Category Sports News

Liverpool will be confident of defending their Premier League title after a record-breaking summer of recruitment.

The Reds, in their first season under new boss Arne Slot, won the Premier League with four games to spare – finishing 10 points clear of Arsenal.

Slot’s side have spent £269m so far this summer – including a club-record (incorrectly hyphenated) £100m deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz – which could rise to £116m.

Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike (initial £69m), Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez (£40m) and Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m) are their other major incomings, while Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has joined in a £25m move agreed last year.

But many of their title rivals have spent big this summer too.

Selected transfers in: Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Cristhian Mosquera (Valencia)

Selected transfers out: Kieran Tierney, Jorginho, Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu (all released)

Money spent: £201m

BBC Sport reporter Alex Howell: “This season is an important one for Arsenal and nobody around the club is scared to say it. The players, manager and even the kit launch have all referenced the ‘reach new heights’ tag – or a version of it – as they look to win a trophy for the first time since 2020.

“The Gunners have spent more than £190m in initial fees as they look to refresh the squad and bring in new players, including the highly anticipated arrival of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting.

“Mikel Arteta has done an excellent job in transforming Arsenal into repeat contenders in the league and brought consistent Champions League football but now it is time for them to take the next step. This will be a pressured season after coming so close for so many seasons now.

“Arteta looks to have tweaked the way Arsenal are playing, too. During pre-season the Gunners have played the ball through the lines quicker, looking to get the ball forward into areas where they can score goals.

Selected transfers in: Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Rayan Cherki (Lyon), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves), James Trafford (Burnley), Sverre Nypan (Rosenborg)

Selected transfers out: Kevin de Bruyne (released), Kyle Walker (Burnley)

Money spent: £154m

BBC Sport reporter Shamoon Hafez: “Manchester City will be a wounded beast after an undoubtedly disappointing season without winning a major trophy, capped off by a shock exit from the Club World Cup.

“Boss Pep Guardiola has freshened up the squad with five new signings, including re-energising the midfield with the acquisition of Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.

“Not since 2017 have City finished third in the Premier League, so there may be a little uncertainty around how they react and how quickly the new blood settles in.

Selected transfers in: Liam Delap (Ipswich), Joao Pedro (Brighton), Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund), Jorrel Hato (Ajax),

Previously agreed deals gone through this summer: Dario Essugo (Sporting), Estevao Willian (Palmeiras)

Selected transfers out: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Arsenal), Joao Felix (Al-Nassr), Djordje Petrovic (Bournemouth), Mathis Amougou (Strasbourg)

Money spent: £249m

BBC Sport reporter Nizaar Kinsella: “Chelsea’s 3-0 win in the final of the Club World Cup against European champions Paris St-Germain was a statement that they are a force to be reckoned with.

“Manager Enzo Maresca has united a group of players who cost up to £1.4bn, according to the club’s own accounts, and although the starting XIs were the youngest ever to play out a Premier League season last year, they appear to be good enough to win titles.

“Among the star players are Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella but the Blues have also added Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian and Jorrel Hato this summer to cope with the increased workload of returning to the Champions League next season.

Selected transfers in: Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton, loan)

Selected transfers out: Sean Longstaff (Leeds)

Previously agreed exits gone through this summer: Lloyd Kelly (Juventus)

Money spent: £55m

BBC Sport reporter Ciaran Kelly: “It is easy to forget that Newcastle United were, technically, still in the race to finish as runners-up with just a couple of games to go last season.

“Newcastle ended up in fifth, but the club had real momentum going into the summer after qualifying for the Champions League and ending the club’s long wait for silverware.

“Only this has not proved a transformative window.

“Newcastle have missed out on a host of targets, including Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro, James Trafford, Liam Delap and Dean Huijsen.

“The Alexander Isak saga continues to drag on and there has been further upheaval in the boardroom following the departure of sporting director Paul Mitchell.

“It has been far from ideal.

There is plenty to think about before the Fantasy Premier League returns today due to a new point-scoring system, price increases, and new clubs for some of the stars from the previous season.

Last year, Mohamed Salah broke the record for most FPL points with 28 goals and 19 assists, bringing in 344 total.

He’s now priced at £14.5m though, £2m more than last season, which makes him the most expensive midfielder of all time in FPL.

