A Breton derby and a night at the Riazor

Howe against Moyes, and a midfield scrap at St James' Park

• Eddie Howe's Newcastle host David Moyes' Everton at St James' Park, and the midfield battle looks decisive. Joelinton, the forward-turned-midfielder who found a new career under Howe, lines up alongside Nico Gonzalez, a Barcelona academy graduate who matured at Porto. Everton answer with Christian Norgaard, a former Brentford captain, and James Garner, whose long passing can switch the point of attack.
• Both squads are built around tall centre-forwards, so the aerial contest matters. Nick Woltemade, the 198cm striker Newcastle signed from Stuttgart for a club record, will be tracked by 195cm Jarrad Branthwaite and club captain James Tarkowski. At the other end, Beto and Thierno Barry come up against 201cm Dan Burn, with Jordan Pickford's willingness to come for crosses another thing to watch.
• The wide areas pit marquee signings against each other. Newcastle have Sweden's Anthony Elanga, bought from Nottingham Forest, and Harvey Barnes, whose direct running was already a weapon at Leicester City. Everton counter with Tyler Dibling, a club-record arrival from Southampton, and Wales winger Brennan Johnson, who came from Tottenham.

Promoted Deportivo welcome a hard-nosed Osasuna to the Riazor

• This is Deportivo back at the Riazor in the top flight after a long absence. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, signed from Marseille at 37, leads the line and still times his runs in behind the way he did at Dortmund, Arsenal and Barcelona, and he takes the penalties. Yeremay Hernandez, the left winger who also strikes the free-kicks, is the side's star, and how the two combine will shape the night.
• The flanks carry the better stories. Angelino came through Deportivo's own academy, went on to Manchester City, RB Leipzig and Roma, and has now returned to his boyhood club on loan from the Italian capital at 29. On the opposite side stands Adama Traore, the Spain international with more than 100 Premier League appearances at Wolves, who will try to bulldoze through Osasuna's right.
• Osasuna take their trademark solidity on the road from El Sadar. The back line pairs 194cm Catena with left-footed Jorge Herrando, while homegrown Moncayola, who once signed a ten-year deal, screens alongside the 190cm Lucas Torro. Up front, Croatia's Ante Budimir and cantera number ten Aimar Oroz will test Arnau Comas and Uruguay captain Jose Maria Gimenez.

A Brittany meeting at the Moustoir, with Fadiga facing former club Brest

• Two of Brittany's clubs meet at Lorient's Stade du Moustoir. Olivier Pantaloni's hosts climbed back up as Ligue 2 champions; Eric Roy brings Brest west along the coast. Brest can lean on Brendan Chardonnet, a one-club man since breaking into the first team in 2013 who has lived through the climb from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 and on to the Champions League.
• For Lorient's Bandiougou Fadiga, this is a reunion with a former club. Raised in Paris Saint-Germain's academy, he gathered his first senior minutes on loan at Brest before moving on to Olympiacos and Ionikos and finally to Lorient in 2024. He is an attacking midfielder who can carry the ball through congestion, and how he pulls Brest's midfield around is worth tracking.
• There is a genuine height mismatch to enjoy. Lorient field Isaak Toure, an extraordinary 206cm centre-back, next to 191cm Ghana international Nathaniel Adjei, who arrived via Hammarby. Brest reply with 197cm target man Ludovic Ajorque and 191cm Gautier Lloris at the back. If the game turns into a set-piece exchange, these are the men who will settle it.