Manchester United face a pivotal Sunday fixture against Fulham as pressure mounts on manager Michael Carrick ahead of a three-week international break — and BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton has weighed in on what the coming weeks could mean for the club.

"For teams who have had a bad start to the season, United being one of them, it could be a horrible few weeks," Sutton said. "Any negativity is going to just fester, really. There will be speculation about his future, along with all the talk about whether this is a good time to replace your manager."

"United are not the only team to have made a bad start, but there is a lot to ponder on for them at the moment. It makes this weekend even more important."

Johnny Marr enters the predictions arena

For week four of his season-long predictions series — in which Sutton takes on AI, BBC Sport readers, and a rotating cast of guests — the former striker faces legendary guitarist and Manchester City supporter Johnny Marr. Marr's new album, The Age Of Everything, is released on 2 October.

Marr has been riding high on City's perfect start to the Premier League campaign, including their victory at Old Trafford under new manager Enzo Maresca.

"I think that derby will be remembered by City fans for a long time," Marr told BBC Sport. "We all feared the worst when Phil Foden was sent off so early, because you don't know what could happen. It should have been a yellow card for him and Bruno Fernandes anyway."

"It's all a bit of a learning curve for the fans and the club with a new manager and so many new players, so to see how the team dug in and won was so great for City fans. No-one expected Maresca to win his first four games — but then again, why not? He's shown that he's his own man with his own philosophy. I like him."

Key match previews and predictions

Sutton sees Friday's meeting between Brentford and Chelsea as a contest of two sides struggling to find balance. "Chelsea are free-scoring but leaking goals at an alarming rate," he noted, pointing to Brentford's counter-attacking threat. He predicts a 2-2 draw; Marr and the AI both go for a 1-2 Chelsea win.

At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Sutton is sceptical of Roberto de Zerbi's progress at Spurs despite the summer outlay. He backs Aston Villa — who are also winless in the league but showed more attacking promise in midweek — to edge a 2-1 victory. Marr and the AI side with Spurs at 2-1.

Arsenal travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in what could be a feisty affair, given Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler's previous comments about Arsenal's time-wasting. Sutton is full of praise for 19-year-old Luka Vuskovic, who arrived from Spurs for £46 million, but insists Arsenal are a class above. All three — Sutton, Marr, and the AI — predict a 1-2 Arsenal win.

Everton host Ipswich Town at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and despite acknowledging Gary O'Neil's impressive work at Ipswich, Sutton backs David Moyes's battle-hardened Everton side to claim a 1-0 win. Marr goes for 2-0 and the AI for 2-1.

Newcastle United entertain Hull City at St James' Park in a game Sutton expects to be tight. He tips a 1-1 draw, breaking his pattern of predicting Hull to lose every week. Marr and the AI both forecast a comfortable 3-0 Newcastle win.

A correct result is worth 10 points; the exact scoreline earns 40 points. Readers can submit their own predictions via the BBC Sport Match of the Day predictor game, which features six fixtures weekly from domestic and European competitions.