Preview

Sep

2024

Preview: West Ham United vs. Chelsea

The Premier League serves up two London derbies this weekend and the first of those takes us to the east of the capital as West Ham play host to Chelsea.

By Dan Tracey

The Hammers will be keen to build on their point at Fulham, the Blues will certainly be keen to build on their win at Bournemouth.

Contrasting fortunes, then, for the two crosstown rivals and were it not for Danny Ings’ injury time equaliser at Craven Cottage, there would have been even greater variance in the two respective results from last Saturday.

With West Ham now being placed under the stewardship of Julen Lopetegui, the former Wolves manager is still trying to work out how to get the best out his newly inherited charges and with a slew of new signings also needing to be integrated, it does feel like a work in progress at present.

One which has seen the London Stadium outfit win just one of their first four league outings of the season and with their sole victory to date coming against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, the first thing Lopetegui and his players need to do is turn their home into more of a fortress.

Home defeats to both Aston Villa and Manchester City are already in the 2024/25 edition of the history books and although you can offer the mitigating circumstance of difficult opposition, the overall start to West Ham’s campaign has been largely underwhelming.

Not the same level of criticism that can be attached to Chelsea at present, and after suffering an opening weekend defeat at home to Manchester City, the Blues have since gone on a three-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Seven points from the last nine on offer has removed some early season pressure off the shoulders of manager Enzo Maresca and although they rode their luck at Bournemouth last weekend, their luck was in thanks to Christopher Nkunku’s late winner.

The former RB Leipzig forward came of the substitutes bench to score the game’s only goal with just four minutes remaining and in doing so, made a strong case to be in the starting eleven at West Ham this Saturday lunchtime.

However, with the depth of talent that manager Maresca can call upon at present, many other names will also be keen to avoid the substitutes bench and it is that strength in depth that may end up giving Chelsea the edge at the London Stadium.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Atalanta vs. Arsenal

Atalanta know how to win in Europe. This is, after all, a team that achieved Europa League glory last season by upsetting Bayer Leverkusen in the final and Gian Piero Gasperini’s team will need a similar level of performance to overcome Arsenal in La Dea’s opening Champions League fixture on Thursday.

By Graham Ruthven

As an attacking force, there are few in Serie A as potent as Atalanta. This was highlighted by the 3-2 win over Fiorentina on Sunday which saw Europa League final hat-trick hero and Ballon d’Or nominee Ademola Lookman score his first goal of the season. The Nigerian will carry a threat against the Gunners.

Alongside Lookman, Italian international Mateo Retegui and the highly rated Charles De Ketelaere will form the rest of Atalanta’s forward line with Gasperi expected to line up his team in a back three with wing backs to get down the outside of the opposition. This could be an effective ploy due to Arsenal’s tendency to push their full backs inside.

Mikel Arteta will once again have to make do without Martin Ødegaard due to injury, but Declan Rice will return after missing Sunday’s North London Derby win over Tottenham Hotspur due to suspension. This should give Arsenal more control in the centre of the pitch which could prove crucial against an opposition team intent on running over the top of them.

Arsenal’s defence held firm against Spurs on Sunday and Thursday will present another tough test before this week’s clash against title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. With that looming fixture in mind, it’s possible Arteta will rotate in a few positions to keep his team as fresh as possible.

Bukayo Saka could be one of those players rested after the winger was withdrawn against Tottenham with a minor injury. This could open up a spot for Raheem Sterling to make his first start as an Arsenal player after joining on loan from Chelsea. The English winger could play on either the left or right wing depending on whether or not Arteta also wants to rest Gabriel Martinelli.

Ultimately, Arsenal’s superior talent could tip Thursday’s match in their favour, but Atalanta have a history of rising to the occasion against stronger opponents. Gasperini will set up his team to be attack-minded and play on the front foot. This has the potential to make Thursday’s game at the newly renovated Gewiss Stadium one of the most entertaining of the week in the Champions League.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Manchester City vs. Inter

Manchester City and Inter Milan go head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium in their opening game of the Champions League campaign.

