⚽︎Friday, September 1: Christian Pulisic's Roman Run-In With José Mourinho
⚽︎Friday, September 1: Christian Pulisic's Roman Run-In With José Mourinho
Plus: Harry Kane in a lederhosen and TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY.
Welcome to THE FOOTBALL WEEKEND, your Friday morning rundown of all the best matches across world football over the coming weekend in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and more. Get kickoff times and broadcasters, betting odds and what to watch for—all in your inbox to mark the beginning of the end of the workweek.
To celebrate Transfer Deadline Day, the first batch of headlines below will feature some notable done deals this week. In between, you’ll find the games and (ideally) some goals. There were 21 across the five matches TFW recommended last week, which we’ll chalk up to a much-needed victory after another bloodbath for the Fantasy Premier League squad.
Serie A storms into the list this week with two potential Top Quattro clashes, then there’s a true Super Sunday with three back-to-back match windows worth your time: there’s the Old Firm derby, then the chaotic entertainers Aston Villa and Liverpool duke it out, and we’re rounded out by the small matter of Arsenal vs. Manchester United. Oh, and Inter Miami are popping up in Los Angeles late in the day, though there’s not too much you need to know for that one: 10pm ET on Apple TV+. Lionel Messi will do a casual madness.
Which matches are you looking forward to this weekend? You can make your case in the comments below. And if you know someone who might enjoy THE FOOTBALL WEEKEND, please spread the good word by forwarding along this week’s edition!
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THE RUBIALES AFFAIR
Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales refuses to resign two weeks on from his unsolicited kiss of Jenni Hermoso after she collected her World Cup winner’s medal. Rubiales admitted he “made a mistake,” but just when he seemed poised to step down, he delivered a defiant speech in which he suggested he was a victim of persecution. His mother locked herself in a church and went on a hunger strike—allegedly—to protest the supposed mistreatment of her son. A local priest told the media she was hospitalized to complete the saga.
The man’s position is untenable, particularly when you consider his behavior with respect to embattled coach Jorge Vilda in this new context. This is an organization with serious issues—an amazing thing to say in the wake of a World Cup victory—and they can only be addressed with some new leadership. Rubiales is only embarrassing himself by continuing to march in his own pity parade.
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DEADLINE HEADLINES
Romelu Lukaku will need to find a temporary home in the Eternal City, as Chelsea have agreed to send him on loan to Jose Mourinho’s Roma. A private plane from Luton airport carrying club executives stopped to pick him up in Brussels on its way to the Italian capital. The Belgian striker hasn’t been able to settle anywhere for a few years now, but one sign in the crowd that greeted him at the airport read: “BIG ROM NEW KING OF ROME.”
West Ham have announced the signing of Mohammed Kudus, the multi-purpose attacker who’s been linked with a host of Europe’s top clubs since he turned in some standout performances for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup. The East Londoners sit second having already beaten up Chelsea and Brighton, and manager David Moyes has followed up a European trophy with a productive summer. Are the Hammers for real this season?
Other players who’ve made their way to the Saudi league in recent weeks will be paid more, but Gabri Veiga’s transfer constitutes the biggest splash. The 21-year-old is one of Europe’s hottest prospects, an all-action central midfielder who seemed destined for a move to a Champions League contender. Instead, he joins Al-Ahly, where he’ll earn a reported €30 million across three years. Or, put another way: he can secure his financial future and (perhaps) be back in Europe by age 24.
The world’s most technically skilled fullback is headed to F.C. Barcelona, as Joao Cancelo departs Manchester City on loan. His beef with Pep Guardiola last season has proven unsquashable, so he’ll link up with another Barça midfield legend in Xavi.
French defender Benjamin Pavard is on his way to Inter Milan from Bayern Munich after weeks of links to Manchester United.
Struggling Everton have secured the services of Portuguese striker Beto, who’s enjoyed a meteoric—if unconventional—rise through the game in recent years. He scored in his debut this week in the League Cup, and that’s a very good thing for the Merseysiders. They’re desperate for goals to change their trajectory this season. As it stands, they’re headed for a third consecutive relegation scrap.
Brighton have completed a sensational loan move for Ansu Fati, a product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy who’s struggled to quite justify his possession of the famed #10 shirt once worn by Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.
