Weekend Boxset: Are you ready?

August 21, 2026

Weekend Boxset: Are you ready?

The start of the new Premier League season has a tribute to an England legend. Elsewhere, Jose’s back.

Seven great matches to take you from Friday to Sunday. It’s the Sound of Football Weekend Boxset.

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All times are UK

Friday

Premier League: Arsenal v Coventry City

20.00 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
You only have to go back to 2023 for the last time the fixture computer decided to pair the champions of the Premier League with the top promoted side on the opening weekend of the season. On that occasion Vincent Kompany’s Burnley hosted his former club Manchester City at Turf Moor, and lost 3-0. For most people over 40, Coventry were a club that took up space in the top flight. Their 34-season stay, starting in 1967, saw them avoid relegation on the final day of the season an incredible ten times. Jimmy Hill, as manager, had won them promotion to the old First Division before leaving to pursue his media career, but returned as chairman and used the club to push forward his modernising ideas for all football. This probably didn’t help their image of being somehow inauthentic. Always an unfashionable club, they were rightly or wrongly associated as part of the problem with 80s football in England. It would be easy to write-off this fixture as a free hit for manager Frank Lampard, with Arsenal’s record against newly promoted sides almost perfect in recent seasons. But if they are to lose they still need to show they have it in them to play in a way that will see them compete this campaign. As much as anything, avoiding a drubbing could prove vital on the final day. GS

Saturday

Premier League: Hull City v Manchester United

12.30 on TNT Sports 1 & Ultimate and HBO Max
Few had Hull down as promotion candidates last season, but the Tigers held their nerve against a strong Millwall side and then avoided the distractions surrounding Spygate to see off much-fancied Middlesbrough and return to the top flight for the first time in nearly a decade. Sergej Jakirovic wasn’t exactly an obvious candidate to turn to after Reuben Selles nearly took the Tigers down, but he’s more than earned his shot at the top flight. This time last year, a win against United would have been a distinct possibility with Reuben “3-4-3” Amorim in the opposition dugout but Michael Carrick has brought stability and pride back to Old Trafford with whispers of a title challenge. But we’ve been here before and, just because Carrick worked as an interim appointment, it doesn’t necessarily follow that he’s the man for building a squad capable of challenging for honours. His midfield looks light with Mason Mount perennially injured and Manuel Ugarte out for the season, while defensive reinforcements wouldn’t go amiss either. Youri Tielemans is a smart addition, but the squad still feels unbalanced with a few too many below-par players and the annual Rashford Problem. Carrick needs to have a good window, but this should be a good marker of where both sides are at. Anything less than a win for Carrick and co would put the pressure on early, while if Hull get thoroughly outgunned, it would suggest their return to the top flight will be short lived. Of course, that’s The Narrative for you, and opening days don’t normally follow the script. GA

Premier League: Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
If Spurs’ brush with relegation was entirely foreseeable, Brentford’s continual progress under rookie coach Keith Andrews came as somewhat of a surprise as the former Irish international showed he was more than capable of stepping into Thomas Frank’s shoes when the Dane jumped into the Spurs clown car where the wheels hadn’t just fallen off, they were bouncing halfway across London. The ever-combustible Mason Greenwood-apologist Roberto De Zerbi is the latest coach to attempt to make sense of the utter mess than has been White Hart Lane over recent seasons. De Zerbi’s recruitment so far has been smart, with taking advantage of Newcastle’s continual battle to remain financial compliant by swooping for Sandro Tonali, while Andrew Robertson is a smart addition on a free transfer and should bring much-needed leadership on the pitch. The attack still looks like one injury away from becoming a blunt spoon trying to slice through a steak, but at least there’s a sense that something is moving in the right direction, even if, well, this is Spurs. As for Andrews’ West London charges, the consensus is that the Bees are unlikely to get anywhere near last year’s ninth place finish. But then last year the consensus was that the Bees were unlikely to get anywhere near the previous season’s 10th place finish. You sense that being underrated suits Andrews just fine, which means a strong probability of a home win. GA

La Liga: Espanyol v Real Madrid

20.30 on Disney Plus
Jose Mourinho is back at Real Madrid. Why? It’s not abundantly clear, but he’s back anyway. The story arc of Jose is more akin to other offerings on Disney+, so maybe this is part of some big redemption storyline, but don’t hold your breath. When he first arrived at Madrid in 2010, he was king of the world, having secured a Champions League and Scudetto double with Inter. By the time he left in 2013 his career had entered a steady decline. The 2015 Premier League he won with Chelsea was the last league title he’d win. Other than that it’s been a couple of EFL Cups and a couple of the lesser European trophies — fine prizes for other managers but hardly compares to the eight league titles and two Champions Leagues from his first ten seasons as a head coach. The Conference League he won with Roma is the only silverware he’s picked up in the last nine seasons. Even the individual awards he’s been given in the last decade are more of the lifetime achievement variety. Maybe it was something to do with the three games his Benfica side played against Madrid in last season’s Champions League. The chaotic scenes in the first game that saw Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin score in injury time for his side to sneak through to the knockout stages were followed by a two-legged meeting in the following round. Madrid won both legs but the tie was marred by a spat between Mourinho and Vini Jr, brought about by racist comments from Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. All seems to be patched-up between the two after a very public contract renegotiation for the Brazilian that had optimistic online Arsenal fans interested for a couple of days. GS

