A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
The first round of the Premier League continues with Arsenal hosting Nottingham Forest in one of six games. A late collapse saw Arsenal fall short of the title last season and the London club has signed Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber in a bid to further close the gap to champion Manchester City. Promoted teams Luton and Sheffield United play their first games against Brighton and Crystal Palace, respectively. Newcastle, which finished fourth last season, hosts Aston Villa. West Ham visits Bournemouth, and Fulham is at Everton.
SPAIN
Real Madrid kicks off its season by visiting Athletic Bilbao with doubts regarding both its striker and goalkeeper positions. Little used Andriy Lunin will start in goal for Carlo Ancelotti’s team two days after Thibaut Courtois tore a knee ligament. Ancelotti will have to decide who will lead his attack after the club did not bring in a world-class replacement for Karim Benzema following his exit to Saudi Arabia. The scoring load will fall to Brazil forwards Vinícius Júnior and Rodrigo and newcomer Joselu Mato, a veteran striker who arrived from Espanyol. England midfielder Jude Bellingham is set to make his competitive debut for Madrid. Elsewhere, Real Sociedad hosts Girona while Mallorca visits the promoted Las Palmas.
GERMANY
Amid the frenzy over Harry Kane's looming transfer to Bayern Munich from Tottenham, Bayern has a game to win. The season-opening German Super Cup contest with Leipzig could see either Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting or the 18-year-old Mathys Tel deployed in Kane's preferred center-forward role for Bayern. There are also 11 games in the first round of the German Cup, including Borussia Dortmund's trip to fourth-division Schott Mainz.
FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain begins its title defense at home against Lorient and is expected to be without star striker Kylian Mbappé amid an ongoing transfer standoff. Forward partner Neymar could be also be missing from new coach Luis Enrique's first squad after training alone because of a viral infection. Down south, Marcelino takes charge of his first game for Marseille at home against Reims. Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang and goal-scoring winger Ismaïla Sarr could make their debuts at Stade Velodrome for Marseille, which finished third last season.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
