Premier League
Bullet point previews of Premier League matches
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the first round of Premier League fixtures from Aug. 5-7 (all times GMT).
Friday, Aug. 5
Crystal Palace v Arsenal (1900)
* Arsenal will be involved in the opening game of a Premier League campaign for the fifth time. They have won thrice but were beaten 2-0 by Brentford in the 2021-22 season-opener.
* Four of the last six league matches between the two teams have ended in draws, with Palace and Arsenal winning one each.
* Arsenal lost four out of their last six away league matches in the 2021-22 season.
Saturday, Aug. 6
Fulham v Liverpool (1130)
* Liverpool won six straight Premier League games against Fulham between 2012 and 2019, but were unable to beat them in the 2021-22 season, drawing 1-1 away and losing 1-0 at home.
* Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah became the first player in Premier League history to score on the opening weekend of five successive seasons with his goal against Norwich City last year, and could extend his own record with a strike against Fulham.
* Liverpool won five of their six games against promoted sides in the 2021-22 season.
Bournemouth v Aston Villa (1400)
* Promoted Bournemouth last played in the top flight in the 2019-20 season, when they finished 18th.
* Villa have won only one of their five opening day Premier League games against newly promoted teams (D1 L3), a 1-0 victory at Bournemouth in 2015-16.
* Bournemouth have won three of their four league meetings with Villa, all by a 2-1 scoreline (L1).
Leeds United v Wolverhampton Wanderers (1400)
* After winning only three league matches in a run of 25 at Leeds, Wolves have won three out of their last four at Elland Road.
* Luke Ayling scored a 91st-minute winner to seal a 3-2 win for Leeds the last time the teams faced off in the league.
* Only one of the six Premier League meetings between the teams have ended in a draw, with Wolves winning three and Leeds winning two.
Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest (1400)
* Nottingham Forest are back in the Premier League after a 23-year absence.
* Forest have failed to beat Newcastle in eight Premier League meetings. (L5 D3)
* Forest have been busy during the summer transfer window, with former Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard one of 12 new recruits.
Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton (1400)
* Southampton have only won four Premier League away games against Spurs.
* Late goals by Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams sealed a 3-2 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their last meeting.
* Spurs’ new signing Richarlison will miss the game after being suspended for one game for throwing a flare off the field while playing for Everton against Chelsea last season.
Everton v Chelsea (1630)
* Everton have won four of their last five home matches against Chelsea in the league (D1).
* Chelsea have won 27 out of 60 Premier League meetings (D20) between the teams.
* Everton forward Salomon Rondon is suspended after being sent off against Brentford last season.
Sunday, Aug. 7
Leicester City v Brentford (1300)
* Brentford will be seeking a first Premier League win over Leicester in their third attempt.
* Brentford are winless in their last 10 meetings with Leicester in all competitions (D1 L9) since a 3-2 win in League Division Two in March 1953.
* Leicester are yet to make a signing in the summer transfer window.
Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion (1300)
* United have won seven of their 10 Premier League matches with Brighton, including all five at Old Trafford.
* Brighton thrashed United 4-0 at the Amex Stadium when the teams last met in May.
* New United boss Erik ten Hag will take charge of the team in the league for the first time.
West Ham United v Manchester City (1530)
* After losing four home games in the league against City in which they conceded 17 goals, West Ham have drawn the last two, including a 2-2 stalemate in May.
* West Ham have beaten City only nine times in 42 Premier League meetings, with seven of those wins coming at home.
* New City signing Erling Haaland could make his Premier League debut for the champions.
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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