The new season is upon which means it’s time for ‘Morning Mix’ – our weekly football column with a bit of music thrown in for good measure.
If you’ve been paying attention, you will notice we have been moved to a new time slot of Friday morning, which saves us falling out of bed early on Monday.
In the spirit of looking ahead rather than backwards, we’ll be tweaking things slightly by looking at two major talking points for the weekend ahead.
We’ll also point you in the direction of some of the best football stories elsewhere on the internet and offer a top tune recommendation to get you in the mood for the weekend.
We will also highlight what to watch out for over the next few days. Now we’ve got the introductions out of the way, let’s get this party started!
Arsenal’s £200m gamble will fail
Many Arsenal fans have been working themselves into a frenzy this summer, with talk of winning the Premier League title dominating the conversation.
The Gunners were in the mix for much of last season but eventually crumbled under pressure from Manchester City to blow a golden opportunity.
They have splashed out £200 million on new players this summer – the bulk of which has been spent on Declan Rice and Kai Havertz.
That’s a lot of money on two risky signings, and their expensive gamble looks destined to fail. They’ll probably beat Tottenham Hotspur twice though.
Newcastle set for a wake-up call
Newcastle United are another club with lofty ambitions after finishing fourth last season, but they will find it difficult to repeat the feat.
Man City, Manchester United and Arsenal look nailed on to finish in the top four, leaving one place up for grabs.
Newcastle took advantage of Liverpool and Chelsea underperforming last term, and they are both expected to be in contention this time around.
With Aston Villa another possible top-six contender, Football Today’s predicted seventh-place finish for Newcastle may come to fruition.
The week that was
Are you looking for the best football stories from the past week? Check these out:
- New Premier League rule changes: More added time, more yellows for time wasting.
- American Revolution: Will the power of US money change soccer forever?
- Four football tactics to understand before the new Premier League season.
Today’s top tune
Regular readers will know we’re partial to indie music around here, and we’ve spent much of the summer adding to our Spotify playlist.
One of our current favourites are The Rosadocs, who have been making waves on the music festival circuit this summer. Pin your ears back to this Morning Mix cracker.
What to watch this week
The standout game this weekend is on Sunday when Chelsea and Liverpool go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge.
The fixture will be a useful yardstick for their chances of forcing their way back into the top four this season.
A final Morning Mix thought
Tottenham have fought hard to keep Harry Kane this summer, but he could be on his way to Bayern Munich.
Before Spurs fans start thinking the world is about to collapse, it is worth remembering the club has won nothing with Kane in the line-up.
If they invest the fee wisely, Tottenham will be better off without Kane in the long run.
