Written by Sam Cairns

Despite winning their first game of the season against Aston Villa, the question of whether they can survive in the Premier League still remains. The signings of Marco Senesi from Feyenoord, Neto from Barcelona and Ryan Fredericks from West Ham add not only quality but experience to the Bournemouth defence. They’ve also added Joe Rothwell from Blackburn and Marcus Tavernier from Middlesbrough to their midfield to add creativity.

Their attack however, some could argue is not up to Premier League standard. Dominic Solanke is probably the best attacker in the squad, scoring an impressive 29 goals and assists 7 in 46 games last season in the Championship. When Bournemouth were last in the Premier League, however,Solanke scored 3 and assisted 1 in 32 appearances showing that he perhaps struggles with the step up to the Premier League. Kieffer Moore their other out and out striker has never played in the Premier League up until the weekend where he scored his first Premier League goal. Could this prove to be the reason that Bournemouth struggle? Without improvements in that area, you can see why they may struggle for goals. The additions of Joe Rothwell and Marcus Tavernier however may provide the service to Dominic Solanke and Kieffer Moore needed for Bournemouth to survive.

Spending loads of money after you get promoted doesn’t guarantee survival though, one example that springs to mind was Fulham spending over £100 million at the start of the 2018/19 season. Their highest fee paid in that window was £25 million for Jean Michaël Seri from Nice who has now moved to Hull City on a free transfer, scoring 3 goals and assisting 7 in 69 appearances during his time at Fulham. Fulham went onto be relegated after winning 7 out of 38 games that season.

Following the sacking of manager Scott Parker yesterday due to internal reasons, the Cherries will be left managerless going into deadline day. So, perhaps by spending £25 million on signings, Bournemouth could be doing themselves a favour by not risking their future financially to attempt to keep their Premier League status.

Written by Josh Dolan

Brighton we’re heading in to the 22/23 season with little hope as their two arguably best players left during the transfer window as Yves Bissouma headed to Tottenham and Marc Cucurella headed to Chelsea. The two left for a combined fee of £85 million which Brighton excellently reinvested back into the squad as they signed Pervis Estupiñán from Villarreal and the Ecuadorian has hit the ground running. Moisés Caicedo who signed for the South Coast side in February has proved to be a excellent replacement for Bissouma in the opening few games of the season. 

This superb business model has been key to why Brighton have succeed over the years since they were promoted to the Premier League as their business certainly goes around quietly. However this wouldn’t be possible without Graham Potter. 

Graham Potter has bought exciting and free flowing football to the south coast as his work is finally starting to get the recognition it deserves. Potter who started his managerial career in Östersund made a move to Wales as he took charge of Swansea before moving to the South Coast to Brighton. The Englishman had a rocky start but his hard work is finally starting to pay off. Last season Brighton picked up their most points ever in top flight history but many doubted them going into the new seasons but Brighton have picked up 10 points in 5 games and have certainly caught the eye. 

Graham Potter is certainly building something special at Brighton and they are set for a very successful season. Potter will certainly be a top 6 manager in the near future. 

MANCHESTER UNITED VS BRIGHTON – Written by Sam Hardy

Manchester United: United boss Erik Ten Haag made his debut in the Old Trafford dugout on Sunday, with the former Ajax boss lining up with a fluid front four that doesn’t involve Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar started on the bench.

GK: David De Gea

RB: Diogo Dalot

RCB: Harry Maguire

LCB: Lisandro Martinez

LB: Luke Shaw (90′)

RDM: Fred (53′)

LDM: Scott McTominay (78′)

RM: Jadon Sancho (90′)

CAM: Bruno Fernandes (90′)

LM: Marcus Rashford

CF: Christian Eriksen

Substitutes: Tom Heaton, Tyrell Malacia (90′), Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, James Garner, Donny van de Beek (78′), Anthony Elanga (90′), Alejandro Garnacho (90′), Cristiano Ronaldo (53′)

Brighton: Graham Potter opted for a 5-3-2 system at Old Trafford, with Leandro Trossard occupying the Left Wing-Back role after the departure of Marc Cucurella. New signing Levi Colwill also wasn’t named in the first 11.

GK: Robert Sanchez

RWB: Solly March (90+1′)

RCB: Joel Veltman

CB: Lewis Dunk

LCB: Adam Webster

LWB: Leandro Trossard (75′)

RCM: Alexis Mac-Allister

CM: Moises Caicedo

LCM: Pascal Gross

RST: Danny Welbeck (90+5′)

LST: Adam Lallana (75′)

Substitutes: Jason Steele, Tariq Lamptey (75′), Levi Colwill (90+1′), Enock Mwepu (75′), Denis Undav (90+5′), Neal Maupay, Jan Paul Van Hecke, Jeremy Sariemento, Kaoru Mitoma

United started the game brightly against Brighton, with the only real clear-cut Manchester United chance in the first half came to Bruno Fernandes who blazed over from around 15 yards out after superb work down the right hand side. However, despite the home side looking positive early on, it was Brighton who opened the scoring. Leandro Trossard picked out Danny Welbeck’s run in-behind which was deemed onside by VAR, he fired it across the face of the goal and Pascal Gross was there at the back post to tap home. The second goal didn’t come long after, and it was that man Pascal Gross again. A simply sublime move from the Seagulls starting at their own corner flag ending up in a Pascal Gross tap-in after Welbeck was originally denied.

United were on the comeback road in the second half , an own goal from Alexis Mac-Allister after a double mistake from goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from the United corner injected belief into Old Trafford. Question marks were raised by Brighton about a challenge on the goalkeeper by Diogo Dalot but they were waved away by VAR. The Red Devils just couldn’t find that second goal though, even after bringing on Cristiano Ronaldo early in the second half. United weren’t good enough and Brighton were superb and resolute throughout the 90 minutes.

LEICESTER VS BRENTFORD – Written by Max Robertson

It’s been a long summer for Leicester fans, with no incomings and top players being linked away, but a 2pm kick off vs Brentford could change this, with a new enforced singing section and the clappers gone, it was set to be a good day for the Foxes. 

LEICESTER : With the amount of injuries sustained by Leicester last season, (31 players injured), fans thought it couldn’t get worse, but Leicester were left without Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira, who picked up injuries in their final pre season game vs Sevilla. 

