With the new footie season commencing across the globe this month, we look at the biggest fixtures taking place in August in European football and what you should watch.
Premier League – Man United v Liverpool
Manchester United lost both of their English Premier League matches against Liverpool last season, conceding nine goals and scoring none. This will be an interesting fixture considering their new signings including Benni McCarthy in their technical team as an attacking coach.
They played a friendly match against the Reds on the 12th of July which saw the Red Devils crushing Liverpool 4-0. Liverpool have beefed up their squad as well heading into the new season, after the departure of Sadio Marne in the front three. They looked impressive against defending league champions Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Bundesliga – Dortmund v Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen is an intriguing fixture in the Bundesliga, they shared the six points that were up for grabs last season. Dortmund won the first leg away from home and Leverkusen did the same in the second leg. Both teams finished in the top four, Dortmund claiming the second spot, while Leverkusen took third.
With Erling Haaland leaving Dortmund for Manchester City, they have made some new signings including Karim Adeyemi from RB Salzburg. Leverkusen have signed only Adam Hlozek thus far from Sparta Prague and graduated other players from their development structure.
Lugue 1 – Nice v Strasbourg
Strasbourg have the upper hand against Nice, having won two of their last three games and played a 0-0 draw in their last match of the 21/22 season, however, Nice finished ahead of Strasbourg on the fifth spot on the log, while Strasbourg finished sixth with only three points separating the two teams. Nice took part in the transfer window like most of the team, including Marcin Bulka from PSG.
The young goalkeeper will stay permanently at the club after he was on loan in the previous season. Strasbourg also beefed up their squad for the new season, their signings include Jean-Euden Aholou, an Ivorian midfielder from Monaco.
LaLiga – Espanyol v Royo Vallecano
Even though the two teams finished in different positions on the table last season, they both finished on 42 points. Rayo Vallecano won both La Liga matches in the previous season by a small margin of one goal in both matches, and Espanyol suffered a red card in one of those. It is quite interesting to see who’s going to win this encounter first when Espanyol host Rayo Vallecano on the 19th of August.
Both teams made some new signings, Royo Signing the likes of Diego Lopez, the veteran goalkeeper from Espanyol. Espanyol on the other hand have signed Tonny Vilhena permanently from Krasnodar.
Serie A – Juventus v AS Roma
This is one of the biggest fixtures in the Serie A, Juventus won both Serie A matches as well as the Coppa Italia quarter-final last season. AS Roma have attempted to beef up their squad for the upcoming season, signing Paulo Dybala from the opposition, it is interesting how this contest will pan out this season.
Juventus on the other hand didn’t hold back in the transfer window. Signing a Serbian striker Dusen Vlahovic (in January) and the high-profile duo of Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria.