Editors' Picks: Leverkusen begin title defence as Formula 1 returns with Dutch GP
Friday, August 23rd
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen - 20:30 CET
The new Bundesliga season starts with a bang on Friday night as Xabi Alonso’s imperious Leverkusen side kick off their title defence against local rivals Borussia Monchengladbach in a mouthwatering Rhine derby.
Having secured an unbeaten league and cup double last term, all eyes will be on Die Werkself as they look to maintain their remarkably high standards and win yet more silverware this campaign.
With the German Super Cup already in the bag after a penalty shootout victory over Stuttgart last weekend, Leverkusen will take some stopping as they target a 35th consecutive match unbeaten in the Bundesliga.
Monchengladbach are no pushovers though, and with bragging rights on the line as well as the support of a packed Borussia-Park, the Foals certainly have it in them to muster up a performance for the ages.
Danny Clark
Saturday, August 24th
Aston Villa vs Arsenal - 18:30 CET
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side face a tricky test at Aston Villa this weekend, as they take on the side that severely dented their title challenge last season.
Villa and Unai Emery - who was once manager at the Emirates Stadium - did the double over Arsenal during the 2023/24 campaign, including what proved to be a fatal blow to the Gunners’ charge for the title - a 2-0 win in April.
Villa Park is always a tough place to go, so they will need star man Bukayo Saka to put in the type of performance he did on the opening day when he bagged a goal and assist against Wolves.
Arsenal will be desperate to right those wrongs and make a very early statement that they have learnt from last season’s mistakes and they are ready to go one step further.
Like their opponents, Villa secured an impressive win at West Ham in their first match, with new signing Amadou Onana scoring on his debut and putting in a superb all-round performance.
Coming off the back of finishing in the top four last season, the Villans will be out to prove they can replicate that success, and another victory over a side challenging for the title will showcase that they will be right in the fight again.
Tolga Akdeniz
Sunday, August 25th
Dutch Grand Prix - 15:00 CET
Formula 1 is back! After a summer break that flew by as quickly as Max Verstappen flies through a qualifying session, the 2024 season resumes with the Dutchman’s home race.
He’s thus far given the ocean of orange in the stands what they’ve wanted to see every year since the Zandvoort race returned in 2021, winning it every time, but doing so this time around won’t be easy.
By the end of the first half of the season, McLaren and Mercedes had all but erased the pace deficit they had to Red Bull with Verstappen beaten to victory in each of the last four races, and McLaren in particular will fancy their chances of making the reigning champion wait a little longer to return to the top step of the podium.
They’ve had arguably the best car on the grid for a while now but haven’t taken full advantage due to strategy mishaps. With Red Bull deciding to stick with struggling number two driver Sergio Perez in the summer though, the British team will sense an opportunity to win their first Constructors’ Championship in well over a decade and so will be giving the remainder of 2024 their full focus instead of beginning to prioritize their 2025 car.
There’s a chance - albeit a slim one - that they could still fight for the drivers’ title too with Lando Norris currently second in the standings, 78 points behind Verstappen. He’ll need to start off the second half of the year with a win if he wants to close that gap, but if he can do so, we could be in for quite the final few months of the season. It’s fair to say it’s all to play for.
Finley Crebolder
Atletico Madrid vs Girona - 21:30 CET
Two of LaLiga’s top four from the 2023/24 season clash in just the second week of the new campaign with plenty of intrigue in store.
For Atletico Madrid and their summer spree continuing during the week, they look set for a title tilt this season and one of their new signings Conor Gallagher could make his debut on Sunday.
He adds to an already stacked midfield that will frighten any team this year and is likely to make them favourites for this match.
For Girona, they have lost some talent in the shape of Savinho, Artem Dobvyk and Aleix Garcia but they have made some interesting acquisitions in turn with the signings of Ladislav Krejci from Sparta Prague and the enigma of Donny van de Beek in tow.
The pair’s games last year had 11 goals in two games with a seven-goal thriller thrown in there - expect more of the same this time around.
Josh Donaldson