Chelsea can’t stop, won’t stop, and they’ve signed another 21-year-old with big potential: Cole Palmer is coming down to London from Man City for up to £45 million. Meanwhile, the Citizens have wrapped up a £53m deal with Wolves for midfielder Matheus Nunes.
Manchester United and Liverpool have been linked to Sofyan Ambrabat and Ryan Gravenberch all summer, and it looks like the latter is headed to Merseyside after all. So far nothing has materialized for United, and they really need a midfielder. Meanwhile, Dean Henderson is departing Manchester—a coup for Crystal Palace. He’s a top shotstopper.
There are a few more headlines below, but first: the matches…..
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SERIE A: ROMA—A.C. MILAN
Friday 2:45pm ET on Paramount+ / 7:45pm GMT on TNT Sports 1
It’s not hugely likely, but Romelu Lukaku could make his debut as the Romans host the early league leaders at the Stadio Olimpico. Milan are top thanks to their six goals scored, two of which were supplied by Christian Pulisic. The forward has kicked off what American fans will hope is an Italian renaissance as he takes up a new role on the right side of the red-and-black attack. The Pennsylvania native has been combining well with Olivier Giroud, the timeless #9 who is quietly France’s all-time leading scorer. He’s got three goals in two games himself, but look for midfield dynamo Ruben Loftus-Cheek—another ex-Chelsea man—and wingback extraordinaire Theo Hernández as he bombs forward down the left to overload the opposition. As ever, though, #10 Rafael Leão is the star and the danger man at left forward.
ROMA+170 | DRAW+220 | MILAN+185
The Giallorossi have enjoyed a less stellar start to the season. They sit 13th with one point from two games, and after last season’s disappointment in the Europa League final, one does get the feeling we could see another episode of Radioactive José. Mourinho is in his mythical third year with the club, the time when it historically comes unglued wherever he is. The mercurial Portuguese does not like losing or—especially—taking the blame for it, though he still has the chops to pull out a big result and turn things around.
Keeper Rui Patrício and centerback Chris Smalling are under some pressure after last week’s 2-0 defeat to Hellas Verona, and rumors are swirling that Mourinho has reached out to his old Real Madrid colleague Sergio Ramos for a reunion. Star creative force Paulo Dybala failed to fashion many clear openings last week, too, and he got booked for diving. Roma called in Stephan El Shaarawy and new signing Houssem Aouar off the bench, but it’s clear they could use a Lukakuvention.
PREMIER LEAGUE: LUTON TOWN—WEST HAM
Friday 3:00pm ET on NBC Sports (USA) / 8:00pm GMT on SKY Sports Main Event
Honestly, this one is all about Kenilworth Road. West Ham have made a fine start to the season and will be strong favorites, but everybody will be tuning in to see Luton’s quirky home turf in the Premier League for the first time.
SERIE A: NAPOLI—LAZIO
Saturday 2:45pm ET on Paramount+ / 7:45pm GMT on TNT Sports 1
Napoli have kicked off this season where they left off the last, although the manager who led them to a first title in 33 years, Luciano Spalletti, has departed the scene for a one-year sabbatical. (The Napoli ultras sent him off by returning a steering wheel they’d stolen from his car during a less harmonious period in 2021.) Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia remain, and as ever, they’re the ones to watch.
NAPOLI-154 | DRAW+310 | LAZIO+460
Maurizio Sarri’s outfit finished second last season, some way off Napoli but ahead of the two Milan clubs, so it’s a surprise to see them down in 18th after two games. The table doesn’t tell the whole story, though, as they dominated Lecce last week but were punished for failing to take more than one of their chances when they were on top. Ciro Immobile took that one and with 12 goals last season is the main threat, though Mattia Zaccagni chipped in with 10 from the left. Felipe Anderson and Luis Alberto are the creators. They’ll have to cope without Sergej Milinković-Savić in the engine room, though. He’s off to Saudi.
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THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW: PSG, Dortmund, A.C. Milan & Newcastle find themselves in the Group of Death. The Toon Army will have some serious away days this fall. Man City andArsenal had some good luck, meanwhile, and Manchester United drew Bayern Munich and a tricky trip to Galatasaray. Napoli and Real Madrid share what could be a sneakily competitive Group C, but Group D may have the most parity along with E or even Arsenal’s B. Barcelona will be expected to clean up in Group H, though Porto can play.