By Matt Smith

The two teams face each other for the first time since the 2023 final in what is now the first match under the new format of the competition.

It’s been a perfect start to the 2024/2025 campaign for Pep Guardiola’s side who are yet to drop a point in the Premier League. Continuing their form into the European competition will be imperative for the Citizens, and they kickstart their Champions League campaign at home, a place where they are unbeaten in 46 matches.

Erling Haaland is the obvious danger man on the night with the Norwegian already having plenty of Champions League experience under his belt at a young age across spells with Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Man City. Haaland is in unfathomable form at the moment, scoring nine goals in just four matches in the Premier League.

Guardiola’s men have been creating chances at ease so far this season, producing 9.3 xG in their opening Premier League fixtures. City will be hoping to replicate their form in the Champions League as they look to improve on their quarter-final exit to Real Madrid last term.

Inter have endured an inconsistent start to the campaign, sitting in third place with two wins and two draws from their opening four matches in Serie A. Although yet to lose, Simone Inzaghi will be disappointed to have dropped points to Genoa and Monza already this campaign.

Although usually a possession-dominant side, keeping 60.8% of the ball in Serie A this season, Inzaghi may have to adapt his strategy against City. When the two sides last met, Guardiola’s men were in control of the possession, but Inter showed a real threat in attack, creating four big chances and producing six shots on target.

*Key stats, 2023 Champions League Final*

Inter will be hoping Marcus Thuram can continue his fine form from Serie A with the French attacker scoring four times already this term. Regularly partnering Lautaro Martínez in attack, Thuram has stolen the limelight so far, but it’s a centre-forward duo that has all the tools to cause plenty of problems for Man City on Wednesday.

We’re all set for an enticing showdown as both teams look to get points on the board early on in the Champions League, while Inter have the added spice as they seek revenge for the 2023 final defeat in Istanbul.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Real Madrid vs. Stuttgart

Stuttgart make their return to the Champions League this week following an absence of 15 years, and they couldn’t have been handed a more daunting place to do so.

By Ian King

They return to European football’s premier competition with a trip to the Bernabéu to play Real Madrid in the first round of ‘Swiss model’ matches which have replaced the group stages from this year on.

But should they be considered callow just because they haven’t played in this competition for some years? They ended last season in the Bundesliga above Bayern Munich as the runners-up to Bayer Leverkusen with a run of just one defeat in their last sixteen league matches and while this season started poorly, with a point from their first two matches, they’ve recovered since by easing through the first round of the DFB-Pokal and recording a convincing 3-1 win at Borussia Mönchengladbach last Saturday.

Coached by Sebastian Hoeneß, who’s the son of the former Stuttgart player Dieter Hoeneß and the nephew of the legendary Uli, this is no team of superstars, with the most familiar name being Deniz Undav, who signed a season-long loan from Brighton last summer, scored 18 goals in the Bundesliga, and made his signing permanent in August. They’re only in 10th place in the current table, but with only three games played so far that doesn’t necessarily tell us very much.

The array of platinum-plated superstars facing them is, following the arrival of Kylian Mbappé during the summer, more daunting than ever, but that’s not to say that Real Madrid have been particularly glittering so far. They’ve already picked up their first piece of silverware of the season by comfortably beating Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw last month, but their form in La Liga has been a little patchier.

They’ve only won three of their opening five games, with disappointing draws at Mallorca and Las Palmas in their first two away games. They’ve won their last two league matches, but that took two penalty kicks to get past Real Sociedad last Sunday; indeed, their last three goals have all come from the penalty spot. Almost entirely predictably, there have already been stories about the problems in combining Mbappé with Vinícius Júnior, but there’s a reason why Real are almost always favourites or second favourites to win this competition, and there have been few signs of that balance of power shifting.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Milan vs. Liverpool

Liverpool travel to Milan this week to face off against the Rossoneri as the Champions League returns for the 2024/25 campaign.

