Mike Calvin, Seb Stafford Bloor and Glenn Moore share the disquiet about the nature of Newcastle United's takeover, and warn the rebuild will take longer than the majority of fans appear to think. They welcome Claudio Ranieri back to the Premier League with Watford, suggest Leicester will reset their season at Manchester United's expense, and foresee sustained struggle for Norwich, Burnley and Southampton.

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Mike Calvin, Jordan Jarrett Bryan and Darren Lewis assess potential champions as the Premier League takes shape. They praise Brentford and Brighton for their distinctive approaches, appreciate the power of Rafa Benitez's pragmatism, but can see no end to the travails of one of his former clubs, Newcastle United.

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Mike Calvin, Seb Stafford Bloor and Dominic Fifield suggest Solksjaer has until the end of the season to prove himself as Manchester United manager, Seb makes a passionate plea for change at Spurs, Dom expects Chelsea to be tactically tweaked after the international break, and Mike speaks of his despair at the latest, most shocking, example of racial abuse in European football. 

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Mike Calvin, Miguel Delaney and Glenn Moore look ahead to Manchester City's Champions League tie against PSG, sandwiched between pivotal Premier League games against Chelsea and Liverpool, who should prevail in their ties against Juventus and Porto respectively. Manchester United cannot afford defeat against Villareal at Old Trafford, and the success of David Moyes highlights Tottenham's folly in appointing Nuno.

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Mike Calvin, Adrian Clarke and Tony Hodson believe Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea will continue their recent domination of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. They focus on the merits of a range of Premier League coaches, including Dean Smith, Thomas Franck, Nuno, Rafa Benitez and Daniel Farke, but disagree with Bayern Munich's Julian Nagelsman's campaign for football to undergo a technological revolution.

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Mike Calvin, Faye Carruthers and John Cross discuss Liverpool's resurgence, and their ability to resist the remorselessness of Chelsea, who face Manchester City in a definitive fixture next weekend. They also dwell on the human side of football, praising Manchester United's Phil Jones for his candour, and Brighton for their concentration on the wellbeing of their players, Due tribute is also paid to the humanity of a timeless hero, Jimmy Greaves.

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Mike Calvin, Anne Marie Batson and Richard Amofa assess Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's future at Manchester United in the light of the latest criticism of his approach. They sense similar issues with Mikel Arteta,praise the tactical acumen of Thomas Tuchel, and would love to see Robert Lewandowski at Liverpool.

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Mike Calvin, Miguel Delaney and Jordan Jarrett Bryan assess the contenders in this season's Champions League.: They acknowledge the threat represented by Bayern Munich and PSG, but forecast an English winner.

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Mike Calvin, Dominic Fifield and Seb Stafford Bloor look beyond the pomp and ceremony of Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford, and ask whether he can give United the title they crave. They expect a messy compromise in the stand off about FIFA's intention to ban Brazilian players this weekend, but believe more conflict is inevitable. Big tests await Spurs, Leicester and Leeds.

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Mike Calvin, Paul Hayward and Glenn Moore insist that a rapidly-maturing England team is among the favorites to win the World Cup in Qatar next year. They question Arsene Wenger's support of FIFA's plans to have finals every two years, and, after a chaotic weekend, understand the opposition of leading clubs to the release of players to South American nations. They also condemn the FA for charging Middlesbrough's Marc Bola for social media posts, made when he was 14.

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