LONDON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- All eyes will be on Old Trafford when Manchester United entertain (if that's the right word) Newcastle United on Saturday evening in the Premier League.
The crisis at Old Trafford drags on after a dull 0-0 draw in the Champions League on Tuesday night, which came on the back of a 3-1 defeat to West Ham United, which in turn followed an exit from the League Cup at the hands of second tier Derby County and the stories of bad relations between Jose Mourinho and a sector of his players shows no sign of stopping.
The English press have begun to openly speculate that Zinedine Zidane is being lined up as Mourinho's replacement and with the international break to follow Saturday's game, it would be the best possible moment for Manchester United to make the change.
Standing between Mourinho and Zidane is a man who some way links both of them: Newcastle boss, Rafael Benitez.
It was Benitez who replaced Mourinho at Inter Milan in 2010, before doing the same in Real Madrid in the summer of 2015, before Zidane then stepped into Benitez's shoes at the Santiago Bernabeu in January 2016.
There is no love lost between the two coaches and Benitez also needs a win to ease his position at Newcastle, who have just two points from their first seven games this season.
There are rumors of a possible takeover at the club, but Benitez's position will also be at risk if his side lose, meaning he is likely to base his tactics on defense for United to try and break down.
It's unlikely to be a game for the purists, but with the stakes so high for both clubs, it promises to be compelling if not attractive viewing.
Although the tension will be at Old Trafford, the biggest game of the weekend is at Anfield where league leaders Manchester City visit Liverpool, with the two teams separated only by goal difference in the table.
City have looked generally convincing in the start of the campaign, although doubters could point to an opening two months which have seen them face the three teams promoted at the start of this season and the three promoted a year ago, with Arsenal, who were playing their first match under new boss Unai Emery, their only 'big-name' rival to date.
Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season on Wednesday with a late goal condemning them to a 1-0 defeat away to Napoli, but coach Jurgen Klopp's men beat City on three out of four meetings last season, winning the corresponding fixture 4-3 at Anfield and all of the games between the two have produced tension, controversy and goals.
Other games of the weekend sees a recovering Burnley take on Huddersfield, who desperately need their first win of the season, while a winless Cardiff City have a difficult visit to Tottenham.
Crystal Palace entertain an impressive Wolves side, while Leicester City are at home to Everton and both Watford and Bournmouth will look to return to winning ways when they meet at Vicarage Road.
Arsenal seek their ninth win in nine games when they cross town to face Fulham on Sunday, while Chelsea visit a Southampton side with 1 point from a possible 9.
