With a string of pre-season friendlies taking place this weekend, it seemed timely to catch up on all the summer action to this point.
Here’s a match by match breakdown of all the encounters, with details of scorers and lineups.
We’ll be covering all of today’s friendlies in a round-up tomorrow, while all the pre-season results, scout notes and form players are being captured and collated in our dedicated pre-season section.
Gateshead 0 Newcastle United 1
Steve McClaren earned victory in his first outing as Newcastle manager as Papiss Cisse’s first half spot kick proved decisive at Gateshead. Massadio Haidara was the man felled in the box, allowing the Senegalese striker to convert.
The Magpies boss opted to put out a solid first summer lineup, handing debuts to Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles and surrounding them with experienced first teamers. Mike Williamson, Haidara and Daryl Janmaat made up the rest of the Newcastle defence, while McClaren fielded a five-man midfield, anchored by Vurnon Anita and skipper Jack Colback – Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran and Siem de Jong provided the support for Cisse in attack.
De Jong’s performances will be of particular interest to Fantasy managers this summer after a first season of injury frustration on Tyneside. The Dutchman enjoyed a prosperous pre-season last year, only to be stricken from August until the final few matches of the campaign; De Jong is classified as a 6.5 midfield option in this season’s Fantasy Premier League.
RB Leipzig 5 Southampton 4
Southampton tasted defeat in their first pre-season clash but will be encouraged by the goalscoring return of striker Jay Rodriguez. His brace was the highlight in Fantasy terms, although new signings Juanmi and Cedric Soares also caught the eye with a goal apiece. The latter came off the bench on 69 minutes and also earned an assist to underline his attacking potential: Soares will be expected to claim the right-back berth following Nathaniel Clyne’s departure.
Ronald Koeman’s teamsheet was comprised of those players with some pre-season training behind them, with Maarten Stekelenburg earning a first half debut in goal, while Gaston Ramirez also started the first period following his return to the club after a somewhat patchy loan spell at Hull last season.
Darlington 2 Sunderland 4
Another forgotten winger, Emmanuel Giaccherini, was undoubtedly the star on show in Sunderland’s pre-season opener at Darlington. The Italian crafted two well-taken strikes, including a superb 20-yard effort in the second half.
Dick Advocaat named a strong initial lineup, with the likes of Patrick van Aanholt, Billy Jones, Jermain Defoe, Danny Graham, Lee Cattermole and Adam Johnson handed starts; Graham and second half sub Connor Wickham claimed the Black Cats’ other goals.
St Albans 0 Watford 4
Odio Ighalo made an early claim for a starting berth with two goals as the Hornets eased through their summer opener. Skipper Troy Deeney and substitute Connor Smith added further goals as Quique Sanchez Flores earned his first victory at the Watford helm.
The Spaniard immediately elected to go with a strong lineup for pre-season and, interestingly, utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Gabriele Angella and Craig Cathcart were the centre-backs, with Ikechi Anya and Daniel Pudil at full-back; Anya is listed as a midfield option across the games.
Ben Watson and new singing Etienne Capoue anchored the midfeld in the double pivot, with Fernando Forestieri, Almen Abdi and Ighalo supporting lone striker Deeney.
Capoue earned an assist on his Watford debut, while Giedrius Arlauskis and Sebastian Prodl were also given their first run-outs from the bench.
Post-match, Flores was keen to emphasise that his side will need to show tactical flexibility for the season ahead…
“They are ready to play in a defence of four, a defence of three, a midfield of four or five, and for sure the response of the players has been amazing….I want to create a good block that will be able to move in defence, in midfield, in attack, to take control of the situation in all parts of the pitch.”
Red Bull Salzburg 3 West Brom 1
Tony Pulis side suffered defeat at the hands of the Austrian champions in West Brom’s first pre-season foray.
The Baggies boss named a strong initial lineup, with Craig Dawson, Joleon Lescott, Jonas Olsson forming an experienced back four with new signing James McClean fielded at left-back. Boaz Myhill took his place in goal in the absence of the injured Ben Foster, while Craig Gardner, Darren Fletcher, Claudio Yacob and Calum McManaman formed the midfield. Up top, Victor Anichebe led the line, with Stephane Sessegnon played up in support in a “number 10†role. Pulis made ten alterations on 50 minutes, with youngster Abil Nabi emerging from the bench to grab West Brom’s consolation.
West Ham 3 FC Lusitans 0
FC Lusitans 0 West Ham 1
Slaven Bilic’s side coasted through their first Europa League two-legged qualifier against their Andorran opponents, although the Croatian was not officially in charge for either encounter.
The Hammers opted for a 4-4-2 in both matches, turning to a mix of youth and experience to help them progress. James Tomkins skippered the side, while Morgan Amalfitano, Matt Jarvis and Diafra Sakho also started both fixtures.
Sakho notched twice in the first leg but was sent off within 15 minutes of the return match, with fellow forward Elliot Lee scoring the only goal of that tie. Sakho is now expected to miss the next three European encounters, starting with the second qualifying round first leg against Birkirkara FC on July 16.
