Your Guardian sport weekend: Premier League, Rugby Championship and more

The Guardian

a day ago

There is no escape. The Football League has held centre stage on the past two Saturdays but now the Premier League is screaming for our attention and we must surrender. Barry Glendenning and Rob Smyth will guide you through all the reaction to Friday night's Liverpool v Bournemouth opener, plus the buildup to Saturday's five top-flight matches and all the latest transfer stories, for those more interested in who's winning the window than who's winning actual games. We won't ignore the lower divisions, including Wrexham's first home game back in the Championship, against West Brom at 12.30pm, after a couple of Hollywood endings in league (agony) and Carabao Cup (ecstasy). Peter Lansley will report from Villa Park on the lead up to the lunchtime game while Ed Aarons, who is covering Tottenham v Burnley, will be answering your questions. Email [e-mail] to take part.
The England and Wales Cricket Board may have sacrificed staging international cricket in August in favour of the Hundred, but there's a series decider going on in Cairns. South Africa won the first match thanks to an astonishing unbeaten 125 off 56 balls from Dewald Brevis that ended the hosts' unbeaten run of nine, while three wickets apiece for Josh Hazlewood and Ben Dwarshuis evened things up for Australia in the second match. Geoff Lemon is on over-by-over duty.
The fixture computer can be a mean machine: Aston Villa, denied a lead at Manchester United on the last day by a premature referee's whistle in a game they went on to lose, start the season by facing Newcastle, who edged them out of a Champions League place on goal difference. As the late Jim Bowen would have put it on Bullseye: 'Here's what you would have won.' Jacob Ramsey will be in the Champions League after leaving Villa for St James' Park, though probably not in time to figure here. Barry Glendenning will be on minute-by-minute duty – perhaps Alexander Isak will have a look on his phone to see how things are going – while Peter Lansley will be at Villa Park to find out if Unai Emery has calmed down since his Old Trafford meltdown.
The staggered start denies us the thrill that used to accompany opening day but the first 3pm Premier League team news of the season will be announced at 2pm, while three lunchtime games in the Championship will be drawing to a close: Derby v Coventry and Portsmouth v Norwich, as well as Wrexham's game, from where Sam Dalling will be reporting. Rob Smyth will guide you through all the news and then action from around the grounds, with Brighton v Fulham, Sunderland v West Ham and Tottenham v Burnley from the top division. In the Championship, can Sheffield United steady the ship at Swansea after the Bristol City debacle and a Carabao Cup exit at Birmingham? We will have reports and reaction from all the Premier League games, plus roundups from the lower divisions.
Fresh from taming the Lions in the third Test (to leave some of their fans claiming a moral series victory), Joe Schmidt's Wallabies now have to prove they are genuinely back in business against top-notch regular opposition, rather than a deluxe scratch side. A respectable scoreline in the Rugby Championship opener against the world champions at Ellis Park in Johannesburg would suggest that Australia are heading in the right direction as the countdown to their home World Cup in 2027 continues, while South Africa are trying to retain this title for the first time. Daniel Gallan is on live duty for us, and will then be analysing what went right and wrong for both teams.
Molineux will stage its own tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother before the game against Manchester City. On the visiting side, Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva both played alongside Jota in his last match, Portugal's Nations League triumph against Spain. After the obsequies are concluded, the sides will set about each other in a fixture that was won last season by John Stones' added-time header. Whatever else has happened, both sides will have a chance of finishing the day top of the table and you can bet that Pep Guardiola would welcome such an early statement of intent. Scott Murray will helm our coverage of the buildup and the match itself, while Ben Fisher will report from the ground.
Along with the results, Saturday could throw up some talking points arising from the refereeing changes introduced for this season. Will we see a corner awarded for a goalkeeper holding on to the ball for too long? What about defenders being penalised for holding? John Brewin – our man at Brighton v Fulham on Saturday – will chair the discussion on what has gone before and tee up the afternoon's action, with the help of our reporter at Old Trafford, Jamie Jackson. Email [e-mail] to discuss whether Ruben Amorim can fix the Manchester United malaise and whether Mikel Arteta's reinforcements have given him an Arsenal team capable of going one better. We'll also have updates on the Championship battle between two relegated sides, Ipswich and Southampton.
Two serial trophy winners meet at Stamford Bridge: Conference League and Club World Cup winners Chelsea take on FA Cup and Community Shield holders Crystal Palace. Oliver Glasner would like to hold on to the key names that helped Palace to those Wembley successes, especially Eberechi Eze. For Enzo Maresca, it all seems to be coming together nicely, but his players have hardly had a holiday thanks to Gianni Infantino's brainwave. Join Daniel Harris for live coverage of this match and updates on Nottingham Forest v Brentford, while Jacob Steinberg will have a match report and reaction.
For many, many years, fixture computer rules about keeping the previous season's top four apart on the opening weekend would have ruled out a Manchester United v Arsenal clash, but last season the hosts finished lower in the final table than in the alphabetical list of teams for the first time in a generation. With a new-look attack in place, Ruben Amorim will seek a statement win, but Arsenal have also strengthened as they seek to end their title drought. Rob Smyth will provide minute-by-minute updates, while Jamie Jackson and Jonathan Wilson will cover the news, reaction and analysis from Old Trafford.