GK : Daniel Ward 

CB : Wesley Fofana 

CB : Jonny Evans 

CB : Daniel Amartey 

RWB : Timothy Castagne 

LWB : James Justin 

CDM : Wilfred Ndidi 

CM : Youri Tielemans 

CM : Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (73′)

CAM : James Maddison 

ST : Jamie Vardy

SUBS : Daniel Iversen, Luke Thomas, Çaglar Söyüncü, Nampalys Mendy, Dennis Praet, Marc Albrighton, Kelechi Iheanacho, Patson Daka (73′)

BRENTFORD : After surviving comfortably last year, Brentford came to Leicester hoping for a win, and with a pretty much full strength lineup, it left Brentford fans confident.

GK : David Raya 

RB : Aaron Hickey (84′)

CB : Pontus Jansson 

CB : Ben Mee (59′)

LB : Rico Henry 

CM : Vitaly Janelt

CM : Christian Nørgaard (73′)

CM : Mathis Jensen (59′)

LW : Yoanne Wissa

RW : Bryan Mbeumo (84′)

ST : Ivan Toney

SUBS : Thomas Strakosha, Finley Stevens, Mads Bech Sørensen (84′), Frank Onyenka, Mads Roerslev Rasmussen, Joshua Dasilva (59′), Keane Lewis-Potter (59′), Shandon Baptise (73′), Halil Dervisoglu (84′)

FULL TIME : Leicester 2-2 Brentford 

A performance which left Leicester fans angered, the season didn’t get off to a good start, 5 minutes before kick off 2,000 Leicester fans were stuck outside in queues, due to the new mobile tickets system. After the iconic ‘When You’re Smiling’ was played, the Leicester faithful really came to life, despite being at home, they out sung Brentford who took 2,700 fans to the King Power, despite the 3,200 allocation given. The deadlock was broken in the 33rd minute, James Maddison’s corner was whipped in onto the head of Timothy Castagne, who fired it home passed David Raya, Leicester fans absolute jubilant in the stands, some sort of unexpected, due to the Foxes problem in converting and defending corners. Into Half Time, Leicester were 1 up and in control of the game, the action resumed and straight away Academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall fired one in to the bottom corner, right infront of the Kop with fans even falling 2 rows down celebrating. With Leicester in control, the system working perfectly, manager Brendan Rodgers decided to sub on Zambian international Patson Daka, for Dewsbury-Hall, a change which Leicester fans didn’t understand. Brentford hit back with just over 30 minutes to go, Daniel Amartey got the wrong side of Ivan Toney, who smashed it in passed Daniel Ward. With Leicester under pressure, Joshua Da Silva levelled the scoring in the 86th minute, after Daniel Amartey’s error once again lead to a goal, after he failed to close him down. Absolute pandemonium in the away end, despite being quiet all game. Boos were heard at full time, after another underwhelming performance. Leicester fans were promised a rebuild after a 4-1 loss away to Nottingham Forest, which fans presumed as signings, but when going into the opening pre season game vs Nottingham County, Brendan Rodgers claimed it was a mentality rebuild, such as seeing out games, but this wasn’t on show today, once again and not for the first time this season. 

Looking at the 2 teams, Leicester look to have an other underwhelming season, despite a great first half, there is no consistency in the team. The changing room doesn’t look a good place to be in right now, with star players Wesley Fofana, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans being linked away. Leicester fans were left angered with Wesley Fofana who’s been linked with Chelsea in recent weeks, after he headed straight down the tunnel at full time, unlike the rest of the players who stayed out and clapped the fans. 

For Brentford, it looks like another mid table season for them, with the likes of Ivan Toney being able to score goals, they shouldn’t be pulled into a relegation battle, but you never know… it’s the Premier League at the end of the day. 

Controversial comments were made by Brendan Rodgers at full time, speaking to BBC Leicester, he claimed players were fatigued. If this was the case, he wouldn’t have only made 1 substitution, we could see lots of these excuses from him this season, but that may not be the case, he’s the favourite to be sacked first by the Bookies, and isn’t a popular figure around Leicester fans at the moment. 

WEST HAM VS MANCHESTER CITY – Written by Ryan Knight

This afternoon saw the return of the premier league champions Manchester City as they travel to Europa Conference league playoff qualifiers West Ham United. Both displayed impressive seasons respectively last time round and with new incomings during the transfer window, the final match of Gameweek 1 was set to be a good clash.

MANCHESTER CITY: City lined up in a usual Guardiola 4-3-3 fresh off the back of a 3-1 loss to Liverpool in the FA Community Shield.

GK: Ederson

LB: Joao Cancelo 

CB: Nathan Aké

CB: Rúben Dias

RB: Kyle Walker

CM: Ilkay Gundogan (77’)

CM : Rodri (87’)

CM: Kevin De Bruyne (87’)

LW: Jack Grealish

ST: Erling Haaland (77’)

RW: Phil Foden (87’)

Subs: Ortega, Stones, Phillips (87’), Álvarez (77’), Bernardo Silva (77’), Mahrez (87’), Palmer (87’), Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand

WEST HAM UNITED: After crashing out in the semi finals of the Europa League and finishing 7th last season, the objective for David Moyes’ side was to build even further on some already impressive credentials. 

GK: Lukasz Fabianski (28’)

LB: Aaron Cresswell

CB: Kurt Zouma 

CB: Ben Johnson

RB: Vladimír Coufal

CM Declan Rice

CM: Tomas Soucek 

LM: Pablo Fornals (90+1)

CAM: Manuel Lanzini (57’)

RM: Jarrod Bowen (90+1)

ST: Michail Antonio (57’)

Subs: Areola (28’), Vlasic, Scamacca (57’), Downes (90+1), Benrahma (57’), Coventry (90+1), Randolph, Oko-Flex, Ashby. 

