Category: 6. Sports

In addition to his Premier League contribution last season, Colwill played a major role as a substitute in the Conference League final and during the Club World Cup as the Blues won their first two major trophies under the current ownership.

His presence is key tactically, more than defensively but, crucially, Maresca believes that Colwill is his best central defender at build-up play from the back.

“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle,” said Maresca.

“Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [Adarabioyo in the middle].

“Now Levi is out. The only other one that he can do that job well is Tosin. But we have Premier League, Champions League, with these kind of players.

“The rest, they can adapt. [Jorrel] Hato is a new one, he never played as the guy in the middle last season [with Ajax], so it’s not about being a central defender.

“Yes, [he is a] central defender but can he do that? It’s different. Also we have players that unfortunately, like Wes [Fofana] or Benoit [Badiashile], they have in this moment some [injury] problems.

“And this is the reason why I said that the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders.”

Josh Acheampong and Trevoh Chalobah having been trialled in Colwill’s role in wins over Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan during a short two-week pre-season.

Chelsea are known to admire Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi – who is is a target for champions Liverpool – but they are currently planning to strengthen their attacking options in the final two weeks of the transfer window, amid talks with Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho and RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons.

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 16th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 16th

Home and away kits

Prospects

Wolves surely crave a campaign where relegation is off the menu. After a nightmarish start to last season, they turned to Vítor Pereira to pick up the pieces and the Portuguese reversed the direction of travel, in effect ensuring survival by mid-March. Wolves proved they could win without Matheus Cunha when the Brazilian missed four games through suspension in the spring and have retained André and João Gomes, a menacing pair of midfielders, but there will be pressure on Jørgen Strand Larsen to repeat an impressive first season in which he contributed 14 goals.

The squad appears undercooked after another round of headline departures, with Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri who, combined, contributed to 59% of their 54 goals last season, departing for Manchester; Aït-Nouri played more minutes than any other Wolves player and of the five who played the most, three have left: Aït-Nouri, Cunha and Nélson Semedo. Fringe players have departed but Pereira wants a right-wing back to replace Semedo, the club captain who turned down a new contract in favour of a move to Fenerbahce, plus a striker and a midfielder. Wolves need the powerful Colombia winger Jhon Arias, a standout performer for Fluminense at the Club World Cup, to have an immediate impact.

The mood surrounding the club is subdued, with supporters frustrated at the owner, Fosun, owing to a perceived lack of ambition heading into their eighth consecutive season in the top tier. A winless pre-season served to exacerbate concerns that they will at best stand still, and now Newcastle have Strand Larsen on their bottomless striker shortlist. The death of Diogo Jota, an integral part of the most successful period in the club’s recent history, also hit hard, with one member of the backroom staff attending Jota’s wedding and his funeral 13 days later. Wolves will pay tribute to Jota before their game against Manchester City on Saturday, a visit that will bring the return of Aït-Nouri and provide Pereira an indicator of how much work there is to do.

How they finished in the past five seasons

The manager

Hoisting Wolves clear of trouble means Pereira has plenty of credit and he further endeared himself to supporters by mixing with them in the city-centre Wetherspoon’s. His “first the points, then the pints” mantra ended up on a banner at Molineux. Pereira is 57 – only David Moyes is older – and his Premier League opportunity was a long time in the making. He previously had job offers from Arsenal, Everton, Crystal Palace and arch-rivals West Brom. Now Pereira believes he is ready to prove why he is among the best managers in the division. “If I’m in the right place to challenge myself, I can do magic,” he said.

Off-field picture

Wolves announced a five-man “football leadership team” in June, led by the director of football, Domenico Teti, who has reunited with Pereira, with whom he worked at the Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab. Teti replaced Matt Hobbs, the sporting director, who was influential in recruitment. The finances are broadly thought to be healthy after another summer of high-profile sales. The chair, Jeff Shi, has confirmed he would like to redevelop the Steve Bull Stand – the oldest at Molineux. “The next plan is to try to change a bit there and build more areas for hospitality for more business clients to come and enjoy there,” said Shi.

Last season’s results

Star signing

Wolves hope Fer López, who in joining from Celta Vigo has followed a path trodden by Strand Larsen, will be their next gem. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder, a £19.5m buy, has shown plenty of promise despite only seven starts in La Liga last season. Perhaps it should be no surprise López, tracked by Wolves for several years, appears to have settled quickly; in 2018, aged 14, the Madrid-born player lived in Suffolk for three months, boarding at a private school near Stowmarket, and he trained with Norwich, until they told him he was too small, and with Bacton United 89 in Suffolk.