Gianni: I have no doubt that Salah is worth the high price tag because he serves as the talisman for the league’s best attack. Captaincy is a huge part of this game, and more often than not Salah will be the best option for the armband.

Holly: I’m not entirely convinced that Salah will have a stellar season like 2024-25, but I still think he’ll get a good start and justify his cost at the start of the campaign.

He has never blanked in gameweek one, scoring on average 12.25 points per game and Liverpool have strengthened their attack in this transfer window. However, the shortened season for the Africa Cup of Nations could cause his momentum to wane.

Pras: Liverpool have brought in some world-class reinforcements already in Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike. Their attacking output this year can only be improved by this.

Even though there could be merits in spreading your cash, captaincy is such an important part of playing FPL.

Therefore, having access to Salah may still be necessary. In the first five gameweeks, I can see Salah being the top choice for captaincy in GW1 (Bournemouth at home), GW4 (Burnley away) and GW5 (Everton home).

I’d advise starting with Salah, and then moving forward with the team if the landscape changes and you can easily distribute the money to him later rather than trying to fit him in.

Heisenberg: I still expect him to have a stellar season and he doesn’t need to replicate what he did last year to make him an excellent FPL asset. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw him again play the top point guard.

Last year, talismans for Brentford and Wolves were Bryan Mbeumo (236 points). But do they have any chance of repeating those numbers among Manchester United’s crowded FPL attacking options?

With Manchester United’s worldwide fanbase and Holly: Cunha and Mbeumo (both for £8m), they are unsurprisingly popular picks in the game because they fit into Ruben Amorim’s system for their challenging opening games.

I think Bruno Fernandes (£9m) remains the optimal midfield pick, with his set-piece responsibilities.

Pras and Pras both played for their clubs last year as penalty and set-piece takers, contributing significantly to the percentage of goals scored. This dynamic is unlikely to be replicated at United.

According to pre-season observations, Fernandes will continue to be the club’s principal chance creator and be accountable for penalties. Consequently, their FPL value may decline relative to their prior roles, rendering them potentially riskier selections at their current price points.

Heisenberg: Both a wait-and-see for me because the starting lineup for United is uncertain, but there are plenty of other fantastic options.

If I do have a United midfielder it’ll be Fernandes – penalties, assist threat, minutes guarantee and added bonus of being decent on the defensive contribution points.

Statman: For the first eight games, I prohibited touching them with a barge pole. This could be a crazy season – this could be either United sitting top after eight games or could be Ruben Amorim getting sacked after eight games.

Gianni: Both players will lose penalties, which lessens their appeal, but if and when United join forces, they will undoubtedly be valuable FPL assets. With tough fixtures to start the season and too many unknowns, it’s a wait and see for me.

Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu, both of whom I like best at United, cost me £4.5 million. Fernandes will probably have to play a bit deeper next season, but his potential for defensive contribution points could be key. He would have earned 22 more points last season than any other midfielder under the age of £5.5 million.

A total of 24 players started at least one game in that tournament, suggesting Pep Roulette could be in full swing.

Gianni: You can hardly guarantee starting for Manchester City’s top-rated attacker Erling Haaland (£14m) when he is fit. I would however consider Omar Marmoush (£8.5m) who is now reclassified as a midfielder.

Only Josko Gvardiol and the versatile attacker have started more league games since his arrival in Manchester, and the Egyptian has started 14 of his 16 league starts. Tijjani Reijnders at £5.5m is also worth consideration.

Heisenberg: I don’t anticipate starting the season with any City assistants, but I do like the prospect of Marmoush. Should Haaland pick up an injury then you could get an £8.5m midfielder playing centre-forward.

It’s probably best to wait and see how they all fit in because the City’s midfielders might rotate and be given minutes-sharing.

Holly: This is one of my biggest dilemmas going into gameweek one. With the addition of attacking options coming in this window, Guardiola is known for rotating his squad, making the likes of Marmoush and Phil Foden riskier choices.

Haaland is in less than a fifth of teams and shouldn’t be ignored as an option, netting over seven goal involvements in the opening four gameweeks of the season on average. Along with Salah, he creates my most recent draft.

With two home games against Crystal Palace and Fulham in their first three games, it’s difficult to ignore their assets. I’m backing goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (£5m) to avoid fatigue, and talisman Cole Palmer (£10.5m) to ride the wave of being player of the tournament when Chelsea won the Club World Cup.

