MANCHESTER (AFP) – Liverpool’s new-look midfield faces a stern examination as the Reds put their Premier League title aspirations to the test at Newcastle tomorrow (11.30pm, Brunei time), while Manchester United aim to kickstart their campaign against Nottingham Forest (tonight 10pm, Brunei time).

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal are two of only three sides with six points from their opening two games of the new campaign.

But it is Brighton who top the table after shrugging off the sales of key midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo to score eight goals in their opening two games.

AFP Sport looks at the best of the action from the Premier League this weekend:
Liverpool’s failure to beat Chelsea to Caicedo or Romeo Lavia has seen their transfer business heavily criticised by many of their own fans.

The Reds instead landed 30-year-old Japan captain Wataru Endo as their replacement for the departed Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.

Endo, described by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp as a “real monster”, could make his first start at St James’ Park in an early indicator of who could rival City and Arsenal for the title.

Newcastle leapfrogged Liverpool into the top four last season despite the Reds winning both clashes between the sides.

The Magpies thrashed highly-fancied Aston Villa 5-1 at home on the opening weekend of the campaign, but were brought back down to earth by an inability to match champions City in a 1-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool will have Mac Allister available after his red card on his home debut in a 3-1 win over Bournemouth was rescinded.

Hope that United can challenge for their first league title in 11 years has already dwindled after a sloppy 2-0 defeat at Tottenham followed a woeful performance at home to Wolves, despite escaping with a 1-0 win on that occasion.

Erik ten Hag’s men have suffered from a lack of cutting edge up front in the absence of new striker Rasmus Hojlund, out with a back injury.

The Dane misses the visit of Nottingham Forest, but another injury to Mason Mount may simplify things for Ten Hag.

Fitting captain Bruno Fernandes and Mount, a close-season signing from Chelsea, into the same midfield has proved problematic in the opening weeks of the season.

United lost just two of 25 games in which the trio of Fernandes, Cristian Eriksen and Casemiro started in midfield last season.

Two of the three clubs to lose their opening two games face off tonight (10pm, Brunei time) when troubled Everton host Wolves at Goodison Park.

Everton have narrowly avoided the drop for the past two years and look set for another season of suffering, with Sean Dyche trying to patch the holes in his squad on a shoestring budget by Premier League standards.

The Toffees’ troubles on the field have been compounded by the collapse of a deal this week for an American investment group to inject capital into the club for a 25-per-cent stake. “It’s just the way Everton’s been for a number of months, years even,” said Dyche. “It’s our job to change the story. It always starts on the pitch, with me and the team changing the rhetoric.”

Wolves’ own financial problems led to the departure of manager Julen Lopetegui who resigned on the eve of the season.

A dominant performance in Gary O’Neil’s first game in charge went unrewarded at Old Trafford, but optimism from that display was wiped away in a 4-1 thrashing at home to Brighton last weekend.

NEW YORK (AFP) – Novak Djokovic makes a long-awaited return to the United States (US) Open next week.

Djokovic is looking to reclaim the title and world number one ranking from defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

The 36-year-old Serbian superstar was barred from entry to the US for much of the past two years after his refusal to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles title winner could only watch from afar last year as Spanish star Alcaraz was crowned as the new King of New York with his maiden triumph at a tennis major.

Since that breakthrough victory, Alcaraz and Djokovic have developed the sport’s most compelling new rivalry.

The two push each other to the limit in an epic five-set Wimbledon final last month that ended with Alcaraz triumphing 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

The two men produced another pulsating thriller in the final of the Cincinnati Open last weekend, with Djokovic saving a match point before digging out a 5-7, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) victory in just under four hours.

For Djokovic, Alcaraz’s performances are confirmation of his belief that the 20-year-old Spaniard is the real deal, the player best positioned to succeed him as the dominant force in men’s tennis.

The Serb said Alcaraz’s knack of rising to the occasion in the most demanding of circumstances reminds him of his gruelling battles with Rafael Nadal, who will miss the US Open with a hip injury.

“Each point, the feeling that I have on the court reminds me a little bit when I was facing Nadal when we were at our prime of our careers,” Djokovic said.

“Each point is a hustle. Each point is a battle. You feel like you’re not going to get maybe in total five free points in the entire match. You’ve got to basically earn every single point, every single shot, regardless of the conditions.”

Djokovic said Alcaraz’s development this season, particularly his poise under pressure, is even more impressive given his youth.

If the tournament follows the seedings, Djokovic and Alcaraz will meet for only the fifth time in what would be a blockbuster final in the last Grand Slam of 2023.

They have split the four previous meetings, winning two apiece.

Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in an attritional three-set semi-final on clay in Madrid last year, while Djokovic prevailed in a four-setter at Roland Garros this year.

Alcaraz meanwhile is flattered by Djokovic’s comparison of him to Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Djokovic is almost certain to reclaim his world number one ranking in New York, needing only a victory over first round opponent Alexandre Muller to be assured of regaining top spot regardless of how Alcaraz performs.

Alcaraz’s route to a potential final showdown with Djokovic is arguably trickier, with 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev and Italy’s Jannik Sinner – who took Alcaraz to five sets in last year’s quarter-finals – both in his side of the draw.

OKINAWA (AFP) – Australia’s Josh Giddey warned his teammates they cannot afford another slow start at the Basketball World Cup after overcoming early struggles to beat Finland in their tournament opener yesterday.

