Table of contents for 23-Jul-2019 in MATCH!

Can this Barcelona side rule Europe again? With BARCELONA finally paying ANTOINE GRIEZMANN’s mega £107.5 million release clause, the Spanish champions will have an unstoppable new front-line in 2019-20! We check out their new attack, and how it compares to their Champions League-winning sides… NEW-LOOK BARÇA Luis Suarez has only scored five Champions League goals in the last three seasons, but he’ll get at least one more season in Barça’s starting line-up! Grizi could play as the lead striker instead if France team-mate Ousmane Dembele starts on the wing – and especially if Barcelona sign Neymar! New boy Frenkie de Jong will help Barça boss the midfield after arriving from Dutch champs Ajax in a big-money move earlier this summer! 2006 This team was all about the magic of Ronaldinho.…

SLOW DOWN! EA reckon that the gameplay on FIFA 19 got far too hectic, with players charging in all directions and the ball pinging between the teams. The new game is a lot slower, to reward players who take their time when they’ve got the ball! NEW BALL MECHANICS! When you watch a live footy match, the ball will bounce on the surface or take random bobbles here and there, so EA have tried to introduce that to the new game. It’s another step towards making FIFA as realistic as the real thing! STRAFE DRIBBLING! We already knew about this from EA’s earlier update, but this was our first chance to check it out. The idea is to slow down your dribbling by holding L1/LB to draw in the defender,…

NEYMAR PSG THE BATTLE BARCELONA V REAL MADRID Neymar wants to leave PSG and Barça want to re-sign their ex-superstar, but the question is – can they afford him Real have also been linked, and they’d love nothing more than to get one over their rivals by bagging the Samba star! VERDICT We reckon this will drag out all summer, with Barça finally signing Neymar and players going in the other direction as part of the deal! PAUL POGBA MAN. UNITED THE BATTLE JUVENTUS V REAL MADRID  Pogba’s name always dominates the headlines, and this summer has been no different. Both Real and Juve are undergoing rebuilds this summer, and they’ve set their sights on the World Cup-winning central midfielder! VERDICT Pogba could rediscover his best form at his previous…

WEST HAM Prem-winning boss Manuel Pellegrini is starting to put his mark on West Ham’s squad. Wicked Spain playmaker Pablo Fornals has added some serious quality in midfield, and £45 million striker Sebastien Haller has replaced the departed Marko Arnautovic. They could defo improve on last season’s tenth place Premier League finish! EVERTON Confidence is high at Goodison Park after a strong end to last season took them to eighth place. They’ve already signed midfield maestros Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph and, if they can add another attacker to play alongside Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison to help bust more nets, they’ll have a quality campaign! WOLVES It’s crazy how much progress Wolves have made over the last couple of campaigns! They’ve gone from the Championship to the top half of…

Just a year after launching the Mercurial Superfly and Vapor 360 boots, Nike have decided to update them again – and they’re even more responsive and breathable, and weigh less than ever! You’ll see them on the feet of Nike footy heroes like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo. Sick! LIMITED-EDITION MERCS! Just a few days after dropping the new Mercurials in blue, Nike revealed a limited-edition orange colourway of the new boot on Instagram – 2019 pairs were made! CRAZY COLLAR! Ligue 1 side RC Lens are definitely another strong contender for strangest strip in 2019-20 – their blue third kit has a drawstring collar! How weird is that LAUNCH EVENT! ENGLAND wonderkid JADON SANCHO turned up to the launch event in Paris – and got involved in some…

LUCIEN AGOUME SOCHAUX ★ CM The 17-year-old wonderkid recently signed for Inter, but can be snapped up on Career Mode from Sochaux. His pace, strength and dribbling ability mean he’s got the potential to be a proper beast of a box-to-box midfielder! LUIS DIAZ JUNIOR ★ LM Diaz is another star to swap sides this month – he bagged a move to Porto! With an OVR of 75, tons of pace and class agility, plus really high stats for dribbling and finishing, you should move like Porto and get him in your team! JESUS FERREIRA FC DALLAS ★ ST MATCH is seriously excited to get Ferreira signed up for our Career Mode campaign. The Colombian attacker has got loads of speed and deadly finishing, a four-star weak foot and the…

291 New Derby manager Phillip Cocu played almost 300 times for Barcelona! In the first ever game of basketball, back in 1891, players threw around footballs rather than what we know today as basketballs! 99 Arjen Robben retired with more Bundesliga goals than any other Dutch player. Total hero! 8 Real Sociedad announced the signing of Norway’s Martin Odegaard on the same day that they revealed another seven signings! 14 Recently retired England midfielder Karen Carney made her professional debut for Birmingham when she was just 14. Wow! 91 Asmir scored Begovic the longest footy history goal in 2014 for Stoke – from in 91.9m out! 42 At one point, Chelsea had 42 players out on loan last season! Barcelona CB Gerard Pique is the owner of a fourth-tier Spanish team…

MBAPPE £200 MILLION MAN! Footy experts Soccerex have calculated the Top 20 most expensive wonderkids in the world, and it’s no shock that Kylian Mbappe is top of the pile! They reckon the star is worth £235 million, putting him way ahead of Jadon Sancho at £107 million and Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt at £67 million. Wow! COSTA TOFFEE Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa could be returning to the Prem! Gossips reckon Everton are lining up a move for the ex-Chelsea striker, who scored 52 goals in 89 Prem games, including four against The Toffees! PREM FANTASY FOOTY! Reckon you’re the best fantasy footy manager on the planet? Prove it! Just enter your Fantasy Premier League team into MATCH’s private league using the code: 0bzttr – can you beat…

BARCELONA v CHELSEA Tuesday, July 23 Friendly Chelsea TV ★ 10am This game will bring back loads of memories for Chelsea’s new manager Frank Lampard! He clashed with Barcelona loads of times in his epic playing career, and now he’s taking them on with his new-look Blues side! MAN UNITED v TOTTENHAM Thursday, July 25 International Champions Cup, MUTV ★ 12.30pm This clash between two Prem rivals will kick-off over 5,000 miles away in Shanghai, China! Although it’s only a friendly, these two will feel they can make a serious statement ahead of the new season by beating a top-four rival! ARSENAL v LYON Sunday, July 28 Emirates Cup Premier 1 ★ 3.15pm Arsenal’s famous pre-season tournament returns this Sunday, with Lyon visiting the Emirates. The French side’s…