Gianni: I don’t worry much about the pre-season, and Enzo Maresca’s men, who were quick out of the blocks last time out, might have a quick start with the momentum from the Club World Cup. Palmer, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez are all attackers to consider.

Pras: Chelsea has a consistent run of positive medium-term matches, which is unusual for the top six teams. Despite the fatigue from the Club World Cup, it is a team very much on the up.

Maresca appears to have finally discovered how to introduce Palmer to the areas where he excelled in the tournament in order to unlock his potential. He is very likely to make my team in week one. Given Liam Delap’s ($6.5 million) and Striker Joao Pedro’s ($7.5 million) odds of being the first choice, I am more cautious with him given that he faces a challenge from another newcomer ($6.5 million).

Between gameweeks 27-38 of last season, no team conceded fewer expected goals (xGC) or kept more clean sheets. Therefore, I would be very inclined to pick just one defensive player. It could be Marc Cucurella (£6m) or Sanchez in goal.

The main change for this season is that outfield players now receive two bonus points for each defensive play they take in a single game.

FPL managers now also get double the amount of chips – two Free Hits, two Wildcards, two Bench Boosts and two Triple Captains.

Before the Africa Cup of Nations in January, managers will have a five-transfer bonus.

Full details here.

Pras: Picking reliable players with good minutes, primarily centre-backs and defensive midfielders, has become much more affordable. A two-point return is almost as good as a three-point assist.

We will also need to think about our bench players differently. In more difficult matches, players are more likely to accumulate these two-pointers. So is Everton’s James Tarkowski (£5.5m) away to Chelsea as bad a fixture as before? Not likely, though.

Holly: Defensive contribution points give extra utility to centre-backs and we could see a rise in managers opting to play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.

FPL managers should embrace the value of defensive midfielders like Moises Caicedo ($5.5 million) and Carlos Baleba ($5 million) for their fourth or fifth midfielder positions.

Statman: You’ve got to remember that these defensive contribution numbers are only there if you’ve picked that player every single game through the season.

For instance, you need to go through those games against Liverpool and Manchester City, those games against which Everton are not favorites, to really balance out the opposition and whether you believe they will take defensive steps.

One team I’m really excited about for defensive contributions is Tottenham under Thomas Frank, because the numbers should shoot up for a number of their players and they’ve got a lot of £4.5m defenders.

Bruno Fernandes is one of the players in the middle of the park that really shines. He would have got 22 extra points last season.

Manchester United’s debut season was terrible, but he still made a lot of ball recoveries and made a lot of tackles for his position.

Heisenberg: The FPL rule changes shift gameplay significantly.

A fascinating change is to switch up to two sets of chips. We’ll see greater variety in chip usage in the first half of the season, with no double gameweeks around.

Scottish football fans could be forgiven for glancing out the window to make sure the sky is still blue. Well, grey.

Out of a men’s Euros last year with a whimper, not even at this year’s women’s event, and a club game with a co-efficient dropping through the floor.

Yeah, Scottish football has drama, but sometimes, it’s not very easy.

But, Thursday 7 August, 2025 is the day it all changed.

It’s never a good sign when a team’s supporters are called The Gravediggers.

Hibernian traversed Europe to face Partizan Belgrade, still carrying the baggage of heartache from the previous week.

In Europa League qualifying, they took Midtjylland to extra-time, only to lose with an agonising – and spectacular – Junior Brumado bicycle kick. Glorious failure etc.

But not this time. Now in Conference League qualifying, the Edinburgh club blew away their hosts – who were on a five-game winning streak – finishing the game 2-0 and a man to the good.

The hero of the hour? Martin Boyle. The Scottish-born Australian international took his Hibs goal tally to 101.

The Gravediggers were buried. It’ll take some effort for them to overhaul the tie in Edinburgh next week.

“To come here and win 2-0 is unbelievable, it took some effort,” said Easter Road boss David Gray.

“We asked the players to come over here, give everything and to make sure the tie is still alive when you go home, we’ve certainly done that.

While Hibs were cruising in Belgrade, around 400 miles north in Vienna, Dundee United displayed character and dig to stun Rapid in a 2-2 draw.

Also a third-round qualifier in the Conference League, Jim Goodwin’s side twice came from behind inside a bouncing Allianz Stadion against one of last season’s quarter-finalists.