Stepping up

There is excitement around Mateus Mané, who this summer signed his first professional contract after being formally promoted to Pereira’s squad. The England youth international, who made his Premier League debut against Brighton in May after training with the senior group towards the end of last season, has in effect been fast-tracked into the first team, bypassing the under-21s after registering seven goals and four assists for the under-18s last season. The Portugal-born forward, 18 next month, joined Wolves from non-league Rochdale 18 months ago. He is eligible for Portugal and England and has made seven appearances for the latter’s under-18s. A Next Generation pick last year.

A big season for …

Ki-Jana Hoever, named after the former NFL player Ki-Jana Carter, has not featured in a competitive game for Wolves since March 2022 but the Dutchman is primed to begin the season at right-wingback. Hoever, who has spent the previous four seasons on loan, most recently at Auxerre, seized his opportunity in pre-season, impressing Pereira. The overriding sense earlier this summer was that Hoever’s days were numbered but Pereira has given the former Liverpool defender another chance. “I’m trying to do my best to take it,” he said last month. “I hope I can be important for the club.” Sasa Kalajdzic, the 6ft 7in striker, could add to his 14 appearances in old gold after several serious injuries.

Liverpool © Getty Images

Reigning champions Liverpool kick off the Premier League season on Friday with Europe’s richest league strengthened by a remarkable £2 billion ($2.7 billion) spending splurge.

Liverpool will include £100 million midfield signing Florian Wirtz and new forward Hugo Ekitike in their squad to face Bournemouth at Anfield, among a handful of new recruits.

They are favourites to retain their crown but the unknown factor is the potential effect of the tragic death of Portuguese forward Diogo Jota in a car crash in Spain in July.

Arsenal, one club hoping to topple Liverpool, face an immediate test of their title credentials against a revamped Manchester United on Sunday.

Newcastle are set to be without unsettled star striker Alexander Isak for a tough trip to Aston Villa – the Swede is wanted by Liverpool.

Here are several issues to watch on the opening weekend:

Big-spending Liverpool seek harmony

Liverpool have changed their careful shopping habits and suddenly outspent their rivals, overhauling a squad fresh from winning the league.

Only once since 2007, when Manchester City did it in 2019, have the Premier League champions been the biggest-spending English club in the market.

A spree that has already seen Liverpool’s US owners approve £260 million on Wirtz, Ekitike and defenders Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, is far from over with Isak and Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi linked with moves to Anfield.

 

It’s… MATCHDAY! 🔴

The Reds are back in @premierleague action ✊ #LIVBOU pic.twitter.com/L0eFZVpm4S

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 15, 2025

 

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have been sold.

The transition has shown teething problems in pre-season with a slick attack let down by a porous defence.

Manager Arne Slot is confident his side are ready as they seek to retain the title for the first time since 1984.

“I think we’ve lost five to six players that played quite a lot of minutes for us last season and we brought in four new ones, so then it’s normal that there’s a little bit of adaptation,” said Slot.

“But we are definitely ready for the league to start.”

Sesko and Gyokeres seek scoring start

Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres are set to make their Premier League debuts for United and Arsenal respectively at Old Trafford after a summer that could have seen them line up the other way on Sunday.

Arsenal were linked with a move to Sesko for over a year before deciding to bet on Gyokeres as the man to fire them to a first Premier League title since 2004 for a fee that could rise to £66 million.

The Gunners have finished second for the past three seasons, lacking a clinical finisher to take that final step towards being champions

Gyokeres netted a remarkable 97 times in 102 games in two years at Sporting Lisbon, much of which came under United’s now-manager Ruben Amorim.

Instead of being reunited with the Swede, Amorim has overhauled his attack with the signings of Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha at a combined cost of over £200 million.

United, one of the world’s richest clubs, had to spend big after their worst season since being relegated in 1974.

In Amorim’s first year in charge, the Red Devils finished 15th in the Premier League and failed to qualify for Europe, losing the Europa League final.

Both clubs desperately need a fast start and the battle between the two new No 9s will go a long way to deciding the outcome.

Villa and Newcastle chase ‘big six’

As the Premier League’s traditional “big six” of Liverpool, Manchester City, United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have flexed their financial muscle in the transfer market, Villa and Newcastle have been squeezed out.

Constrained by the need to meet financial sustainability rules, Villa’s only major signing has been Ivorian stiker Evann Guessand from Nice.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has had to field constant questions about Isak, who sat out pre-season preparations in a bid to force through a move to Liverpool.