The game was played under the strong London afternoon sun, and West Ham started equally as brightly earning early corners and crosses, amounting in a dangerous Antonio header that just flew over the bar. As the first half developed, City began to show their class with as much as 84% possession by the 25 minute mark. A well worked goal from a lovely Gundogan pass to De Bruyne was ruled out for offside just after the first drinks break. On the 34th minute, Substitute Keeper Alphonse Areola took down debutant Erling Haaland in the box for a penalty in which the Norwegian would claim for himself. Coolly, he opened the scoring from the spot. City in their neon yellow 3rd strip maintained their dominance through to the half time whistle. 

Going into the second half, Man City are simply relentless, and the West Ham fans begging their team on to commit a tad more than they already are. After not allowing the Hammers any time on the ball, a sharp move from Declan Rice in the 54th minute comes close, but nothing doing for the team in maroon. Soon after, Gianluca Scamaca comes onto make his premier league debut, taking over from a passenger-ish Antonio. With the atrillary of City a second was bound to come and who else than Erling Haaland; from a signature De Bruyne through pass he puts away his second of the afternoon. In doing so, Haaland mimics Sergio Aguero in 2011 to become the second Man City player to score a brace on their debut. With the odd chance for the new and lively Scamacca, West ham try to grab onto a consolation but the champions were simply too dominant, with possessions of 75% in favour of City, it was difficult to see any other outcome that a win for Peps side

 

FULHAM VS LIVERPOOL – Written by Swans.Pure

Fulham provide the shock of the weekend after getting a deserved point at home Vs title challengers Liverpool. A game full of goals saw the points shared in a 2-2 draw. Goals from Fulham’s Mitrovic, New signing Nunez and the inevitable Salah meant Liverpool drop 2 points at Craven Cottage.

LIVERPOOL: Klopp and Co would select an unchanged outfield lineup, with the only change being Alisson in for Adrian from their 3-1 beating of Manchester City in the Community Shield. Surprisingly, record signing Darwin Nunez is on the bench as Klopp wanted to “spice things up” like explained in the pre-match press conference. Former Fulham man Fabio Carvalho has been named amongst the substitutes as he could come off the bench to play against his former club after a summer move from SW6. Liverpool would start in the usual 4-3-3 favourited by Klopp with the midfield trio having as huge impact on the game.

GK: Allison Becker 

LB: Andy Robertson

CB: Virgil Van Dijk

CB: Joel Matip

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold

CM: Thiago Alcantara (51′)

CM: Fabinho (59′)

CM: Jordan Henderson (C)

LW: Luis Diaz (78′)

ST: Roberto Firmino (51′)

RW: Mohammed Salah

FULHAM: Marco Silva would start 2 new signings as he chooses his first premier league side since being sacked from Everton. Silva guided Fulham to the premier league in a record breaking season in the EFL Championship during the 2021/22 season. Silva claimed that Leno was not ready for his first appearance in a Fulham shirt as he will watch the game from the bench. Supporters at Craven Cottage will be able to welcome Joao Paulinho and Andreas Pereira as they will make their debuts against title challengers Liverpool. Fulham will lineup in a 4-2-3-1 formation which was commonly used last season by Silva’s men. 

GK: Marek Rodak

LB: Antonee Robinson

CB: Tim Ream (C)

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo

RB: Kenny Tete

CM: Joao Paulinho

CM: Harrison Reed

LW: Neeskens Kebano (66′)

CAM: Andreas Pereira (89′)

RW: Bobby Reid (94′)

ST: Aleksandar Mitrovic 

FULL-TIME: FULHAM 2-2 LIVERPOOL

Fulham started the game very brightly taking the game to Liverpool and not allowing them any time and space on the ball. This incredible start to the game would carry on as Aleksandar Mitrovic would nod Fulham ahead in the 32nd minute following a lovely cross from Kenny Tete. Fulham dominated Liverpool up until that point but would now have to spend the remainder of the game sitting back with a low block. Liverpool almost responded immediately with Diaz unable to get onto the end of a lovely cross from Robertson with the Columbian also hitting the post late on in the first half. Both side would go into the tunnel with the score at 1-0 to Fulham. 

Second half saw early changes due to an injury with Thiago and Firmino being replaced by Elliot and Nunez. It didn’t take long for Nunez to make an impact equalising in the 64th minute to level the score at 1-1. However the score didn’t remain for long as Mitrovic was brought down in the box by Virgil Van Dijk, and it was the Serbian striker that slotted away the penalty to put Fulham 2-1 up. However after scoring in every first game of the season it was inevitable to see Mohammed Salah on the score sheet and in the 80th minute exactly that happened. A wonderful ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold (who’s poor defending let to the first goal) found Darwin Nunez in the box who brought it down to Salah who tucked it away nicely to make sure Liverpool got a share of the points. 

Liverpool will hope to bounce back as they host Crystal Palace next Monday and Fulham will try and remain their good form away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

NEWCASTLE VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST – Written by Jackson K

It has been a long 23-year wait for Nottingham Forest’s return to the Premier League. Coming up against a revitalized Newcastle team, following their acquisition by PIF they have been going from strength to strength and will provide a tough test for the traveling Forest team.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Lining up in Eddie Howe’s favorable 433, We saw a heavily rotated Eleven from last week’s 2-1 win against Athletic Club De Bilbao, with six changes from that starting lineup

GK: Nick Pope

LB: Matt Targett

LCB: Dan Burn

RCB: Fabian Schar

RB: Kieran Trippier

LCM: Joelinton

CM: Bruno Guimaraes (90+3)

RCM: Joe Willock (80′)

LM: Allan Saint-Maximin (90)

RM: Miguel Almiron (81′)

ST: Callum Wilson (90)

SUBS: Martin Dubravka, Paul Dummet, Sven Botman (90+3), Matt Ritchie, Chris Wood (90′), Ryan Fraser (81′), Jacob Murphy (90′), Elliot Anderson, Sean Longstaff (80′)

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: For the first time in 23 years Nottingham Forest lines up in the premier league, with only one change to the lineup which saw them earn a 1-1 draw against Valencia 7 days ago and

GK: Dean Henderson

LWB: Harry Toffolo

LCB: Scott Mckenna

CB: Moussa Niakhate (83′)

RCB: Joe Worrall

RWB: Neco Williams

LCM: Jesse Lingard

CM: Jack Colback

RCM: Lewis O’Brien (75′)

LST: Sam Surridge (63′)

