Boro against the Baggies also comes with the added attraction of being shown free-to-air on ITV on Saturday lunchtime.

West Brom are one of three teams to have won both of their opening matches, with James Morrison’s side defeating Burnley and Norwich. Boro are expected to dominate possession, but Morrison appears to have the Baggies highly organised.

Boro cannot afford to be as wasteful as they were in defeat at Blackburn last week. There has been plenty of optimism around the Riverside this summer, but that could fade quickly if they suffer back-to-back losses.

European game to watch: Sevilla v Atletico Madrid Atletico have made their position on Julian Alvarez absolutely clear. They would rather collapse than sell him to Barcelona. And honestly, that only adds to the intrigue.

Diego Simeone used Alvarez from the bench last week, with the Argentina forward left in no doubt about Atletico supporters’ feelings over his public wish to leave.

The tension has not really eased during the week. The Rojiblancos board publicly reiterated that Barca are effectively dead to them, while Alvarez has skipped one or two sessions ahead of the trip to the Sanchez Pizjuan.

Will Alvarez play on Saturday night? It feels as though the striker has to start repairing relations with Atletico sooner or later. But if he is absent again, that will only encourage Arsenal to step out of the shadows and make a decisive move before the deadline less than 72 hours later.