By Sam McGuire

The new format for the competition won’t impact Matchday One. Every single team will want to start with a win.

And this is an intriguing match-up.

These two sides have a storied history in this competition. They are juggernauts of European football, but right now, both are a bit of an unknown. Both are under new management. Both are looking to bed in a new style of play. Both have had disappointing results this season. Both will want to make a good first impression in the Champions League with their new managers at the helm.

The Reds suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday. They conceded their first goal of the Arne Slot era as Nottingham Forest rocked up to Anfield and claimed all three points. It brought Liverpool’s 100% record in the Premier League to an abrupt halt and, having seen how Slot struggled to manage the game, has heaped the first bit of pressure onto the Dutch tactician.

It doesn’t necessarily make this game a must-win but it is now very much a must-not lose match.

Milan, meanwhile, come into this game on the back of a 4-0 win over Venezia. It was their first win of the season. They have five points in Serie A having lost to Parma while drawing against Lazio and Torino. Interestingly, they are the joint-highest goalscorers in the Italian top flight under new boss Paulo Fonseca. The former-Lille manager was also believed to be on Liverpool’s shortlist as they assessed options following Jürgen Klopp’s departure. The Reds opted for Slot and Milan moved to bring him to Italy to replace Stefano Pioli.

They’re scoring goals but they’re also conceding goals. They have been breached on six occasions this term having conceded two goals in three of their four outings. They aren’t resolute defensively and they’ll have to be wary of this against a Liverpool side with seven goals in four games.

The Rossoneri had a good home record in Serie A last term, winning 12 of their 19 matches and losing on just three occasions. They were unlucky not to escape the Champions League group stage having finished level on points with PSG in a group containing the French giants, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United.

Both teams will want a good start in Europe and both managers will want to kick off their campaigns in the Champions League with a win. The pressure is on Liverpool but Milan have home advantage at the San Siro, let’s see if they can make it count.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham host North London rivals Arsenal in what will be the headline clash of Matchday Four in the Premier League.

By Kaustubh Pandey

Both sides return to action after the international break still smarting from their latest results in the league. Arsenal dropped points to Brighton a couple of weekends ago and Spurs lost to a late-ish Alexander Isak goal at Newcastle United despite putting in a decent performance in attack.

It is off-field suspensions and injuries that will certainly encourage Spurs, as Arsenal will be without the injured Martin Ødegaard and the suspended Declan Rice. Mikel Merino is also ruled out and it remains to be seen whether Riccardo Calafiori will be fully fit after picking up an injury for Italy during the international break.

Another positive for the Lilywhites is that Dominic Solanke will be back in action after an injury lay-off and he will be looking to get himself off the mark for his new club. Micky van de Ven did pick up a knock in the loss on Tyneside but he has been passed fit for the derby.

Barring that, recent history does favour Arsenal and they will take confidence from that.

Mikel Arteta‘s side have won the last two derbies at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and are unbeaten in four games against their rivals. Postecoglou is also yet to win against Arsenal but he did see his side put in a decent performance in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates last season.

One big red flag for Spurs is their transitional defending, which was a problem against Newcastle and caused many issues last season, as teams could get at them on the counterattack.

Arsenal will look at that aspect keenly, as they may cede possession to Spurs whenever they can due to the injuries and absences in the matchday squad. This could play out well for in the Gunners, who can then expose their rivals on the break.

Having said that, Spurs do typically create a lot of chances in each game – they’ve missed seven from 10 chances categorised as ‘Big Chances’ so far this season. The lack of a finishing touch has let them down, something they’ll be looking to correct in what is one of the biggest games of the campaign.

All that, though, is simply the on-paper talk and as is often the case on Derby day, things tend to happen on instinct and momentum dictates results. Both teams will likely create their fair share of chances and it will all be about who can convert the most on the day.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Girona vs. Barcelona

It has been a perfect start to the 24/25 campaign for Hansi Flick, his short stint at Barcelona so far suggesting that he is rather more suited to club coaching than sporadic international involvement with his players.