RST: Brennan Johnson

SUBS: Wayne Hennessy, Giulian Biancone, Orel Mangala (75′), Loic Mbe Soh, Taiwo Awoniyi (63′), Alex Mighten (83′), Cafu, Lyle Taylor, Oliver Hammond

FULL TIME: Newcastle 2-0 Nottingham Forest

A lifeless performance from Nottingham Forest saw Newcastle cruise to a 2-0 win Against the newly promoted side. The game was barely 90 seconds in when Newcastle created their first of 11 Corners starting what would be a repeated showing throughout the 90, that of a low-lying Forest, often with 5 players inside the box defending for their life. And for a while, that worked. As much as they were dominated Nottingham went in at halftime at 0-0, with Dean Henderson and Joe Worrall making many last-ditch saves to keep their team in the game, but this was to no avail, with Fabian Schar scoring a wonderful strike in the 57th minute, lasering into the top right corner of the post, leaving Henderson with no chance. Following the Brilliant strike by Schar Forest continued to give away easy possession, with Neco Williams handing the ball to Saint-Maximin, who plays between Guimaraes, Joelinton, and himself before Joelinton sets up Wilson for the second in the 77th minute, where we had our final score of 2-0.

Looking at Newcastle there is a clear difference in level now in comparison to this time last year. It took 15 game weeks for Newcastle to register all three points, and the clear rise in the level of the players, both physically and mentally following their acquisition by PIF has increased. In particular, both Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes looked a class above the other players, reading the game before it had been played, with Bruno Guimaraes being the MOTM. Overall if you are a Newcastle fan there were some very positive signs, however, if Wilson is to get injured the lack of direct goal threat from both Saint-Maximin and Almiron would be a major worry for the Magpies.

Nottingham Forest on the other hand looked dreadful. The lack of ability to progress the ball from defense to attack was a glaringly obvious problem, however, Orel Mangala didn’t feature heavily, and could hopefully help them with this problem, however that was only the start. That set piece was woeful, the 71st-minute corner tactic has got to be one of the worst set piece tactics I may have ever seen and truly baffled me as to what they were thinking. And this was a common theme throughout the night. It was very clear that this was a team full of fresh new faces, as they lacked any sort of communication and interplay ability, as every player looked like they were lost by themselves, not playing a sport like football. If they want to survive this Premier League campaign they need to figure it out, and quickly or they’ll be dead in the water before they’ve even swam.

BOUNEMOUTH VS ASTON VILLA – Written by Marcus Woodhouse

Saturday afternoon saw several entertaining games including the returning Bournemouth facing off against a formidable Aston Villa side, and it was the Vitality Stadium that hosted the pick of the bunch.

BOURNEMOUTH: The Cherries opted for five at the back, giving goalkeeper Mark Travers his 50th appearance for the club, while handing out Premier League debuts to four players: Ben Pearson, Marcus Tavernier, Kieffer Moore, and Jordan Zemura.

GK: Mark Travers

RWB: Adam Smith

RCB: Jefferson Lerma

CB: Chris Mepham

LCB: Lloyd Kelly

LWB: Jordan Zemura

RCM: Ben Pearson (72’)

CM: Philip Billing

LCM: Marcus Tavernier (86’)

RS: Kieffer Moore

LS: Dominic Solanke (90+5’)

Subs: Lewis Cook (72’ Pearson), Ryan Christie (86’ Tavernier), Emiliano Marcondes, Jack Stacey, Junior Stanislas (90+5’ Solanke), Siriki Dembélé, James Hill, Jaidon Anthony, Will Dennis.

ASTON VILLA: Steven Gerrard told his team to play a 4-3-3 formation, handing out debuts to summer signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos, the latter replacing ex-captain Tyrone Mings.

GK: Emiliano Martínez

RB: Matty Cash

RCB: Ezri Konsa

LCB: Diego Carlos

LB: Lucas Digne

RCM: John McGinn

CM: Boubacar Kamara (82’)

LCM: Jacob Ramsey (45’)

RM: Leon Bailey

ST: Danny Ings (66’)

LM: Philippe Coutinho (82’)

Subs: Tyrone Mings, Douglas Luiz (82’ Kamara), Emiliano Buendía (45’ Ramsey), Ollie Watkins (66’ Ings), Calum Chambers, Ludwig Augustinsson, Ashley Young, Robin Olsen, Cameron Archer (82’ Coutinho).

FULL-TIME: BOURNEMOUTH 2-0 ASTON VILLA

The game kicked off at 3pm and inside the first 3 minutes, Bournemouth had their first Premier League goal since July 2020, as Jefferson Lerma slammed the ball home following a Marcus Tavernier corner and a weak clearance from the claret and blue defence. Danny Ings looked to level the scores soon after but his shot was expertly grasped by Mark Travers between the sticks. Solanke fired a similar chance at Martinez, before Leon Bailey sniffed an opening from Jacob Ramsey’s parried attempt, only to be ruled offside and that was that for the first half.

Half-time saw Gerrard, in an attempt to induce some creativity into his slightly lacklustre side, brought on Emi Buendía for Ramsey, who nearly made an instant impact as he teed up Boubacar Kamara’s impressive long-range effort that just dipped past the post. The physicality of the game then ramped up, with Villa’s attempts to play tiki-taka constantly halted by the unrelenting work of Bournemouth’s midfield, most notably Ben Pearson. Finally, with ten minutes of normal time left to play, Kieffer Moore emphatically secured the three points, once again following a Marcus Tavernier set piece that was whipped back in by Lloyd Kelly and powerfully fired into the far corner of the net by the head of Moore.

All in all, it just didn’t seem to click for Aston Villa in this game. The individual quality of players like Buendía, Ings and McGinn was evident but collectively the team failed to produce any clear-cut chances, despite dominating the possession. Bournemouth on the other hand surprised many who had tipped them to go straight back down this season, their new signing Marcus Tavernier gelling perfectly with the rest of the squad, whose quality was plain to see, with electric runs and pinpoint set pieces on show. Moore, Pearson and Zamura all proved that they are Premier League level as well, impressing on their first match in the elite league. Scott Parker can be very pleased with the performance put on by his team today.