Sunday

Premier League: Manchester City v Bournemouth

14.00 on Sky Sports Main Event & Ultra
Both teams start the season with no shortage of unanswered questions. Bournemouth travel to City with the novelty of a relatively quiet transfer window, so far, with only one major departure from their playing squad; although it’s possible that Alex Scott may join Marcos Senesi out of the door before the window shuts. Senesi has already been replaced by Antonio Silva from Benfica and the club have spent a respectable amount of money bolstering the squad elsewhere, some of whom will probably be moved on to bigger clubs in a few years. The biggest uncertainty is the coach. Marco Rose’s last job was at Leipzig where he delivered the franchise its first trophy, the DFB Pokal. He left the Red Bull outfit with a sense that he had failed to build on that success. Like his predecessor, Rose has no experience of English football and while that is no reason for pessimism the additional Thursday night European football can only complicate what is already a challenging transition. Cherries fans should remember that it took a while for Iraola to get going when he arrived at Dean Court. City fans may not afford much patience in Enzo Maresca as he takes charge of his first Premier League match as manager. His team’s subdued Community Shield performance in Cardiff suggests that the season has started a few week’s too early. The departures of Rodri and Bernardo Silva may well have diminished the club’s chances of winning the league but they won’t diminish their ambition to regain the title. Pressure from day 1, lads. That’s football for you. TD

Premier League: Newcastle United v Liverpool

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League & Ultra
Two new coaches enter the dugouts in this heavy-weight season opener.Andoni Iraola, having earned his stripes at AFC Bournemouth, takes over from Arne Slot who was given his marching orders after failing to follow up on his Premier league title win. He’ll be glad that he doesn’t have the pressure his predecessor endured over selecting Mo Salah, who was, in my view, symptomatic of a lethargic Liverpool last term. New signings include Jeremy Jacquet, a highly rated, but untested centre-back from Rennes and Victor Munoz from Osasuna — gazumping tonight’s hosts to sign the pacy winger. Joining them is defender Ronald Araujo, on loan from Barca. Quite what we can expect from Iraola’s Liverpool remains to be seen, but with the talent he has at his disposal, don’t be surprised if they better last season’s fifth-place finish. Major changes too for tonight’s hosts who saw long time coach, Eddie Howe, call it a day, privately stating he’d taken the (dirty) Mags as far as he could. Following him out of the door were some big names in the form of Sandro Tonali (Tottenham), Bruno Guimaraes (Arsenal) and Anthony Gordon (Barca). Their replacements may seem a little more modest, but those in the know suggest that Ivorian winger, Bazoumana Toure (Hoffenheim), is a decent signing as is Amar Dedic (Benfica), who worked with new coach, Matthias Jaissle, at Red Bull Salzburg. Jaissle also has his plaudits, having won back to back titles in Austria and, for what it’s worth, silverware in Saudi. The game will also mark the recent passing of Liverpool and Newcastle legend, Kevin Keegan. Amongst other things it will include a display by the excellent Wor Flags that will include both sets of supporters. JB

Serie A: Torino v Milan

19.45 on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max and DAZN
Ruben Amorim is back in management. And it’s good news for Manchester United who are reportedly saving £16.7 million in compensation as a result. AC Milan wasted no time in firing Massimiliano Allegri after one season for failing to reach the Champions League places. In comes Amorim, looking to rebuild his reputation after a disastrous spell in charge at United. He’s started by signing 25-year-old Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos from PSG for a club record €74m. With him comes 22-year-old wingback Diego Moreira from Strasbourg, who last year switched from Portugal U21s to the country of his birth, Belgium. Moreira is a left-sided wingback so it looks like Amorim is definitely sticking with 3-4-3 in Serie A. Torino also have a new head coach. Iganzio Abate played over 300 times for Milan, winning the Scudetto with them under Allegri in 2011. Previously head coach of Juve Stabbia in Serie B he got off to a winning start with a 1-0 win in the Coppa Italia against second tier Carrarese. GS

Alternative viewing: The BBC has extended their coverage of Serie A with 38 matches to be shown this season on BBC Alba and the iPlayer. This weekend they have Atalanta v Sassuolo, which kicks off at the same time as this game. Just be sure to scan the QR code to renew your TV licence.

Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry, Jan and Gary