As the calendar hits the last weekend of August we can now safely say, football is back everywhere in Europe, and we can all settle in to the regular matchday routine. And where better to start than our preview newsletter.
Time for more Premier League entertainment
After an explosive opening weekend that saw 30 goals across 10 games, the new Premier League season continues over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Champions Arsenal will look to make it two wins from two at the beginning of their title defence when they travel to Aston Villa on Bank Holiday Monday – with new signing Ezri Konsa in line to make his Gunners debut against the club he joined them from just last week.
Can Brighton hold on to top spot in Matchday 2?
Elsewhere, Manchester United need a big response to their shock defeat to Hull when they entertain another of the newly promoted sides, Ipswich, on Sunday, with head coach Michael Carrick insisting his side would “stay calm” despite that early setback.
Hull themselves will be aiming to continue the dream start to their Premier League return on Saturday away to Coventry – who lost 3-0 to Arsenal in a tough first top-flight game for 25 years – as the Coventry Building Society Arena becomes the 62nd stadium to host Premier League football.
Can PSG get their season up and running after stuttering start?
Reigning French and European champions PSG have yet to win domestically in 2026/27, losing the Trophee des Champions to Lens and drawing their Ligue 1 opener away to Rennes.
But the Parisians have a chance to set that straight when they head north to Lille this Friday night. And their record against the last side to beat them to the French title makes for ominous reading.
PSG are unbeaten in 10 league games against Les Dogues, winning eight of those and scoring a whopping 33 goals. That said, Lille do usually score in these meetings – the blank in losing 3-0 in Paris last January was their first since 2010 – so goals are expected.
PSG’s next three fixtures in Ligue 1 are rated ‘Hard’
While PSG were bailed out against Rennes by debutant Ferran Torres’ brace off the bench – his first goals since bagging the winner for Spain in last month’s World Cup final – Lille enjoyed a considerably more comfortable start to the new Ligue 1 season, winning 2-0 at Angers with 39-year-old Olivier Giroud on the scoresheet.
Bayern in action as the Bundesliga is back
The last of Europe’s top five leagues to kick off, the Bundesliga returns this weekend – beginning with back-to-back champions Bayern Munich hosting Stuttgart.
Bayern started the campaign with a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund in the Super Cup – and Vincent Kompany’s men will be hoping to pick up where they left off against a Stuttgart side they beat four times in all competitions last term by an aggregate scoreline of 14-3.
European Golden Shoe winner Harry Kane wasn’t on the scoresheet last time out, but the goals are never far away: he’s not gone more than one domestic appearance without finding the net since February last year.
Elsewhere on opening weekend in, Elversberg will make history when they host Bayer Leverkusen in one of six Saturday fixtures. Hailing from a town of barely 13,000 people, they are the smallest club ever to reach the German top flight.
Bayern start their latest title defence vs. Stuttgart
Pokémon x J.League
The new J. League season is the first since moving to an European-style Autumn/Spring format, but it’s a link up with another beloved Japanese institution that is sparking new worldwide interest.
Pokémon, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has partnered with the league to assign every club in Japan’s top three tiers a mascot Pokémon!
Charizard beat Beedrill in a 3-2 thriller last weekend
As you would expect, there is no stone left uncovered - with giveaways at matches and Pokémon branded club merchandise of EVERY description.
On the pitch, reigning champions Kashima Antlers, plus Kashiwa Reysol and Machida Zelvia have all won three from three - with Machida, who’ve scored a massive 12 goals already, sat top of the table.
All of this week’s games take place on Saturday morning for those of you in Europe, so it’s an ideal time to locate your favourite Pokémon and choose a new team to support!
Robbie Ure, the Scotsman in Seville
Meet Robbie Ure, the 22-year-old striker whose goals led Sirius to an unassailable lead in the Swedish title race (or so we thought), and earned the player his big move to sleeping LaLiga giants Sevilla.
Robbie Ure has been scoring goals for fun in Sweden
Ure’s 15 goals in 15 games helped Sirius amass a huge advantage in Sweden, as the rank outsiders look to claim a first ever league honour, but since his departure, they’ve gone three games without a win, and the title is no longer a foregone conclusion.