The Boomers trailed at the end of the first quarter but came alive before half-time, eventually running out comfortable 98-72 winners on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

Rising Oklahoma City Thunder star Giddey flirted with a triple-double, claiming 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

But the 20-year-old said his team must improve when they play Germany in their second game tomorrow. “It’s hard in FIBA because it’s a shorter game – slow starts can cost you a ballgame,” said Giddey.

“We were lucky tonight, we were switched on from the second quarter onwards.

“We play Germany in a few nights and a slow start against a team like that, it’s hard to dig yourself out of a hole in a short game like FIBA ball is.”

Patty Mills led Australia in scoring on 25 points, followed by Giddey on 14 and Joe Ingles on 13.

The Boomers scored eight unanswered points to end the first half 45-40 ahead and did not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game. Coach Brian Goorjian said his players “stayed with it” after a nervy start.

“We talked about, leading in, the importance of the defence – I thought we were tremendous defensively,” he said.

“It started at the end of the second quarter and right through the second half.”

Finland got 19 points from star player Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz. But he was overshadowed by Giddey, who is appearing at his first tournament for Australia.

“A lot of excitement, a lot of emotions going through me when you’ve got your country on your back and you’re trying to win for your country,” he said.

“There are guys on this team who have been here for 10-15 years, so it’s important to come into the team with the same mind-set and have everyone on the same page.”

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Giannis Antetokounmpo said he wants to see how committed the Milwaukee Bucks are to competing for another championship before deciding whether to sign a contract extension.

The two-time MVP will become eligible next month to extend the deal that currently runs through the 2024-25 season, with a player option for 2025-26. Antetokounmpo told The New York Times he wouldn’t sign an extension this year. He said it might make more sense next summer, “but even then, I don’t know”.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first title in a half-century in 2021, seven months after signing a supermax extension. But the Bucks haven’t gotten beyond the second round of the playoffs the last two seasons.

The Bucks posted the NBA’s best regular-season record in 2022-23 but lost 4-1 to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. They followed that up by firing coach Mike Budenholzer and replacing him with former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.

Antetokounmpo said he wanted to “see the dynamics” of how everything works with the new coaching staff before deciding whether to stay in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo also mentioned his hopes of playing his entire career with one franchise.

“But at the end of the day, being a winner, it’s over that goal,” Antetokounmpo said. “Winning a championship comes first. I don’t want to be 20 years on the same team and don’t win another championship.”

NEW YORK (AFP) – One year after Serena Williams bade an emotional farewell to tennis in front of an adoring crowd at Flushing Meadows, Coco Gauff is dreaming of continuing the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s legacy when the US Open gets under way next week.

The 19-year-old from Florida, who grew up idolising the now-retired Williams, heads into the New York showpiece with realistic hopes of landing her first Grand Slam title after an impressive run of results in the WTA Tour’s North American hardcourt swing.

She won her second title of the season at the Washington Open in early August and then followed an encouraging run to the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open with a breakthrough victory in Cincinnati last weekend – her first WTA 1000 title.

That win in Cincinnati also included a semi-final victory against world number one and reigning US Open champion Iga Swiatek – the first time Gauff has beaten the Polish four-time Grand Slam singles champion in eight meetings.

If Gauff’s upward trajectory continues over the next fortnight, there is every chance she can become only the fifth Black woman to win the US Open in the Open era, following in the footsteps of Serena and Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Naomi Osaka.

With Serena Williams having departed the stage, Gauff is acutely aware that she is seen by many as the likeliest standard-bearer for the next generation of African-American women tennis players.

MILAN (AFP) – Juventus are back in the Serie A title discussion as they prepare to host Bologna on Sunday (Monday 12.30am, Brunei time), a punchy new style of play in place for a club looking to bounce back from last season’s disasters.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side, like Italy’s three other big boys, impressed on opening day as they won 3-0 at Udinese and put on the sort of aggressive, attack-minded display not usually associated with the conservative coach.

Federico Chiesa hailed his team’s “modern style of football” after blasting them into the lead after 108 seconds in Udine and finally showing signs that his injury problems might be behind him. Allegri himself was more circumspect about the tactical changes, keener to highlight how Chiesa needs to be play up front.

“He has to score 14-16 goals this season… he is wasted on the wing,” he said.

But there was something new about Juve’s approach, an optimism which was lacking last season, even before their trials and tribulations in front of the sporting courts ended with a 10-point penalty and a one-season ban from European football.

Juve scored only 35 times from open play last term. Their matches were frequently stodgy affairs. An early exit from the Champions League and a January thumping at the hands Napoli underlined their limitations.

And while Chiesa said Juve’s target is a return to Europe’s top club competition, observers in Italy immediately made Juventus one of the title favourites.

With their principal rivals – Milan and reigning champions Napoli – all in transitional periods, Juve looked as hungry, and as capable, as they have since they broke the bank to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

AC Milan will greet their home fans for the first time this season against Torino on Sunday (2.45am, Brunei time), with the wind in their sails after their new additions made a positive start last weekend.

Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders, two of nine new faces, excelled at Bologna and there is hope on the red and black side of Milan that they can reach 20 league crowns before local rivals Inter.

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter are at promoted Cagliari on Monday night and also in high spirits, but possibly the most intriguing fixture of the weekend is Fiorentina taking on Lecce – who beat Lazio at the weekend.

Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano looks set to name the same team which hammered Genoa 4-1 on the opening day and made people wonder whether the Tuscans might be a dark horse for the top four.

However, Brentford are trying to snatch away star attacker Nicolas Gonzalez after bidding over EUR40 million, a sale which would leave fans again wondering about owner Rocco Commisso’s ambitions for the club.