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SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP: RANGERS—CELTIC
Sunday 7:00am ET on CBS Sports / 12:00pm GMT on Sky Sports Main Event
Rangers endured some midweek misery in the Champions League, crashing out at the qualifying stage thanks to a 5-1 second-leg beating from PSV. Instead of heading to the group stage, they’ll matriculate into the Europa League at a cost of at least $10 million in TV money. It’s one of many ways that their hated rivals, Celtic, have come out on top recently. The Hoops were Scottish champions last year—taking the most points in both phases one and two of the unusual competition—and will feature on Tuesday and Wednesday nights this fall, once again welcoming the big boys to Celtic Park.
RANGERS+135 | DRAW+260 | CELTIC+175
But before all that, it’s time for The Old Firm derby at Ibrox. Rangers have a decent record at home in this fixture, winning three of the last five including a 3-0 in May, but their one Scottish title of recent times under Steven Gerrard was just a brief interlude to Celtic’s dominance. Gerrard’s onetime assistant, Michael Beale, has now taken the helm with an eye on repeating the trick, while Brendan Rodgers has returned to his old post at Celtic and will be expected to claim a few more SPLs. Their scoring threat last season was Kyogo Furuhashi, with 27 in 36 Premiership games, while Rangers spread the goals around a bit more: five players hit double figures, including the young American Malik Tillman with 10.
PREMIER LEAGUE: LIVERPOOL—ASTON VILLA
Sunday 9:00am ET on Peacock / 2pm GMT on a VPN
Virgil Van Dijk will be suspended following his red card last week, and he could see an extra game added on thanks to an additional FA charge for his conduct in the aftermath. That could destabilize an already iffy Liverpool defense, as Joe Gomez could come in alongside the shaky Trent Alexander-Arnold. The latter needs to up his contributions going forward, where Liverpool are at their best.
POOL-143 | DRAW+360 | VILLA+375
It’s likely to be a high-scoring affair here as Villa have been leaking a goal or two while swashbuckling their way forward through Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey. Up front, Ollie Watkins has had an assist in each of the Villans’ opening three matches, though he’s yet to score himself. Quietly, Unai Emery has stacked up more points this calendar year than any manager outside of Pep Guardiola.
PREMIER LEAGUE: ARSENAL-MANCHESTER UNITED
Sunday 11:30am ET on NBC / 4:30pm GMT on Sky Sports Main Event
There was a time when this was the marquee fixture in English football—the Big One. Keane and Vieira, Van Nistelrooy and Keown, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson. The Battle of the Buffet. Even with Arsenal’s resurgence last season, mounting a legitimate title challenge for around 85% of the term, it’s been a rough decade or so for these two giants, both of whom remain among the most followed clubs in the world in spite of it all.
United’s record at the Emirates Stadium has been poor in recent times. They’ve lost three of their last four in the Premier League and haven’t won at Arsenal since 2017. Conditions are not optimal for them to change that in the run-up to this one, as the Mancs face an injury crisis in defense and questions about the physicality of their midfield. Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have both gone down at left back, while Raphaël Varane’s fitness is questionable. A backline featuring Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez and someone else (could it be electrifying new signing Jonny Evans? surely not Eric Bailly or—gasp—Harry Maguire) will get Arsenal’s high-octane attackers salivating, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s shortcomings on the ball have made him a target for the high press.
AWB is not an accomplished passer or ball-carrier, and he’ll have his hands full with Gabriel Martinelli down that flank. The 22-year-old Brazilian is a pacy and elusive dribbler, but also a great defender in the forward line. If Gabriel Jesus is fit to start, those two and Martin Ødegaard could look to trap the United right back in the corner and turn the ball over. The worries for Arsenal are a bit further back, as Mikel Arteta wrestles with his team’s shape while he attempts to make the young Gunners more unpredictable this season. Gabriel has been dropped and the back line shifted over to accommodate Thomas Partey, who’s shuttled between right back and midfield like Oleksander Zinchenko did from the left last season.
