West Ham v Man City
Saturday, 12:30
Live on BT Sport 1
Towards the end of last season Manuel Pellegrini developed a fruitful counter-attacking approach for big matches, West Ham most notably beating Tottenham 1-0 away in April. Pressing in the centre of the pitch and refusing to drop too deep, they took advantage of Spurs’ sluggishness with well-orchestrated breakaways; it’s a tactic that could work should Man City look as off the pace as they did in the Community Shield.
Rodri showed glimpses of his quality but was occasionally shrugged off the ball, playing with slightness typical of midfielders newly joining such a physical division, while Oleksandr Zinchenko looked shaky against Mohamed Salah. These two players should be targeted by Pellegrini on the counter by Pablo Fornels and Felipe Anderson, who have forged an intriguing partnership during a high-scoring pre-season.
West Ham have been playing in a 4-2-3-1 with Anderson on the right and Manuel Lanzini drifting in from the left to partner Fornals in the number ten space. Together, these three could seek to overwhelm and outmuscle Rodri at the base of the City midfield, while long passes out to Anderson can isolate Zinchenko, who continues to struggle at left-back. Man City are clear favourites, of course, and West Ham ought to be concerned about conceding five goals in their last two friendlies, but it would not be too much of a surprise if the hosts took the lead.
Tottenham v Aston Villa
Saturday, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
Tanguy Ndombele’s ability to weave out of tight spaces in central midfield, opening up the pitch for attacking players, makes him potentially the best signing of the summer. Mauricio Pochettino’s emphasis on narrow attacking lines (coupled with underwhelming full-back options) left Spurs a little flat centrally last season as Eric Dier and Moussa Sissoko struggled to break the opposition lines. With Ndombele, they can move up a gear with faster attacking football.
Villa might be ideal debut opponents for Ndombele. Dean Smith’s commitment to bold attacking football means John McGinn and Jack Grealish will push forward as dual number eights, leaving Conor Hourihane – a box-to-box player, not a defensive one – as the deepest midfielder. As Kane drops into the spaces either side of Hourihane and Ndombele evades the press from McGinn, Spurs could find themselves breaking into vast open spaces behind Villa’s high line.
Although lazy comparisons with Fulham’s spending overlook how wisely Villa have spent £130 million, integrating 12 new arrivals won’t be easy – especially given how many face a double culture shock of Premier League football and Dean Smith tactics. Shortly after he first arrived at the club, Villa went on a run of conceding 20 goals in 10 matches as they struggled to adapt to his attacking system. That could happen again in August.
Newcastle United v Arsenal
Sunday, 14:00
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
Throughout pre-season Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has deployed a 3-5-2 formation, and while Matt Ritchie is injured winger Rolando Aarons has been playing left wing-back – despite not featuring in a competitive match for the Magpies since December 2017. Aarons’ selection on Sunday will be a huge risk, particularly if Nicolas Pepe starts on the right for Arsenal.
Pepe is the kind of winger who will isolate a full-back and look to dribble directly past them, making Aarons’ task a formidable one this weekend. However, Bruce’s deep-lying formation should limit the space available for Arsenal’s front three, which in the absence of Aaron Ramsey (and probably Mesut Ozil) could lack the guile needed to break down the bank of five camped on the edge of their penalty area.
Nevertheless, eventually Unai Emery’s side should get the goal they need courtesy of Pepe’s directness up against Aarons; it is a complete mismatch likely to undermine the organised defensive shape Bruce has been working on this summer.
Man Utd v Chelsea
Sunday, 16:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League
A terrible window from Manchester United and a transfer ban at Chelsea leaves both clubs looking short on goals this season, and in a cagey opening match at Old Trafford that could mean a scoreless draw on Frank Lampard’s debut.
Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera have left the club while Paul Pogba wants out, leaving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with arguably a worse squad than the one David Moyes inherited in 2013. United badly lack creativity in attack or assurance in midfield, which suggests N’Golo Kante and Jorginho can win the midfield battle on Sunday. However, without Eden Hazard Chelsea are relying on Christian Pulisic to hit the ground running, and so they probably won’t much threaten a Harry Maguire-led defence.
There are intriguing individual battles all over the pitch, including Pulisic versus Aaron Wan-Bissaka on Chelsea’s left and Maguire versus Tammy Abraham – regularly starting ahead of Olivier Giroud in pre-season – through the middle. With so many unknowns at both clubs on the eve of the new season, a cautious affair low on quality and cohesion in the final third is the safest bet.
Source: Betfair Premier League