LEEDS UNITED VS WOLVES – Written by Jack Cornwall

This afternoon saw the return of Premier League football to North Yorkshire, as Bruno Lage’s men took on Jesse Marsch’s Leeds.

LEEDS: Leeds started the match with the same line-up and formation that saw them win 6-2 vs Cagliari in pre-season. Jesse Marsch handed competitive debuts to new boys Brendan Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Marc Roca and Rasmus Kristensen.

GK: Ivan Meslier

RB: Rasmus Kristensen

LCB: Diego Llorente

RCB: Robin Koch

LB: Pascal Struijk

LCM: Tyler Adams

RCM: Marc Roca (73′)

RM: Brenden Aaronson (85′)

CAM: Rodrigo (65′)

LM: Jack Harrison

ST: Patrick Bamford (84′)

Subs: Kristoffer Klaesson, Cody Drameh, Leo Hjelde, Joe Gelhardt (84’ Bamford), Archie Gray, Sam Greenwood (73’ Roca), Darko Gyabi, Mateusz Klich (65’ Rodrigo), Crysencio Summerville (85’ Aaronson).

WOLVES: The Wanderers started the season with a change in formation, switching to a 4-2-3-1 after usually playing with a back 5 last season. Bruno Lage gave a debit to former Burnley man, Nathan Collins.

GK: Jose Sa

RB: Jonny

LCB: Max Kilman

RCB: Nathan Collins

LB: Rayan Ait Nouri

LCM: Ruben Neves

RCM: Leander Dendoncker

RM: Daniel Podence

CAM: Morgan Gibbs-White

LM: Pedro Neto

ST: Hwang Hee-Chan

Subs: Matija Sarkic, Conor Coady, Yerson Mosquera, Hugo Bueno, Willy Boly, Connor Ronan, Joe Hodge, Luke Cundle, Chem Campbell (85’ Hwang Hee-Chan).

It was the visitors who started the better of the two teams and took the lead after six minutes after a Hwang Hee-Chan header at the back post was slotted away by an unmarked Daniel Podence with an easy finish. Leeds then started to get back into a the game and were matching Wolves with their energy and intensity. A couple of half chances from both sides eventually led to the equaliser from Rodrigo. The Spaniard hit a shot from a tight angle and the ball found its way beyond the arms of Jose Sa. The Portuguese international then a scary just before half-time as he casually let a back pass roll back to him, which Bamford capitalised on but his teammate Jack Harrison was unable to find the net.

Into the second half, and Wolves started it in the same way they started the first, advancing into Leeds’ half and moving the ball well. Leeds’ goal scorer Rodrigo was subbed off for Klich after 65 minutes with Marsch feeling that his side was being overrun in midfield. Then the home side gained back control of the match and were pushing for a winner , with Man of the Match Brenden Aaronson reacting first to a cross from Patrick Bamford to guide the winning goal home, 20 minutes from time. Leeds managed to hold out for the win to start the season with 3 points.

SPURS VS SOUTHAMPTON – Written by Josh Dolan

Spurs: Antonio Conte starts off the new season how he ended the last, optinf for his ever reliable 3-4-3 formation, and with no new signings starting the game

GK: Hugo Lloris

RCB: Cristian Romero

CB: Eric Dier

LCB: Ben Davies (86′)

RM: Emerson Royal (87′)

RCM: Rodrigo Bentancur (86′)

LCM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

LM: Ryan Sessegnon (66′)

RW: Dejan Kulusevski (86′)

ST: Harry Kane

LW: Heung-Min Son

Substitutes: Davinson Sanchez, Lucas Moura (86′), Yves Bissouma (86′), Matt Doherty (87′), Ivan Perisic (66′), Bryan Gil, Clement Lenglet (86′), Djed Spence, Fraser Forster

Southampton: The Saints lined up with a 5-3-2 formation, looking to prevent Spurs from scoring, but ultimately that plan failed with a 4-1 defeat in North London.

GK: Gavin Bazuna

RWB: Kyle Walker-Peters (90+2′)

RCB: Yan Valery (45′)

CB: Jan Bednarek

LCB: Mohammed Salisu

LWB: Moussa Djenepo (72′)

RCM: James Ward-Prowse

CM: Romeu Lavia

LCM: Oriol Romeu (75′)

RST: Joe Ayodele-Aribo

LST: Adam Armstrong (45′)

Substitutes:

Alex McCarthy, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Ibrahima Diallo (75′), Jack Stephens (45′), Che Adams, Romain Perraud (75′), Stuart Armstrong (45′), Nathan Redmond (90+2′), Armel Bella Kotchap

Tottenham started the season brilliantly as they put four past the Saints. Despite Conceding an early goal from a great strike by James Ward Prowse Conte’s side managed to secure the win. Two first half goals put Spurs in front at the half. Eric Diers’ header was his first goal in over three years and Ryan Sessegnon’s first Premier League goal were surprised goal-scorers. Spurs nearly started the second half of superbly as Sessegnon found the back of the net but the goal was ruled out for offside. But this didn’t matter as a great round by Emerson Royal saw Salisu put the ball into his own net. The win was secured as superstar Kulusevski finished of a delightful move to score his first home goal for Spurs. 

Spurs fans saw a glimpse of what this season will be like for them despite none of their new signings starting the game. Players who weren’t very good last season are looking extremely sharp as Conte’s magic work continues to improve as Spurs expect a few more faces to come in as they look to end the summer window on a high. Kulusevski was the stand out performer today as he is carrying on his superb form from the back end of last season. Emerson Royal and Sessegnon look bright as they showed positive signs at fullback for Spurs. Tottenham will face Chelsea next Sunday at Stamford Bridge which will be a great test for Conte’s Lily Whites. 

