Big Weekend: Newcastle v Liverpool, Spurs, Fernandez, Maresca, Mourinho’s Real Madrid | OneFootball

With so many unknowns and almost half the Premier League under new management, it’s hard to know where to look on this opening weekend.

It’s massive beyond the Barclays and these borders too, with must-see matches in the Championship and La Liga too.

Just cancel your plans, ignore your obligations, and gorge on it all…

Game to watch – Newcastle v Liverpool One of three opening games to feature new managers in both dug-outs, we winced when the fixture computer pitted Newcastle, in such a delicate state, against Liverpool.

Even before the Magpies had been pillaged of their best players and shorn of their most popular manager since Sir Bobby Robson, they had not managed to beat the Reds at St James’ Park in their last nine attempts. In the Premier League, home or away, Liverpool are 19 unbeaten against Newcastle.

So Matthias Jaissle could have few tougher tests to begin his Newcastle reign before we all rush to judgement on the new manager.

But the Reds seem no more optimistic for the new season under Andoni Iraola than their Geordie hosts.

At least Jaissle is spared the expectation carried by Iraola. Both clubs may claim to be in transition, but circumstances mean the Newcastle manager has more licence to fail early than his Liverpool counterpart.

Not that many would blame Iraola if Liverpool get off to anything less than a flying start. The Reds’ problems are not of his making, but his to navigate.

Liverpool have been slow to plug the holes in their squad and even if they do so by the deadline, here is a window of opportunity for Newcastle to exploit.

Team to watch – Tottenham Hotspur Two thirds of the brand new, surely-not-sh*t-anymore Spurs kick off their campaign on Saturday evening with a revamped defence, overhauled midfield and the same old attack.

Around their London derby at Brentford, where they haven’t lost in their last five, Tottenham will be spending the rest of their weekend trying to tie up a double deal with Manchester City while egging on Liverpool to get their business done so they can take Cody Gakpo off their hands.

So most of the focus of the inevitable kneejerk-ery will be on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. Brentford’s record signing, Mamadou Sangare, will certainly have the £185million pair in his sights, desperate to highlight why so many think the Bees have got a bargain.

But even if Tonali and Fernandes pull the strings, Spurs have to find a way to score goals until they get their new forwards through the door.

Player to watch – Enzo Fernandez So many debutants to watch excitedly this weekend, but just as fascinating will be the players still hoping to get their moves.

Chief among them is Chelsea’s vice-captain.

Fernandez is the focus of interest from Manchester City with the Argentina midfielder keen to follow Enzo Maresca up to the Etihad – a desire he’s not too shy to hide.

Which prompted a mixed reaction from Chelsea supporters when Fernandez featured in their last pre-season friendly last weekend. Those dissenters were perhaps the Blues fans stared down by Fernandez at the AmEx last season, when it seemed clear he would be away this summer if he could.

With City and Chelsea still someway apart in their valuations, the former ignoring the latter’s deadline last week, Fernandez will be fascinating to watch.

How much is he prepared to push for a move? How will that affect his demeanour and performance at Fulham on Monday night? Fernandez seems the sort to overegg it, either performatively proving his commitment to his current club, or not-so-subtly hinting at his preference to join a new one.

Manager to watch – Enzo Maresca The new Manchester City manager has had a rough week.

It began with a pummelling at the hands of Arsenal in the Community Shield and continued with the release of Pep Guardiola’s searingly-honest documentary, reminding City fans of the manager and the love they lost this summer.

The new fella already had a tall task to win over those wary that City have replaced Pep with Diet Pep. Those sceptics will feel emboldened by the startling difference last week in Cardiff between the champions and the runners-up.

Arsenal did not have to play particularly well to pummel a City side that seemed to exist of many more strangers than the single new signing – their new £115million midfielder – on show.

In all aspects of their play, City seemed a long way from being ready for their first post-Pep season. How much can Maresca remedy in one week?

European game to watch – Espanyol v Real Madrid Four of the big five leagues kick off this weekend, with Inter v Monza on Saturday evening worth keeping an eye on around Spurs’ trip to Brentford with a couple of England defenders due their Serie A debuts.

As ever, though, it’ll be all eyes on Jose Mourinho on Saturday night when he kicks off his second stint as Real Madrid boss at Espanyol.

It’s been an oddly low-key return to the Bernabeu from Mourinho so far. Actually, he seems to avoided the limelight which, from everything we know of Jose, cannot possibly be a long-term arrangement.

With Mourinho having avoided media duties after Real’s pre-season friendlies and the club swerving from tradition by not staging an unveiling of any sort, we know very little of how he intends to begin the rebuild at the Bernabeu.

Real have also taken a similar approach with their new signings, including £115million Yan Diomande, perhaps to demonstrate a single-minded focus on performance, rather than indulging in the usual bluster Mourinho and Florentino Perez have rarely ever previously shunned.

Which makes their opener at Espanyol our first opportunity to gauge the scale of Mourinho’s task and what he’s been able to achieve so far.

EFL game to watch – West Ham v Charlton Lincoln’s first home game against Portsmouth is one of three Championship games on the box on Saturday lunchtime, but we’re more intrigued to get a look at West Ham back at the London Stadium in a London derby.

The Hammers are favourites to secure promotion back to the Premier League but much may depend on how they handle those expectations.

The pressure from outside the club will pale in comparison to that from within their own fanbase. If the team can get the London Stadium onside, then this season could be a successful, fun excursion in the second tier.

But if they don’t… oh, boy. And West Ham are already on the backfoot somewhat after chucking in a two-goal lead at Burnley last week.

The Hammers also have to deal with the burden of being seen as the Championship’s biggest scalp. Charlton supporters, coming six miles across London, will occupy the first of a few sold-out away ends at the London Stadium, and visiting players will relish the opportunity as much as the fans.

West Ham can’t allow their stadium to again become more hostile for themselves than visitors. A positive start to the home campaign is essential.