By Karl Matchett

Moving on from his debacle at Germany, the new Camp Nou boss has won four from four in LaLiga this term to sit four points clear already – but an intriguing next test awaits.

While it’s after the October international break that Barcelona’s fixture list really cranks into high gear – they’ll face Sevilla, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and the derby against Espanyol in a row following that – they return to domestic action now against last season’s surprise package Girona, who finished third, only a handful of points behind the Catalan club themselves.

For Girona, as expected, they lost a few players over summer and the start to this term has been a little fragmented as a result: last year’s goal machine Artem Dovbyk has gone to Roma, midfielder Aleix García to Bayer Leverkusen and their on-loan winger Savinho is now with Man City. Even so, despite defeat at Atlético Madrid they have looked strong, hammering Osasuna and winning at Sevilla in impressive fashion.

Head coach Míchel Sánchez has them playing a familiar way and when Yangel Herrera is back to full fitness, they retain a strong, mobile, technically excellent midfield. Even so, and while they can cause problems of their own, early-season Barcelona looks a slick machine which might be too strong for them going forward.

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have started the campaign well. Dani Olmo, now in the lineup and central to their buildup play, is immense – he could be set to be one of the league’s very best this season, his first back in his home nation since leaving at 16 years old. And while Robert Lewandowski is clearly past his peak, he may be rejuvenated with better buildup behind him and a manager who knows him well – four in four so far for the Pole.

Yet opportunity for Girona comes in Barcelona’s absentees, particularly in midfield. Olmo got a knock with Spain last week and though he could still play, Gavi remains out and Marc Bernal will miss the season. Frenkie de Jong, Fermín López and Andreas Christensen are all still missing, too.

There’s not too much scope for rest and rotation in the centre as the matches start to come thick and fast for Barcelona in Europe this coming week – but Girona’s success last year means they must deal with that additional load, too. It’s fascinatingly poised to reveal where both these sides really are.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: Real Sociedad vs. Real Madrid

After finally fulfilling football’s worst kept secret over the summer with the signing of star forward Kylian Mbappé, from PSG, many would have been expecting Real Madrid to instantly becomean even more formidable outfit.

By Nathan Evans

Instead, the reigning LaLiga champions have found the going tough and even though they remain unbeaten across their opening four domestic matchdays, their supporters would have been hoping for much more.

Disappointing 1-1 draws with both Mallorca and Las Palmas have hamstrung their tally to this point, and as such, Real have picked up their lowest points haul through the opening four matches of a season since 2019/20. With both of those stalemates coming on the road too, confidence won’t exactly be flowing ahead of this latest away day – one that takes them to Real Sociedad, arguably much tougher opponents, as they look to hunt down rivals Barcelona at the top of the standings.

Despite that, the recent head-to-head form between these two sides in LaLiga still points towards likely success for Carlo Ancelotti and his side, as Madrid have lost just three of their last 17 away games against Real Sociedad in a run dating back to 2004. They’ve also enjoyed playing in this part of Spain of late, winning each of their last three away league games against Basque sides without conceding a goal in the process.

There’s also the additional boost that the side from San Sebastián have hardly started their own league campaign on a strong footing. Saturday’s hosts limped into the first international break of the new season by drawing 0-0 with Getafe, a result which made it just one win from their opening four games.

In that run of games, both of their home matches have ended in 2-1 defeats against Rayo Vallecano and Alavés – both sides with much less quality at their disposal than Madrid. Consequently, the home faithful at the Anoeta will likely be concerned ahead of this weekend’s fixture.

They’ll therefore have their collective fingers crossed that the aforementioned Mbappé forgets his shooting boots again for this match. No player in LaLiga, to this point, has underperformed their xG as much as the French international, though you’d still have to be a bit daft to not back him in potentially sending Real Sociedad crashing to a fourth consecutive home league defeat for the first time since 2007.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: LA Galaxy vs. LAFC

El Tráfico never fails to deliver.