EVERTON VS CHELSEA – Written by Luke Fenn

Everton: Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski start for their league debuts after a switch from recently relegated Burnley. The Toffees line up in a 5-4-1.
GK: Jordan Pickford
LWB: Vitalii Mykolenko
CB: Ben Godfrey (18′)
CB: James Tarkowski
CB: Yerry Mina (70′)
RWB: Nathan Patterson
LM: Dwight McNeil (61′)
CM: Alex Iwobi
CM: Abdoulaye Doucoure
RM: Demarai Gray
ST: Anthony Gordon
Subs: Holgate (18′), Keane, Allan, Begovic , Alli (61′), Gbamin, Vinagre (70′), Warrington, Mills
Chelsea: The Blues gave 2 players their league debuts with Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly making their first starts in Chelsea shirts. They lined up in a 3-4-3 formation.
GK: Edouard Mendy
CB: Cesar Azpilecueta
CB: Thiago Silva
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly (75′ Cucurella)
LM: Ben Chilwell (65′ Loftus-Cheek)
CM: Jorginho (90+9′ Gallagher)
CM: N’golo Kante
RM: Reece James
LW: Raheem Sterling
RW: Mason Mount (65′ Pulisic)
ST: Kai Havertz (75′)
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Kovacic, Pulisic (65′), Loftus-Cheek (65′), Chalobah, Broja (75′), Ziyech, Gallagher (90+9′), Cucurella (75′)
Ben Godfrey was rather nasty-lookingly carried away on a stretcher after making a strong challenge on Kai Havertz.  Abdoulaye Doucoure shoved down Ben Chilwell to give Chelsea a penalty late in the first half. The reliable Jorginho stepped up and slotted it in past Jordan Pickford. Edouard Mendy got himself in a tangle following a corner but made up for it by halting Doucoure with a good stop. Thiago Silva played a loose pass that was pounced on by Demarai Gray who ran at Koulibaly before cutting it back however the goal scorer Jorginho intercepted the pass which inevitably won Chelsea the game.
So Chelsea got off to a good start beating last years strugglers Everton who look more solid than last season. Another penalty from Jorginho being the only goal of the game for the win to Chelsea and a good set up for what might be a successful season for the Blues

Written by Jackson K

Kone is a 21-year-old right-footed central midfielder who can play in a pivot as a 6 or as an 8, where he can use all his attributes to their fullest potential. This Piece will be looking at Kone’s current ability and which top teams would massively benefit from signing the young Frenchman. As such understanding the role Kone plays and can play for each team is important. His ability and usage in a double pivot are separate from that of an 8, however, this work will identify the strengths he has and how to utilize him in both roles.

Kone is a strong driving midfielder who loves to play in tight spaces forcing opponents into pressing him. This fast-paced style of play lends itself to Kone’s ability to pass through a press with ease. In the past year, Kone has averaged 11.21 passes under pressure per 90, putting him in the 93rd percentile of midfielders to do so. Kone also has a high 92%* short passing accuracy and 88% overall passing accuracy, exemplifying his electric style of high-risk play.

When playing as an 8 Kone is able to use his dribbling to the fullest potential ranking in the 98th percentile of midfielders for successful dribbles per 90 with 1.94 from an attempted 2.84 p90 on average. This role also sees him look to carry the ball further up the pitch, averaging 128.42 meters of progressive ball carrying per 90 and 0.37 carries into the box, which puts him in the 84th percentile of midfielders to do so. This extra attacking dynamic in midfield would help teams deploy the increasingly popular 235 on the attack, which recently saw Arsenal punish Sevilla 6-0, and is used consistently by Pep Guardiola.

If using Kone in a double Pivot his defensive numbers are also at the top level. Averaging 2.76 interceptions p90, along with 7.87 successful pressures p90 Kone’s aggressive style of defending can leave him open to being passed, and leads to Kone’s largest defensive flaw, that being his consistent fouling. On Average Kone commits 1.94 fouls per 90. This is something that a club has to be willing to risk and why there would be some hesitancy to sign him, due to his rash nature and willingness to put in a professional foul, even if his last red card came back in the 19-20 season.

Although Monchengladbach finished tenth last season and lost their best defender to fellow Bundesliga club Freiburg on a free, Kone will continue there for this season. He is currently on the side lines following a minor knee injury and it seems unlikely that any club would be willing to purchase him currently, however, if he was to leave I feel that Most of the Premier league’s top clubs would benefit from his signing immensely. However, there are three premier league clubs that should go all in for Kone. These being West Ham and Chelsea, with the obvious Newcastle, shout as well. All three of these teams would benefit from the signing of Kone, with West Ham being included in the eventuality that they sell Declan Rice. Kone would play as the 6 for both Chelsea and West Ham, Either as a lone 6 for Chelsea or in a double pivot likely next to Soucek for West Ham and Newcastle using him as a more traditional box-to-box mid.

Chelsea’s lack of success in the current transfer window has left them in an awkward spot, needing reinforcements in almost every part of their team if they wish to continue competing with Liverpool and City. Chelsea currently has 1 competent 6, that being N’golo Kante, who has left the traditional 6 roles he was once playing, and now plays in a similar position to that which Kone currently plays at Monchengladbach. His signing would provide flexibility to Tuchel to play in a 3 or 4 at the back, providing midfield depth to play in a 4231, or next to a strong box-to-box, such as Kovacic or Gallagher in a 343.

For West Ham Kone’s ability to drive into the box would be more pronounced, as he would create their diamond shape in the midfield as the right-sided defensive midfielder. In West Ham’s current system Rice is given the freedom to become an offensive outlet, which would allow Kone’s top-level dribbling to keep pressure on opposing teams, while also upgrading onto the current backup options West Ham have.

For Newcastle Kone would play in their midfield three next to Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton as a box-to-box, with Guimaraes likely taking a more defensive role in the three. As the left-sided mid, Kone would be given the ability to push forward in a continuously growing Newcastle team, as they create the platform for them to push into Europe in the next two seasons, building a strong spine consisting of young upcoming players can be a key to their success, with Kone being the next step over Sean Longstaff or Jonjo Shelvey.

Although unlikely to get a move in this window, Kone looks to be one of the gems that haven’t been snatched by a club at the top, and as such is a rare piece of the economy in this window. If Monchengladbach is able to utilize him to his fullest potential this season his value will skyrocket and still only at 21 he can become an absolute top player, although unlikely to reach the same level as Jude Bellingham or Tchouameni, Kone is definitely one to watch this upcoming Bundesliga season and could be France’s next star midfielder.