First it was Max Watters who brought them level, before Zac Sapsford repeated the feat in the second half.

But the goals are only half the story. United faced 21 shots while having just 38% of the ball. Brave defending, acrobatic goalkeeping from Yevhenii Kucherenko, and a bit of luck all played their part.

History plays its part in emphasising how significant this result could be.

Last week, United progressed in Europe for the first time in 28 years by seeing off UNA Strassen of Luxembourg.

It hints at how hard life can be on the continent. The last time United played in Europe prior to this season they lost 7-0 to AZ, albeit after winning the first lef.

But they’ve given themselves a chance here. In a second-half of constant pressure, they didn’t buckle, and an already sold-out Tannadice awaits next Thursday.

“Outstanding away performance from Dundee United to a man,” said former Tannadice midfielder Scott Allan.

Before a ball was kicked on Thursday, Scotland had already scored two huge accolades.

It emerged Napoli and Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay had been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. At the same time, it was also announced Real Madrid’s Caroline Weir had been shortlisted, too.

It is the first time both a man and a woman from Scotland have made their respective lists, and the most Scots nominated in the one year since 1984 (Graeme Souness, Paul McStay and Gordon Strachan).

Neither will come as a huge surprise.

McTominay – Manchester United fans, look away now – has been the totem for the locals in Naples who sang his name in the streets as their team claimed the Serie A title. He also was awarded the Serie A player of the year award.

In Spain, Weir is now going into her fourth season at Real Madrid, where she is the club’s all-time leading female goalscorer.

It came a day earlier, but an honourable mention has to also go to Rangers who convincingly beat Viktoria Plzen 3-0 at Ibrox to take a giant stride towards the Champions League play-off round.

Russell Martin’s side were far from convincing in the second qualifying round, but they still found a way beyond Panathinaikos across two legs.

All of these results are much needed for Scotland’s ailing co-efficient.

This season Celtic face a play-off round to get into the Champions League rather than direct entry, and the country needs as many teams as possible to make into their respective league phases.

There is a train of thought that Scottish football, for all its drama, intrigue and excitement, wasn’t always the best quality.

However, the vast majority of clubs in the top flight are spending money, attendances are up, and there is a feel-good factor back.

World-class professional boxing will return to prime-time television and BBC iPlayer thanks to the BBC’s agreement to broadcast it through Boxxer.

Select events will be shown on BBC TV, iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website alongside fights from selected events.

Olympic and world champion boxer Lauren Price is just one of the biggest talents in British boxing at Boxxer right now.

Boxing professionals returning to primetime BBC television, free to air, and our extensive digital platforms is a fantastic time, according to BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski.

By the end of the year, the first event is anticipated to take place, with announcements of dates and headliners expected.

In recent years, Boxxer promoted Amir Khan v. Kell Brook, Liam Smith v. Chris Eubank Jr., Claressa Shields v. Savannah Marshall, and Fabio Wardley v. Frazer Clarke under the direction of promoter Ben Shalom, as well as an all-women’s card headlined by Price and Natasha Jonas in March.

It’s historic to work with the BBC to bring big-time British boxing to Saturday night TV,” Shalom said.

“We’re proud to present the most entertaining British fighters to the largest audience possible.”

The BBC has signed a broadcast deal with Boxxer which will mean world-class professional boxing returns to prime-time television and BBC iPlayer.

Over the next 12 months, the BBC will air fights from selected events on BBC Two or Three as well as on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Boxxer currently houses some of the biggest talents in UK boxing including Olympic and world champion Lauren Price.

“Bringing professional boxing back to primetime BBC television, free-to-air, and to our extensive digital platforms is an exciting moment for us and hopefully for boxing fans,” said Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport.

The first event is expected to happen by the end of the year, with dates and headliners to be announced in the coming weeks.

Boxxer, led by promoter Ben Shalom, staged an all-women’s card headlined by Price and Natasha Jonas in March as well as promoting Amir Khan v Kell Brook, Liam Smith v Chris Eubank Jr, Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall and Fabio Wardley v Frazer Clarke in recent years.

“Partnering with the BBC to deliver big-time British boxing on Saturday night TV is a historic moment,” Shalom said.

“We’re proud to bring the most entertaining British fighters to the biggest possible audience.