SPORTING ALERT — Five English Premier League clubs will return to pre-season action on Saturday, as they continue preparations for the upcoming season next month.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are all on the schedule to play this weekend.
The featured clash of this group is expected to come from the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, where Manchester City and Tottenham will battle in an all-English Premier League 2017 International Champions Cup contest.
Spurs are coming off a late 3-2 defeat against Serie A outfits Roma at Red Bull Arena earlier this week and will be aiming to bounce back with a victory.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, although a little disappointed in the narrow defeat, was pleased with what he saw with his team overall.
“I’m not frustrated, I’m very happy, so excited to see the players play, develop and improve, every day getting fitter,” Pochettino said when he spoke to Tottenham TV.
“When you play teams like PSG and Roma, teams that invest a lot to build a team and for us playing with young players like Tash (Tashan Oakley-Boothe) and Anthony (Georgiou), that’s great news.
“It’s exciting because we played much better than Roma, created more chances and we were unlucky.”
Although it’s just a pre-season game, Pochettino will certainly want to get one over a Manchester City side that has spent big already in the summer transfer window and is shaping up to be the team to beat in the English Premier League this coming season.
The Citizens, meanwhile, cruised to a 4-1 victory over Real Madrid in their last pre-season outing and manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping to continue implementing his own style in a team he’s almost completely overhauled.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, exciting youngster Phil Foden and recruits Kyle Walker, Ederson and Danilo are again expected to feature.
However, new signing Benjamin Mendy joins David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan on the injured list, while another summer recruit Bernardo Silva and Claudio Bravo are yet to join up with the squad, following their participation in the Confederations Cup earlier this summer.
Erik Lamela, Moussa Sissoko, Danny Rose and Heung-Min Son will miss the game for Tottenham because of injuries.
Where to Watch:
Live TV: ESPN2
Live Streaming: ESPN3, WatchESPN
Kick-off time: 6:05 p.m. ET
In another 2017 International Champions Cup game on Saturday, Chelsea and Inter Milan will meet in an early morning kick-off at National Stadium in Singapore.
Chelsea were edged 3-2 by German champions Bayern Munich in their last friendly, but boss Antonio Conte was happy with the way his team fought back after a brace from Thomas Müller and a goal from Rafinha had his team trailing 3-0 before the half hour mark.
Michy Batshuayi, who was again on target continues to show good signs leading the Blues’ attack, while new signing Alvaro Morata, who helped to setup a goal in his first appearance for Chelsea, is also starting to settle in well.
Inter Milan eased to a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in an International Champions Cup encounter on Thursday in front of a crowd of 23,388 in Singapore and the Italian side will be confident about its chances again.
Again, all eyes will be on Manchester United reported target Ivan Perisic, who was impressive for Inter Milan in the last game and is expected to start against Chelsea, despite inviting the ideas of leaving for Old Trafford this summer.
Where to Watch:
Live TV: ESPN2, Chelsea TV
Live Streaming: ESPN3, WatchESPN, Chelsea TV Online Stream
Kick-off time: 7:35 a.m. ET
In the other two games involving English Premier League sides on Saturday, Arsenal will entertain Benfica in the 2017 Emirates Cup, while Liverpool will take on Hertha Berlin on the road.
The Gunners, still trying to assemble their best players, have recalled the likes of Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers to the squad for the Emirates Cup.
Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac are also among the players named in the Arsenal squad for the pre-season tournament.
Where to Watch:
Live TV: Quest
Live Streaming: ESPN3, WatchESPN, Arsenal Player
Kick-off time: 11:20 a.m. ET
Liverpool, meanwhile, are in Germany to take on Hertha Berlin at Olympiastadion.
The Reds remain active in the transfer window, but are still using these pre-season games to take a look at the players already at the club in an effort to spend less in what has become an inflated market.
Saturday’s game will be the fifth of the 2017 pre-season for Liverpool, which have already beaten fellow English Premier League clubs Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
Where to Watch:
Live TV: LFC TV
Live Streaming: LFCTV GO
Kick-off time: 12:00 p.m. ET