Written by Ghazali Mohamed

Football has be an ever evolving sport for a long time. Be it technology wise or small tweaks here and there in the rules, the beautiful game has been adapting to the modern times. From introducing the offside rule to changing back passing rules to introduction of VAR, football has been changing in ways that impacted the sport immensely. Most of the rule changes or new rules were done with the intension of making the sport a fairer game with less chances for refereeing blunders. While a lot of the new rules introduced have fans and football governing bodies at a clash of thoughts, with fans arguing that too many changes is going to ruin the sport. “Don’t try to fix something that is not broken” being used again and again. But now there has been another change which personally speaking, I am surprised there hasn’t been much reactions to it. Cause so far there was at least the small satisfaction knowing that all these new rules were in good intentions and now we have a rule which is exact opposite of one main tenet of all these changes – fairness, and I see nothing against it.

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Written by Kieran Miller

Tonight was the opening game of the new Premier League season, and it did not disappoint. Patrick Viera’s men would face Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at a sold-out Selhurst Park.

ARSENAL: The Gunners would use the same line-up that was used in their 6-0 win against Sevilla who they faced last week. Arteta used a 4-2-3-1 which undoubtedly helped utilise the midfielders Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.

GK: Aaron Ramsdale

LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (83′)

LCB: Gabriel

RCB: William Saliba

RB: Ben White

RDM: Thomas Partey

LDM: Granit Xhaka

LM: Gabriel Martinelli

AM: Martin Odegaard (90+3′)

RM: Bukayo Saka

ST: Gabriel Jesus (83′)

Subs: Matt Turner, Cedric Soares, Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney (83′ Zinchenko), Reiss Nelson, Sambi Lokonga (90+3 Martin Odegaard), Mohamed Elneny, Nicolas Pepe, Eddie Nketiah (83′ Gabriel Jesus).

CRYSTAL PALACE: The Eagles made 1 change from their 4-2 win against Montpellier. Only one of Palace’s recent signings played that being midfielder, Cheick Doucoure who arrived from RC Lens. Unlike Arsenal, Patrick Viera set up in a 4-3-3.

GK: Vicente Guaita

LB: Tyrick Mitchell

LCB: Marc Guehi

RCB: Joachim Andersen

RB: Nathaniel Clyne

RCM: Eberechi Eze (86′)

CM: Cheick Doucoure (75′)

LCM: Jeffrey Schlupp (86′)

LW: Wilfried Zaha

ST: Odsonne Edouard (58′)

RW: Jordan Ayew

Subs: Sam Johnstone, Chris Richards, Joel Ward, Luka Milivojevic (75′ Doucoure), Malcolm Ebiowei (86′ Eze), Jairo Riedewald, Will Hughes (86′ Schlupp), Jean-Philippe Mateta (58′ Edouard), Luka Plange.

Throughout the opening 25 minutes, Arsenal were clearly the better side, with Gabriel Martinelli squandering a golden opportunity. Fortunately, he made up for his extraordinary mistake by scoring from a set piece that came straight from the training ground. Several of Crystal Palace’s excellent chances were prevented magnificently by Aaron Ramsdale and William Saliba. Both of Arsenal’s recent signings Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus started and for many long time Arsenal fans, it was a calming breath of fresh air. Jesus made runs that former striker Lacazette wouldn’t have been able to do because of his pace. During Arsenal’s pressing system, he won the ball high upfield, but Martin Odegaard failed to efficiently convert the unique opportunity. Ben White started on the right side over the injured Takehiro Tomiyasu and it wasn’t the best performance from the Englishman. He made many errors and was lucky to see one of his errors didn’t lead to a Crystal Palace goal. Zinchenko’s arrival has introduced many questions as to where he would play, and today gave insight into where he would play. The Ukraine international played left-back but did typically rotate with Granit Xhaka many times during direct attacks and when Zinchenko would go upfield. The 25-year-old was overwhelmingly dominated in the air which was reasonably expected as he is only 5’7.

Crystal Palace started on the back foot and they managed to keep their defence strong throughout the game. Many fans were interested into how the season would go as they recognized their most reliable player last season, Conor Gallagher returning to Chelsea. Gallagher would generate chances out of nothing, and they had to rely on Eze making those chances tonight so he was relaxed in a roaming position. They struggled to convert great chances, and they had the same number of chances as Arsenal did. The project at Palace is great, and the way they are advancing is steering them to a prosperous future under Patrick Viera

Written by Luke Fenn

Norwich have had an interesting transfer window so far with in and outs all happening at the Norfolk club to prepare for life back in the Championship. Work had to be done this window after another disappointing Premier League season ended in relegation for the Canaries. Many have joked around saying Norwich will just go up again like they always do but this time it won’t be as easy as it seems. The signings made last season didn’t end successfully but a few still remain around Colney with Joshua Sargent, Milot Rashica and Angus Gunn the only ones remaining for a second term. Rashica was one of few and far between decent players last season some would say but he unfortunately didn’t adapt quickly enough to the Premier League and will certainly be eager for another chance in the future. The same cannot be said for Josh Sargent who didn’t score a league goal until January when he netted 2 against Watford with one being a back heel flick off the crossbar. They were his only goals in the premier league last season. Local lad Angus Gunn followed in his dads footsteps when he turned out in a Norwich shirt in the Premier league. It was his second stint at Norwich after a successful loan spell a few seasons back. He had a solid season as a back up to number 1 Tim Krul but played well when selected.

Moving on to the action this season, a lot of players departing is not surprising to me as it had to be done to clear out some of Daniel Farke’s signings to make room for Dean Smiths. Loan departures featured Club record signing Christos Tzolis who joined Dutch side Twente to gain some experience and will return to Norwich next season, pacey Polish winger Przemyslaw Placheta joined fellow Championship side Birmingham City and finally young full back Bali Mumba joined Plymouth for the season. 8 permanent departures have happened at Carrow Road. Lukas Rupp and Aston Oxborough were released following expiration of their contracts and are still without clubs. Belgium youngster Rocky Bushiri joined Hibernian after a successful loan spell last season and another youngster, Daniel Adshead, joined League One club Cheltenham Town. Another youngster in Akin Famewo joined League One side Sheffield Wednesday for 55 Thousand Pounds as he’s struggled to break into the first team at Norwich City and will be looking for first team football in league One.