Despite having Saudi owners, the Magpies’ attempts to replace the Swede have repeatedly fallen down, with most of their targets going elsewhere.

But both Villa and Newcastle have consistently outperformed some of the “big six” in recent seasons and will be targeting Champions League qualification again this season.

Hansi Flick is fired up for the La Liga opener FC Barcelona launch their title defence this Saturday 16 August, away to Mallorca. In his pre-match press conference, he expressed satisfaction with his side’s early-season work and backed them to make a winning start.

“I’m very happy with what I’ve seen in training” the German coach said. “The team is working hard to improve every day. The players are ready for the game at Son Moix.” the German coach said. “Winning three titles last year is not the end, it’s the continuation. We’ll give everything again this season.”

The message was clear. No room for complacency. In La Liga, every opponent is tough and we have to give our best. We’ll give everything in every match.”

Above all, he stressed belief in Barça’s style of play. “It’s always good to start with wins” he admitted. “But the most important thing is to believe in how we want to play and keep our confidence. The road is long.”

Team first, always

Asked about rising star Lamine Yamal, Flick stuck to his philosophy of team success over personal stats. “The most important thing is to win as a team” he said. “I don’t care how many goals he scores, what matters is winning together.”

Even so, he praised the 18-year-old’s display in the Gamper against Como, adding that “he’s training very well, on and off the ball, defending and pressing.”

Depth and versatility

Flick also welcomed the squad’s flexibility: “It’s good to have versatile players, but you have to manage it. Gerard Martín can play at centre-back or left-back, and he’s done well in both.”

He also name-checked Dani Olmo and Fermín as key attacking pieces: “Fermín’s season last year was spectacular. Dani Olmo is also in great form.”

And he saved special praise for his goalkeeper: “Joan Garcia is a fantastic keeper.”

All in all, there was a confident feel to the conference. And hopefully that same buzz of positivity will shine on the pitch tomorrow!

LAHORE: The first batch of Pakistan players, including T20I captain Salman Ali Agha, arrived here after the conclusion of the white-ball tour of West Indies. 

Alongside Salman Agha, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, and Hasan Nawaz, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson reached Pakistan

The Pakistan tour of West Indies ended on a poor note as the home side, West Indies, ended their 34-year wait with an ODI series win over the Green Shirts.

Despite clinching the T20I series 2-1 and winning the opening match of the ODI series, Pakistan faced defeat in the last two games of the tour.

In the last ODI, West Indies posted a commanding total of 294-6 in their allocated 50 overs.

West Indies skipper Shai Hope starred with the bat, scoring a sublime century, and powered his team to a sublime total.

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In reply, Pakistan demonstrated a shambolic batting display as pacer Jayden Seales tormented the visitors’ batting line-up with a record six-wicket haul.

Eventually, West Indies bundled out Pakistan for a meagre 92 runs and won the series and match by 202 runs.

With this dominant win, West Indies secured their first ODI series win over Pakistan since 1991.

The Green Shirts will now head to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a tri-nation T20Is series, featuring the hosts UAE and Afghanistan ahead of the Asia Cup 2025

The series will commence on August 29 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and run until September 7. After the tri-series, Pakistan is set to compete in the Asia Cup 2025, which is scheduled from September 9 to 28.

READ: Joe Root responds to David Warner’s ‘surfboard’ remark ahead of the Ashes

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Max Porter as our new under-21s head coach.

Max joined us in July 2017 as our under-9s coach and has since taken on the role of head coach for numerous age levels, including under-13s, under-17s and under-19s, as well as being our youth development phase lead coach.

Max becomes our under-21s head coach ahead of the 2025/26 campaign following the departure of Mehmet Ali, who joined Brentford’s first team coaching staff this summer. Max will be supported by Ken Gillard, our professional development phase lead coach.

Read more

Max Porter reflects on pre-season opener

In his previous role as under-21 assistant coach, Max has already helped provide a strong foundation for many of our young players as they prepare for their futures in senior football, alongside competing regularly in Premier League 2.

Our Academy manager, Per Mertesacker, said: “Max has got the qualities needed to be a successful leader and coach. The environment he creates for staff and young players is always one of high challenge and ultimate care. Max is driving the highest standards and is a brilliant colleague and coach. We are all looking forward to supporting Max as he continues to develop in this role, and thank him for all his hard work and commitment so far.”

Everyone at Arsenal wishes Max all the best in his new role as our under-21s head coach.

Read more

How to stream our U21 clash against Fulham