Managers

Chelsea's returning striker Romelu Lukaku is in line to make his second debut for the club in Sunday's London derby against Arsenal, manager Thomas Tuchel said.

Lukaku was not involved in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday as he was observing coronavirus protocols after travelling from Italy to re-join the club from Inter Milan.

The 28-year-old returned to Chelsea in a reported 97.5 million pounds ($135 million) move seven years on from his departure after helping the Serie A side to their first league title in 11 years last season.

PARIS — The arrival of Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain has created a positive mood at the Ligue 1 club but he is unlikely to play any part in Saturday's home game against Strasbourg, coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

Speaking at Friday's news conference ahead of the league fixture after Messi joined PSG from Barcelona earlier this week, Pochettino added his first task was to make sure a star-studded outfit began to look the sum of its parts.

Jesse Marsch is the best American coach in European football right now. After two wildly successful campaigns with Red Bull Salzburg, the Wisconsin native moved up to the big time with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. Ahead of his first season leading Leipzig, Marsch is already being compared to another wildly successful American coach in Europe, albeit a fictional one, Ted Lasso.

Abusive behavior, racist jokes, homophobic slurs — Richie Burke, it seems, is no Ted Lasso, and he appears to be on his way out of the NWSL after a damning report and some confusing reactions from his Washington Spirit club.

After a potential title chase ended up in a fifth-place finish and a change of manager, Olympique de Marseille has been remarkably active in the transfer window this summer. 

Jorge Sampaoli has been backed to the tune of $52 million as Marseille has secured 10 signings thus far. This summer has been one of transition for the side from France's second city, as Valère Germain, Yuto Nagatomo and Florian Thauvin have left the club in addition to academy graduate Maxime Lopez, Kevin Strootman and Hiroki Sakai.

Crystal Palace supporters have good reason to be excited for the coming Premier League season. The Eagles, not generally known for efficient or exciting business in the transfer market, are in the midst of a youth revolution in the current window as they seek to improve on last season's 14th-placed finish. 

The 2021-22 MLS season has been a trying one thus far for Atlanta United and its supporters. 

Atlanta, which took the league by storm in its first two seasons, smashing attendances records and earning a championship, has a record of 2-8-6 this year. Head coach Gabriel Heinze, hired in December, was let go earlier this month amidst an eight-game winless streak. The Argentine coach did not help his cause much by freezing out Atlanta's and, possibly, MLS's best player. 

Few teams have experienced a more painful first half of 2021 than Derby County, and the year just got worse for Rams fans following a training ground incident on Monday involving manager Wayne Rooney.

Due to a shortage of first-team players, Rooney — who last played for Derby in November of 2020 — has been taking part in team training sessions.