The transfer of Josip Drmic went under the radar as he joined Dinamo Zagreb on a free transfer after spending the last 2 years out on loan in Europe. A sad departure also happened as no nonsense German Centre Back Christoph Zimmerman joined SV Darmstadt. Zimmerman played a huge role in the Canaries 18/19 Championship winning campaign and will be missed at Carrow Road. The most notable departure was Pierre Lees-Melou who went back to his homeland of France joining Stade Brestois for a reported 2-3 million pounds. He failed to set off any fireworks in the top flight last season scoring just one goal. He left as he wanted to play top tier football in Europe.

Norwich have also brought some good signings in as well. The first one was the loan signing of Isaac Hayden. The defensive midfielder joined from Newcastle United but will miss the first few games of the season due to injury and hasn’t played since December. He wants to prove himself at Norwich and could be a key players for them this season. Gabriel Sara also joined the club from Brazilian side São Paulo for a hefty price tag of reportedly up to 10-12 million Pounds. The creative midfielder will be the first Brazilian to play for Norwich and fans are expecting big things from him. I think he will live up to expectations and will play a big role in seasons to come for Norwich. The third signing so far was of Chilean midfielder Marcelino Nunez. The 22 year old joined from Chilean side Universidad Catolica. He is the third midfielder to be signed this window so far. Nunez has collected experience from the Copa Libatadores and playing for the Chile national side. I think he’ll play a good role at Norwich and will link up nicely with fellow South American Gabriel Sara who was mentioned earlier. He will also become the first Chilean player to play for the club adding yet more history to the books. Norwich had a strong preseason notably beating Marseille 3-0 in a rampant display. They however lost the first Championship game of the season 1-0 to Cardiff City which was a huge shock for the Canaries and shows that this league isn’t a walk through and they’ll have to improve against newly promoted Wigan at the weekend. I’m excited to see the new signings and I hope Norwich will have a positive season to come.

EFL Championship game week 1 action has come to a close and it brought shocks and thrills in a good welcome back to the EFL.
It all kicked off on Friday night in a Yorkshire night as last years Play Off finalists Huddersfield hosted recently relegated Burnley. Burnley matched expectations and defeated Huddersfield in a one sided encounter 1-0 with debutant Left Back ,Ian Maatsen, with the only goal of the game. Burnley took 70% possession and dictated play with Josh Cullen at the heart of it. Huddersfield didn’t register a shot on target and the win was expected for Burnley. Blackburn and Blackpool were both 1-0 winners at home with Blackburn defeating QPR with Midfielder Lewis Travis getting the only goal of the game. Blackpool were winners over last seasons strugglers Reading. Right Back ,Callum Connolly, early goal getting the win for Blackpool.
The Saturday games also produced 4 draws. Rotherham/Swansea and Middlesbrough/West Brom both drew 1-1 with Luton/Birmingham and Wigan/Preston drawing 0-0. There was a further 3 big wins as Millwall defeated Stoke City 2-0 thanks to a brace from loanee Centre back Charlie Cresswell. There was exciting action in Yorkshire as Hull defeated Bristol City 2-1. Bristol City went 1-0 up thanks to last seasons talisman Andreas Weimann. Hull dragged the game back to 1-1 due to an Ozan Tufan penalty on the 70th minute mark before a 94th minute winner from debutant Jean Michael Seri. The biggest shock of the weekend was recently relegated Norwich City being defeated 1-0 due to a long range effort from Midfielder Romaine Sawyers. The game also saw 2 red cards as Perry Ng and Grant Hanley saw second yellow cards. There was also a bust up in the centre circle with both teams receiving punishment from the FA due to misconduct.
Sunday action also brought late drama as recently promoted Sunderland took on Coventry in a tight encounter. Jack Clarke opened the scoring for Sunderland on the 12th minute and it stayed like that until a 86th minute equaliser from Viktor Gyokeres to end the match in a draw. Mondays match featured the final recently relegated side as Watford took on last seasons play off semi-finalists Sheffield United. It started rough with 5 yellow cards before half time until Brazilian Joao Pedro scored the only goal of the game to seal it for Watford. That wrapped up the opening action of the season with some interesting results flying in but nothing major at this stage as it is still early on in the season. Let’s see what match week 2 can bring…

Written by Jameson Gray

Bernd Leno has completed a permanent move to newly promoted Fulham. 

The 30-year-old goalkeeper made 125 appearances for the gunners in all competitions since joining from Bayer Leverkusen for £22.5M in 2018 and was a regular starter for them during the 19/20 season, and especially 20/21 where he became a real fan favourite at the emirates. During that campaign, the German racked up 16 clean sheets, and registered his 100th Arsenal appearance with a 3-2 victory over Benfica in the Europa league. And, his excellent form in red and white caught the eye of Germany National Team manager Hansi Flick, as Leno became a regular starter for his country, and was named in Germany’s squad for Euro 2020. 

Bernd Leno made some very memorable saves in an Arsenal Shirt, versus Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Burnley and Leicester City being the most popular ones. Unfortunately for the German, Regular first team football became very infrequent when Aaron Ramsdale joined the gunners in the summer of 2021. Leno made only 9 appearances as The Englishman took his place in between the sticks, and thanks to some impressive performances, Mikel Arteta had no plans on replacing him. And earlier on in the window, the American international Matt Turner arrived at Arsenal, who looks to be replacing Bernd Leno as Arsenal’s second-choice goalkeeper. Leno will be missed by many Arsenal Fans, and exits the emirates with an FA Cup and a Community Shield to his name. Leno is one of many players departing Arsenal in this window, he follows the likes of Dan Ballard, Zak Swanson, Alex Lacazette, Matteo Guendouzi, Dinos Mavrapanos and Omari Hutchinson, whilst Nuno Tavares and Auston Trusty have left on loan.

Leno joins the cottagers for a fee of around £3M with a further £5M in potential add-ons. The 30-year-old becomes Fulham’s 4th signing of the window, after the signings of Kevin Mbabu Joao Palhinha and Andreas Perreira, as head coach Marco Silva looks to keep Fulham in the top flight and avoid immediate relegation back down to the Championship. Leno is fit and should be available for the weekend, where the West London Club kick off their season against Liverpool on their return to the Premier League.