Three Matches to Watch Next Week as Football Returns
After an eventful offseason, football is back. The Premier League, La Liga, and Ligue 1 all kick off next weekend. The German teams will have the week off, except for Bayern and Stuttgart, who will face off in the German Supercup. With football back in near-full swing, here are three matches to watch next week.
UEFA Super Cup: Paris Saint-Germain vs Tottenham Hotspur - 8/13
Champions League winners PSG will play Europa League winners Tottenham in the annual UEFA Super Cup. Spurs have left plenty of questions to answer, starting with what Thomas Frank’s version of this team looks like. Who can replace Son Heung-min’s production on the left? How will new signing Mohammed Kudus play? PSG, in their own right, have a lot more questions left to answer than you’d expect from a treble-winning team. What is their situation with the goalkeeper? Will they be fatigued from also playing in the Club World Cup?
I previously thought PSG were unbeatable, thinking Chelsea didn’t stand a chance in the Club World Cup final. I was very wrong. Spurs, oddly enough, present similar challenges as Chelsea did last month. They feature two fullbacks, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, who are strong attacking and defending. Chelsea’s fullbacks, Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto, presented similar challenges that PSG had trouble answering. Also, Spurs have quick center-backs who stand a chance at containing Ousmane Dembélé of PSG. While I don't expect Spurs to win, they can catch PSG by surprise and make the match more intriguing than most people expected.
Aston Villa vs Newcastle - 8/16
Newcastle has constantly been in the headlines this summer and not for the right reasons. Even after qualifying for the Champions League, each of their transfer targets has rejected them. Most importantly, their best player, Alexander Isak, wants to leave, but there aren’t many suitors for him, the perfect storm. Villa, on the other hand, after missing out on the Champions League, have managed to keep their best players and can reasonably make the top four this year. These teams finished fifth and sixth last year in the league, and both managed to keep their rosters intact. This should be a fun matchup.
Arsenal vs Manchester United - 8/17
Both English giants have spent serious money improving their squads. Their goals for this season are very different. Arsenal are trying to win the league after three consecutive runner-up finishes. United are trying to regroup after a pitiful 15th-placed finish last season. The main focus of this match will be the strikers. Arsenal, needing a striker, were between signing Benjamin Šeško and Viktor Gyökeres. They eventually opted for Gyökeres, who made a name for himself playing for Sporting, managed by Ruben Amorim. Šeško eventually signed for United, and Arsenal will get to confront their striker decision immediately in matchday one.