ARSENAL-122 | DRAW+300 | UNITED+340
The question this weekend is whether Arteta reverts to what worked so well for the majority of 2022/23 after a lukewarm start this term that culminated with the unravelling at home to 10-man Fulham last week. Ben White has a great partnership down the right side with Ødegaard and the starboy Bukayo Saka, both of whom featured in the PFA Team of the Year this week. Will the manager return White to right back and move Partey into midfield, perhaps to partner Declan Rice in a setup that prizes solidity against a wounded but still dangerous opponent? Asking Partey to mark Marcus Rashford, who’s clicking into some form now that he’s back on the left, could prove a mistake. So could persisting with Kai Havertz in that box-to-box midfield role that Granit Xhaka played with such aplomb last season.
With United in some disarray despite a couple decent results across the last few weeks, you can expect a side set up to counterattack through vertical play from Rashford and Bruno Fernandes. An Arsenal back line featuring both Gabriel and William Saliba should have more pace and power to deal with that, while Rice and Partey could set up across the middle to latch onto United’s clearances and counter attempts and lock them into their own third of the field. Does Casemiro have his trademark physicality this season to really go to battle with them? And who will be in the trenches with him now that Mason Mount is injured and Fred has left for Fenerbahce? We could see a back three from the visitors—and a deep block out of possession—to pack their more brittle parts into a tighter shell.
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MORE HEADLINES
Jordi Alba has announced his retirement from international football to spend more time with his Barça brothers Messi and Busquets at Inter Miami. A European champion in 2012, he is the last member of those famous Spain teams, among the greatest ever assembled, to hang ‘em up.
In more football federation drama, U.S. Men’s National Team coach Gregg Berhalter told Vanity Fair’s Tom Kludt that he has yet to speak with Gio Reyna since a spectacular public scrap between their two prominent American soccer families following last year’s World Cup. The 20-year-old is the brightest star of his generation, and will surely be key to any success the USA finds between now and World Cup 2026.
Harry Kane in a lederhosen. That is all:
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THE FANTASY NOTEBOOK
After three weeks of pain, The Weekenders are about to experience the kind of squad clearout you rarely see outside of FIFA Manager Mode. Gone are the Man United defenders and the galaxy-brain midfield picks, in come some guys who have actually shown up this season. Julian Alvarez (£6.5), Alexander Isak (£7.7), Mo Salah (£12.5), and Marcus Rashford (£9.0) survive, each for different reasons: Alvarez will continue to get minutes and chances while Kevin De Bruyne is out; Isak has produced already, and after Brighton this weekend it’s some time until Newcastle face another Top Sixish opponent; Salah is Salah and has some straightforward fixtures; and Rashford is finally back out on the left with the possibly imminent return to fitness of Rasmus Hojlund. Oh, and Kieran Trippier (£6.5) sticks around based on that aforementioned Newcastle schedule and his set-piece duties.
But otherwise it’s a total revamp. Trent Alexander-Arnold has not been worth £8.0 in defense, Luke Shaw is out injured, Gabriel is an uncertain selection at Arsenal, and Andre Onana has been too exposed in goal by the Manchester United defense. In come Ederson (£5.6) and Kyle Walker (£5.1), who are in a good run of games for City, along with £4.1 Malo Gusto, a bargain buy who’s featuring for Chelsea to good effect in the (familiar) absence of Reece James. Pervis Estupiñán (£5.3) is on the bench this week but will figure in going forward, and he’s joined by Joachim Andersen (£4.6) who’s an assist threat from centerback. He should also pick up some clean sheets under Roy Hodgson.
In midfield, Top Six utility men Leandro Trossard and Diogo Jota have been binned. Raheem Sterling (£7.1) comes in as he’s coming into some form, while James Madison (£7.7) is settling well as the link man in a Tottenham team that loves to get forward. Finally, Bukayo Saka (£8.7) is still apparently taking (some) penalties and loves to score against Manchester United.
The more things change, though, the more they stay the same up top. I’ve resisted picking Erling Haaland (£14.0) because it feels like using Kirby in Super Smash Bros 64. Also, he hasn’t scored at a clip so far that quite merits his lofty price tag. Considering how things have gone so far for TFW in FPL, I’ll be eating those words by Saturday afternoon. Doubly so when Gabriel returns to the Arsenal lineup and scores from a corner.⚽️