Preview of games around Europe this weekend
Emmanuel Alfred
The major leagues in Europe have already started and some will be making a return this weekend and we take a look into some selected games.
Liverpool to get first win this weekend?
The reds are still licking their wounds after losing the duo of Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo to rivals Chelsea. But they announced the signing of Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo from Bundesliga side, Stuttgart for £16 million pounds to fill the void left by the exits of captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the transfer window.
They will need to beat Bournemouth at Anfield to kick start their campaign after a draw against Chelsea last week. Good thing is the last time they met here, it ended in a 9-0 drubbing of the Cherries.
Tottenham eyes victory against Manchester United
Spurs host United at White Hart Lane on Saturday and will hope to improve on the 2-2 entertaining draw against Brentford last time.
They have lost star striker and captain, Harry Kane to Bayern Munich and they will need new captain, Son Heung-Min and Richarlison who had only one goal last season to get the goals.
The last fixture saw Tottenham come from 2 goals down to getting a draw.
City have to deal with injuries as they face the Toon army
Manchester City are ravaged with injuries. Playmaker and star man Kevin De Bruyne will be out for four months as announced by coach, Pep Guadiola and there are also concerns for the fitness levels of captain, Ruben Dias, Bernado Silva and John Stones.
They had a very good result against Burnley on match day one with a 3-0 victory but the injuries will definitely leave them exposed to high flying Newcastle United side who thrashed Aston Villa 5-1 in week one.
West Ham host a rejuvenated Chelsea as Moyes seeks new ideas
It is the London derby on Sunday and high spending Chelsea will hope to turn the money into results after spending a whooping £178 million pounds on Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo from Southampton FC and Brighton and Hove Albion.
The midfield is now stronger and the blues under Mauricio Pochettino will hope the players will turn up and produce results.
The Hammers have lost Declan Rice but David Moyes will have to find a new system to accommodate his midfielders after learning that Manchester City are no longer interested in poaching Lucas Pacqueta.
Seagulls host Arsenal on Monday
Crystal Palace Coach Roy Hudson must be a happy man: he has seen his priced attacker, Michael Olise commit his future to the club and will now focus on the league. But their game on Monday doesn’t come any easier as they will be facing surprise package of last season- Arsenal.
Hudson will hope his defense can handle the marauding attack from the Gunners while creating and scoring themselves.
They lost this fixture last season by 2-0.
Arsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta has been thrown into confusion after losing newly signed defender Jurien Timber to an injury that will see him miss the rest of the season. We saw him use Thomas Partey in the right back position but they still have options in the position.
La Liga enters week 2 with Barcelona and Real Madrid in action
Real Madrid had a strong start to the new campaign after beating Athletic Club 2-0 at San Mames. Jude Bellingham had a dream debut after a man of the match performance which saw him score a goal and Rodrygo getting the other.
They have lost Brazilian defender, Eder Militao for the rest of the season to injury but Antonio Rudiger will step in against Almeria.
Off the pitch the club have named Davide Ancelotti as the new assistant coach. He is the son of the Head Coach, Carlo.
Barcelona eyes first win at Camp Nou
After a stalemate against Granada, defending champions Barcelona will host newly promoted side Cadiz.
The team have added Ilkay Gündogan and Oriol Romeo to the midfield after the exits of Sergio Busquetts, Jordi Alba and Ousmanne Dembele.
Head Coach, Xavi Hernandez knows a win will help to set the tempo for the new season.
Serie A returns with a lot of uncertainties
Frosinone hosts defending champions, Napoli
Napoli won their first title in 33 years but have lost coach Luciano Spaletti who stepped down for personal reasons only to be named the Head Coach of the Italian national team this week.
They have however managed to fend off interests for highest goalscorer, Victor Osimhen and playmaker, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. They have since announced former As Roma coach, Rudi Garcia as their new coach and a strong start in their title defense is what they will hope for.
Inter host Monza with major recruitments still in sight
They lost the Champions League final last season to Manchester City and have also seen the departures of goalkeeper, Andre Onana and midfielder, Marcelo Brozovic. They are still hunting for a regular goalscorer in Arsenal forward, Folarin Balogun and defender, Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich
They have Monza and should be an easy three points for them but in football, you will never know.
New season same Mourinho
As Roma coach, Jose Mourinho is not far from controversies. He was suspended for “unguarded utterances” against referee, Daniele Chiffi during the end of last season and has also been fined the sum of €50,000 with Bruno Conti taking charge of the game against Salernitania.
Juventus need a fresh start
The Old Ladies will not be playing in Europe because of a ten point reduction for financial misdeeds last season.
They have also lost Leonardo Bonucci, Angel Do Maria and Juan Cuadrado..
They will be facing Udinese whom they played in the last game of last season and will hope summer targets will be signed as soon as possible.
Photo Credit: Premium Sports
