CHELSEA vs MAN CITY (Feat. Sanny Rudravajhala)
CHELSEA vs MAN CITY (Feat. Sanny Rudravajhala)
Well, so will Manchester United and Fulham.
It’s honestly insane that the club season is already back, but a full-fledged Premier League match will be staged later today. EURO 2024 and Copa América and the Olympics denied us football fans a moment’s rest this summer, and now all the big European domestic leagues have crashed back into our lives without much warning. Still, it’s a new season brimming with possibilities, and CHELSEA vs MAN CITY on Sunday is a fine marquee fixture for this kickoff weekend.
Joining us to preview the match is SANNY RUDRAVAJHALA, reporter for Sky Sports News and beyond. We delved into Chelsea’s transfer chaos, City’s 115 charges, and a bit of what we can all expect to see on the pitch as well:
You can also check out the show on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon, and Acast.
———————————
FRIDAY
MAN UNITED vs FULHAM
3pm ET, 8pm UK
The ten Hagaissance continues apace, as United manager Erik’s new lease on life is tested for the second time since his FA Cup victory in May. He’s got a raft of new signings at his disposal—Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui joined from Bayern Munich this week—but they lost out to Manchester City for the Community Shield last weekend and the situation is straightforward: ten Hag must do it in the league this season. For Fulham, it’s a competitive debut for big summer signing Emile Smith Rowe, who arrives from Arsenal with massive potential but far too few appearances over the last couple of seasons.
SATURDAY
IPSWICH TOWN vs LIVERPOOL
7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK
Welcome to the Tractor Boys, back in the first division for the first time since 2002. It’s been a bumpy ride since, but they’re back in the big time now, and what better way to mark the occasion than to play host to one of Europe’s very biggest clubs. Arne Slot has slotted in (sigh) in the Liverpool big chair following the departure of the legend, Jürgen Klopp, though the club has made no major signings this summer to bolster his squad. Do they have enough to challenge at the top of the Premier League?
EVERTON vs BRIGHTON
10am ET, 3pm UK
It’s the last season at Goodison Park, and Everton will want to make it a less stressful one than the two that came before. A comfortable mid-table finish would do nicely for manager Sean Dyche, particularly as he’s lost midfield dynamo Amadou Onana to Aston Villa for a cool £50 million. The Toffees need the cash, after all, something that cannot be said of Brighton. The Premier League’s premier sellers have sent Deniz Undav and Pascal Groß to Germany this summer—the latter is a major loss in my view—but in have come midfielders Mats Wieffer and Brajan Gruda, plus wingers Yankuba Minteh and Ibrahim Osman. The combined outlay? Nearly £100 million, and those aren’t all the new toys that new manager Fabian Hürzeler—a 31-year-old German born in Houston, Texas—has to play with.
Also in this match window: ARSENAL vs WOLVES, NEWCASTLE vs SOUTHAMPTON.
WEST HAM vs ASTON VILLA
12:30pm ET, 5:30pm UK
It’s a clash of claret and blue to round out the Premier League Saturday, and two teams looking out on bright new horizons. The home team has a shiny new manager with plenty of pedigree in Julen Lopetegui, plus a bunch of new signings headlined by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crysensio Summerville, Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme, and Niclas Füllkrug. (Together, they cost upwards of £120 million.) They host a Villa team boasting new signings in Amadou Onana from Everton, Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, and Samuel Illing-Junior from Juventus. Ross Barkley is back, too, but they’ve lost Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz this summer. They could struggle with the additional demands of the Champions League this season, not unlike Newcastle did in 2023/24.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs STUTTGART
2:30pm ET, 7:30pm UK
It’s the DFL-Supercup final, with last season’s indomitables, Bayer Leverkusen, looking to set the record straight after a rather poor preseason where they drew with Real Betis and Lens and got battered by Arsenal. Xabi Alonso’s side have added Aleix García—a star in Girona’s midfield last season—and have generally kept their (almost) all-conquering squad together. On the other side, the Bundesliga runners-up have lost Serhou Guirassy and Waldemar Anton to Dortmund and Hiroki Ito to Bayern, though a parade of players have come through the door led by the aforementioned Deniz Undav.
SUNDAY
BRENTFORD vs CRYSTAL PALACE
9am ET, 2pm UK
The Premier League opening weekend bacchanalia continues with a London derby. Brentford are celebrating that star striker Ivan Toney will (for now) be around for another season, this one uninterrupted by suspension. He’s joined by two big-money signings, center forward Igor Thiago (who might once have been his replacement) and Fábio Carvalho from Liverpool. On the other hand, Palace will be reeling a bit from the loss of Michael Olisé, but Ismaïla Sarr has arrived to reinforce a team that finished 23/24 in formidable form.
CHELSEA vs MAN CITY
11:30am ET, 4:30pm UK
Check out the full preview in the pod above!
LAZIO vs VENEZIA
2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
Highly stylish Venezia are back in Serie A and will mark the occasion with a trip to the capital. Their Roman hosts have lost twin creators Luis Alberto and Felipe Anderson this summer, hardly the best way to arrest a decline that saw them fall from second to seventh over the last two league seasons, but they will be favorites against a newly promoted side whose spending has been limited. The standout acquisition may be Gaetano Oristanio, a 21-year-old attacking midfielder who arrives from Inter for a healthy €4 million.⚽︎