Premier League returns as Arsenal face Coventry; Dutch Grand Prix and All Blacks-Springboks series also headline weekend
The Premier League returned on Friday night when champions Arsenal faced newly promoted Coventry, 34 days after the World Cup finished, with five more top-flight fixtures scheduled for Saturday.
The Guardian’s rolling coverage will carry live blogs and match commentary across the weekend, led at various times by Cameron Ponsonby, Barry Glendenning and Tim de Lisle, with readers invited to send thoughts to matchday.live@theguardian.com. Scottish clubs Rangers and Celtic are in action and the Championship offers a full programme; Tanya Aldred is reporting from Derby where Ben Stokes’ Division Two leaders Durham are playing. County Championship coverage includes Surrey v Nottinghamshire at the Oval and Somerset v Essex at Taunton, where New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls has impressed on debut. Additional county fixtures named include Yorkshire v Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl, Leicestershire v Glamorgan at Grace Road, Sussex v Warwickshire, Kent v Middlesex at Merchant Taylors’ School with Zak Crawley noted for fine form, Worcestershire v Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire v Lancashire at Old Trafford.
Saturday’s Premier League action opens in Hull as Manchester United begin their campaign at the MKM Stadium, testing whether last season’s resurgence under Michael Carrick can be replicated under the burden of heightened expectation; Will Unwin is reporting from the ground and Tim de Lisle is helming the live blog. United strengthened their midfield in the close season with the signing of Belgium international Youri Tielemans, a move the coverage notes ahead of the match.
At Zandvoort, Max Verstappen arrives having signed a new Red Bull contract and can, the coverage says, give his home Dutch Grand Prix a fitting send-off at a seaside circuit that will be dropped from the calendar after this year’s race. Verstappen had two second places, including Hungary, before the August break and — the report records — has been on the podium three times as a winner and twice in second since the track returned in 2021. Philip Cornwall will cover sprint race and qualifying lap-by-lap, with Giles Richards reporting.
Barry Glendenning flags two Premier League fixtures of note: Everton host Crystal Palace as the Toffees attempt to avoid a repeat of having lost their opening game in each of the past four seasons, while Palace arrive under new manager Pierre Sage from Lens. The coverage also records that of the 16 previous Palace managers to oversee a Premier League match, just two have won their first. Nottingham Forest begin under Oliver Glasner without Elliot Anderson, who was sold to Manchester City for £116m during the World Cup; the piece notes Glasner has won his first league game in charge with four of his five previous clubs.
Billed in the copy as the Greatest Rivalry, the All Blacks begin a four-Test series in South Africa against the Springboks, who beat New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup final in 2023 and are described in the report as the reigning world champions. Daniel Gallan will provide minute-by-minute coverage from the first Test in Johannesburg.
Tottenham’s trip to Brentford is highlighted after Roberto De Zerbi, who arrived late last season and kept Spurs up, has been backed in the transfer market with Manchester City winger Savinho arriving for £75m; the report lists Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert as injured. Brentford’s summer acquisition of Mamadou Sangare from Lens for £39m is also noted. Scott Murray hosts the MBM with Jacob Steinberg reporting.
Manchester City begin a new era under Enzo Maresca as they face Bournemouth, with the coverage recording departures of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and John Stones and a Bournemouth debut for Marco Rose following Andoni Iraola’s move to Anfield. Liverpool start life after Mohamed Salah under new manager Andoni Iraola when they travel to Newcastle, whose summer is described as involving sweeping change with Matthias Jaissle replacing Eddie Howe and the departures of Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon; Michael Butler hosts the live blog with Louise Taylor and Sam Dalling reporting from St James’ Park, and the match will feature a pre-match celebration of Kevin Keegan.
Coverage continues across the weekend with live lap-by-lap reports from Zandvoort’s sprint and qualifying sessions, minute-by-minute updates from the first Test in Johannesburg, and rolling Premier League match blogs across the grounds; readers can submit comments to matchday.live@theguardian.com.