Aston Villa will host the Premier League’s first Friday night match when Manchester United visit on August 14.
Changes to the fixture schedule for televised games has thrown up the anomaly for the new season, although it will become the norm in the 2016-17 campaign as part of the new multi-billion pound broadcasting deal.
Friday has been selected as the proposed Saturday evening kick-off was declined by West Midlands Police because of a clash with a planned English Defence League march.
Leicester City fail with Austin bid
Managerless Leicester City have had a bid of £12 million for QPR striker Charlie Austin rejected, reports said yesterday.
The 25-year-old forward scored 18 goals for the Rs last season but could not help keep the west London club in the top flight. Austin is entering the final year of his current deal at Loftus Road but QPR are not prepared to lower their valuation of one of their prized assets.
Austin has been linked with moves to the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham having proven his pedigree, even with a struggling side.
It is believed Rangers are holding out for around £15 million for a player they bought from Burnley two years ago.
Winning start
Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said he was “feeling very good” after winning his first game in charge of the Westphalian club.
It might only have been a friendly against amateurs Rhede, but Friday’s 5-0 win was a positive start for Tuchel, just four days after linking up with his new club.
“I’ve met a very open team here,” Tuchel said.
“The team embodies a high level of concentration. We’re feeling very good here.”
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring. Henrikh Mkhitaryan added a second before three members of Dortmund’s reserves completed the scoring as Tuchel fielded two different sides in each half of the warm-up match.
Black Cats wrap up Matthews deal
Sunderland have completed the signing of Celtic right-back Adam Matthews for a fee of £2 million.
The Black Cats confirmed the deal on Friday night, a little more than 24 hours after agreeing a fee with the Scottish champions.
Head coach Dick Advocaat said: “We know that we need quality players to improve competition for places in the side, so Adam is a welcome addition to our squad and we are very pleased to welcome him to Sunderland.”
Matthews, who joined Celtic from Cardiff in 2011, had been linked with a number of clubs and at one point appeared set for a return to his native Wales.
Atl. Madrid show interest in Shaqiri
Atletico Madrid have joined Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City in a race to sign striker Xherdan Shaqiri who was put on the transfer market by Inter last week.
The Swiss international only joined the Serie A club in January after a loan move from Bayern Munich with mandatory option to buy.
Inter want to part with Shaqiri to raise funds following the arrivals of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Miranda, Murillo and Martin Montoya.
Mundo Deportivo yesterday claimed Atletico have set their sights on Shaqiri who is seen as the ideal replacement for Arda Turan if the Turkey captain decides to leave the Spanish club this summer.
Lucas returns to Real Madrid
Real Madrid have exercised an option to buy back Spanish winger Lucas Vazquez from Espanyol.
Lucas, 23, left Real 12 months ago to join Espanyol on a season-long deal but has returned to put pen to paper on a five-year deal with Los Blancos.
Espanyol were prepared to make Lucas’s stay permanent but Real have paid the one million euro fee to bring Lucas back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Lucas Vazquez, a Real Madrid academy product, scored three goals in 33 league appearances for Espanyol in his debut season in La Liga.
United States pound hapless Guatemala
The United States tuned up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament with a 4-0 thumping of Guatemala in a friendly in Nash-ville late Friday.
The Americans extended their unbeaten run against Guatemala to 21 games, a streak stretching back to 1988 and a record against any nation.
A headed own goal by defender Carlos Castrillo set the United States on the path to victory moments after former Sunderland striker Jozy Altidore missed a penalty.
The Americans added three more goals in the second half through Timothy Chandler, a Clint Dempsey penalty and a Chris Wondolowski tap-in.
The US start their Gold Cup campaign against Honduras next Tuesday.