By Graham Ruthven

From the moment Zlatan Ibrahimović bagged a brace on his LA Galaxy debut in the first ever meeting between the two Californian rivals, this has been the most exciting and consistently dramatic derby in Major League Soccer and Saturday’s clash promises to be just as gripping as any other.

Four points is all that divides the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC at the top of the Western Conference. The latter holds two games in-hand over their rivals and could close the gap on Greg Vanney’s team by claiming three points at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday. Equally, the Galaxy could widen the gap with a victory of their own.

Olivier Giroud will get his first taste of El Tráfico since joining LAFC from AC Milan in the summer and the same goes for Marco Reus following his transfer to the LA Galaxy from Borussia Dortmund. Giroud is still searching for his first goal in MLS, but Reus has registered one goal and one assist in just two games.

The LA Galaxy boast the strongest home record in the Western Conference having lost just once in 14 league games at Dignity Health Sports Park. However, that one home loss came against LAFC. In fact, the Galaxy haven’t beaten their rivals at home since a win in the US Open Cup back in 2022.

In an attacking sense, the Galaxy have the firepower to overcome anyone in MLS at this moment in time. Between them, Dejan Joveljić, Gabriel Pec, Riqui Puig and Joseph Paintsil have combined for 40 goals this season. Defensively, though, the Carson outfit have their weaknesses having conceded more than one goal in half of the 28 league matches they have played this season.

Los Angeles FC have been something of a force on the road since going winless over their first five away matches of the season. Since then, Steve Cherundolo’s team have gone unbeaten in seven away games and will fancy their chances of leaving Carson with another positive result this weekend.

Most recently, the Black and Golds have dominated El Tráfico having won their last three games against the LA Galaxy. There has been 95 goals in the previous 23 derby meetings between the LA Galaxy and LAFC. Saturday’s match could swing either way, but it’s almost guaranteed that there will be something to talk about.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Sep

2024

Preview: AFC Bournemouth vs. Chelsea

After winning just two of their opening five competitive fixtures of the 2024/25 season, it’s still proving difficult to know exactly what to expect from Chelsea as the Premier League returns from the first international window of the season.

By Nathan Evans

A 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City saw new manager Enzo Maresca begin the campaign on the back foot before victories over Servette in Europa Conference League action and a 6-2 thumping of Wolves on the road restored confidence amongst their supporters. Since then, though, a 2-1 loss in the second leg of that European tie and a 1-1 home draw with Crystal Palace – a match in which they really should have found a way to win – will have dampened spirits substantially.

That proves far from ideal preparation to face a Bournemouth side who have extended their fine form from last season into this new campaign and as a result, they head into this latest outing unbeaten through their opening three league outings.

Despite the loss of star striker Dominic Solanke to Spurs for a club record fee, manager Andoni Iraola has done well to bring even more talent to the club, including the likes of Evanilson, Dean Huijsen and Luis Sinisterra, the latter of those playing a huge part in their most recent league fixture.

That’s because the former Leeds winger netted a 96^th minute winner at Goodison Park as the Cherries came back to beat Everton, a result that pushed Bournemouth into the top half of the table. That match further highlighted Bournemouth’s self-belief as despite trailing by two goals as late as the 87^th minute, they still found a way to grind out an important win, the latest a side has ever turned a 2-0 deficit into victory in Premier League history.

That’ll have Chelsea fans worried ahead of this clash then, even if the Blues arrive on the South Coast unbeaten across their last five league meetings against the Dorset outfit. They’ve additionally lost just one of their last seven away top-flight games against Bournemouth too, but there’s plenty of areas where they could be hurt by the hosts this time around.

That includes the potential threat posed by Antoine Semenyo who has been Bournemouth’s best performer so far this season. To this point, no player in the competition has attempted more shots (17) than the Ghanian winger and with two of those finding the back of the net, the Chelsea backline will need to be at their best to stop him adding to that tally.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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