On the penultimate weekend of pre-season friendlies, we’ll see the bulk of the Premier League teams in action.
Crystal Palace kicked things off on Friday with a double-header against Mainz, while Liverpool bookend the kickabouts with two games against Athletic Club on Monday evening.
In between, we should see 16 top-flight clubs contesting warm-up matches.
Arsenal and Chelsea are the odd ones out. The Blues have been on a belated post-season break following involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup, while Arsenal aren’t scheduled to next be in action till next Wednesday.
Here are all the declared friendlies this weekend:
| Match | Date | Kick-off time (BST) |
|---|---|---|
| Fulham v Sheffield United | Saturday 2 August | ? (behind closed doors) |
| Manchester City v Preston North End | Saturday 2 August | ? (behind closed doors) |
| Queens Park Rangers v Brentford | Saturday 2 August | 3pm |
| Stoke City v Burnley | Saturday 2 August | 3pm |
| Leeds United v Villarreal | Saturday 2 August | 3pm |
| Birmingham City v Nottingham Forest | Saturday 2 August | 3pm |
| Sunderland v Real Betis | Saturday 2 August | 3pm |
| Southampton v Brighton and Hove Albion | Saturday 2 August | 3.30pm |
| Nashville v Aston Villa | Saturday 2 August | 10pm |
| Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United | Sunday 3 August | 12pm |
| Girona v Wolverhampton Wanderers | Sunday 3 August | 7pm |
| West Ham United v Bournemouth | Sunday 3 August | 7pm |
| Manchester United v Everton | Sunday 3 August | 10pm |
| Liverpool v Athletic Club | Monday 4 August | 5pm/8pm |
Times come from each club’s official website
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
SATURDAY
This may be our best indication yet at which £4.0m defenders Burnley boss Scott Parker is going to favour come Gameweek 1. Parker split his squad across two friendlies last weekend, so there were no telltale signs there. Today, however, the line-up looks altogether stronger.
On a similar theme, we will witness Sunderland’s Reinildo (£4.0m) in action for the Black Cats for the first time. Recent captures Granit Xhaka (£5.0m) and Robin Roefs (£4.5m) are straight into the Mackems’ starting XI, too.
Speaking of new signings, Dan Ndoye (£6.0m) is included in Nuno Espirito Santo’s team this afternoon. Fellow summer recruits Jair Cunha (£4.5m) and Igor Jesus (£6.0m) get starts, too.
Newly reclassified ‘defender’ Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.0m) gets an ‘out of position’ run-out for Brentford, meanwhile.
SUNDAY
We will finally see Bryan Mbeumo‘s (£8.0m) Manchester United debut on Sunday, barring a last-minute hiccup. Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) only missed the win over Bournemouth with “fatigue”, so there’s a chance we could see the two big-money summer signings in tandem for the first time.
Everton’s Thierno Barry (£6.0m) could get his first start for the Toffees in the same game.
Elsewhere in the Premier League Summer Series, a newly exonerated Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m) will be hoping to build on four attacking returns in three pre-season friendlies.
Someone who won’t be featuring in FPL next season will likely have his Spurs farewell this weekend. After over a century of Premier League goals and 1,730 Fantasy points, Son Heung-min (£8.5m) is to depart for pastures new.
Both Spurs and Newcastle United will be without their main men up top: Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) through injury and Alexander Isak (£10.5m) due to his wantaway status. Isak is set to return to training on Tyneside, however.