Ure, meanwhile, has gone about settling into life at one of Spanish football’s biggest names, and there are calls for him to be included in new Scotland manager Sébastien Pocognoli’s maiden squad come the next international break.
Sevilla coach Luis García has been at pains to explain that it may take some time for him to adapt to his new elevated status in Spain. “In training the other day he was saying to me, 'this heat is crazy!' I mean, he's just come from Sweden and he is not used to playing in these high temperatures.” You can take the man out of Scotland…
🏴🤝🇪🇸 Read more on Robbie Ure’s terrific 2026
Ronaldinho out of retirement and in Serie C
Earlier in the summer there were wild rumours that Ronaldinho, the 46-year-old living legend, might be coming out of retirement. Reintegrated as an establishment figure through his appearances supporting Brazil at the World Cup, the former Milan, Barcelona, and PSG cult player was back in the limelight.
Now, he has officially signed on (and crucially, become a shareholder) in Italian third tier side Ravenna, even showing up for the club’s official preseason presentation late last week. Ronaldinho stated his aim to score what would be a 300th career goal but has admitted that any actual game time will come down to the coach.
Ronaldinho didn’t feature in Ravenna’s first league game away from home last weekend but fingers crossed for their home opener vs. Latina on Saturday.
Ronaldinho is back on FotMob!
Friday: Tonight is a busy one. In the Premier League, Enzo Maresca will look for his Man City side to continue their winning start away at Crystal Palace. One division lower, Wrexham host Birmingham City in a fixture that has become synonymous with big money North American investment in the English game.
As detailed above, the new Bundesliga season begins at champions Bayern, with Stuttgart, who finished fourth in 2025/26, the visitors.
PSG will be out to end their unlikely winless start when they visit Lille, and in Serie A, Milan host Venezia in their home opener at San Siro.
And in the UK, for those of you who like that kind of thing, there's a full programme in non-league, the first of two with more games to come on Bank Holiday Monday.
Saturday: Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest is the early game in the Premier League. Coventry and Hull enjoyed very different starts to their season but now the two promoted sides meet in one of just two 3pm kick-offs. Spurs and Newcastle will both be looking to continue their midweek Carabao Cup form in the late game.
Millwall, early pacesetters in the Championship, visit bottom side Southampton, while West Ham go to unbeaten Watford.
North of the border, Celtic must get over their damaging Champions League elimination, when they face Falkirk.
Sevilla vs. Atlético Madrid is the biggest game in LaLiga and Dortmund's home tie with Hamburg is the first Saturday headliner of the Bundesliga season.
There's an early meeting between Young Boys and Basel, the big two in Switzerland. And Inter Miami will look to end a five game winless streak (four in MLS) when they host Montréal.
Sunday: Real Madrid welcome promoted side Málaga to the Bernabéu, Monaco vs. Marseille should be tasty in Ligue 1, while Napoli vs. Como will be a good indication of how these top four challengers are faring. Inter, meanwhile, are on the road at Cagliari.
There's four games back in the Premier League, starting with free scoring Brentford's trip to Leeds and Chelsea vs. Brighton as two of three afternoon kick-offs. Then it's time for Michael Carrick to lead out Manchester United as they play Ipswich Town at Old Trafford.
Bodø/Glimt qualified for the Champions League and also won a Cup game on consecutive days during the week, and now they're back in league action against sleeping Norwegian giants Rosenborg.
Monday: And there's still yet more key fixtures held over until the start of next week. Arsenal go to Aston Villa in what looks like an intriguing early season tie, and Barcelona host Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga.
There's also two games in Serie A, with Roma visiting Lecce and Atalanta taking on Bologna.
The update you didn’t know you needed
Update your FotMob app and you’ll find a myriad of new features that we’ve brought in for the 2026/27 season.
That includes the addition of full referee profiles! Now, on any upcoming match where data is available, you get a quick view of a referee’s record on the average number of cards given and fouls awarded per match.
You can also click further to see a full profile that covers their season summary and all recent matches. Click here for the lowdown on Michael Oliver, for example.
