How To Get The Best Of ESPN Football This Week
Aberdeen will be looking to bounce back from a narrow opening defeat to Rangers, with captain and goalkeeper Joe Lewis encouraged by his team’s performance despite the negative result.
“With the goalmouth scramble at their end, it could have easily ended up in the net and we could have taken a point. We are very disappointed to lose the game, but we have to be encouraged by some of what we saw,” he explained, before adding: “Ultimately we lost the game and we have got to look at where we can improve. We have got to get some good training in and make sure we are right for Saturday.”
Later the same day, Eredivisie sides Ajax and RKC Waalwijk will clash for a pre-season friendly (5:40pm LIVE on ESPN).
Sunday 9 August brings more all-Dutch friendly action as local rivals Feyenoord and Sparta Rotterdam face off (1:30pm LIVE on ESPN), before more top-flight Scottish action as champions Celtic head to Rugby Park to face hosts Kilmarnock (4:25pm LIVE on ESPN).
The Glasgow giants opened their campaign with a 5-1 win over Hamilton last weekend, with striker Odsonne Edouard netting a hat-trick to further underline why he has become the subject of transfer interest.
“You can’t help the attention. It is inevitable,” said Celtic manager Neil Lennon. “But we will try to stave off any admirers. I am sure there is plenty out there. We love having him here and he enjoys being here. He will be well on the radar of clubs before this season. He got 27 goals until March last year and I was delighted with that goal return. He has the potential to be anything he wants to be.”
Further Scottish Premiership action arrives in midweek, with Dundee United v Hibernian on Tuesday 11 August (5:55pm LIVE on ESPN) and St. Mirren v Celtic the following evening (5:55pm LIVE on ESPN).
The final live football before the weekend for viewers on ESPN is the pre-season friendly between Ajax and FC Utrecht on Thursday 13 August (5:40pm LIVE on ESPN), with both teams counting down the days to the start of the Eredivisie season on September 12.
Ajax manager Erik ten Hag is having to cope with an exodus of players, having already watched Moroccan star Hakim Ziyech move to Premier League giants Chelsea, but he is determined to ensure that standards do not drop for the Amsterdam club.
“If you lose players who have had a big influence on the game, the playing style will change,” ten Hag explained. “You lack specific qualities. But of course the intentions remain the same. You should always set the bar higher than last season. The challenge is to get even more out of the players who are there now.”
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ESPN Football Broadcast Details
Saturday 8 August
12:25pm: Scottish Premiership: St. Johnstone v Aberdeen – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
5:40pm: Pre-season friendly: Ajax v RKC Waalwijk – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
Sunday 9 August
1:30pm: Pre-season friendly: Feyenoord v Sparta Rotterdam – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
4:25pm: Scottish Premiership: Kilmarnock v Celtic – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
Tuesday 11 August
5:55pm: Scottish Premiership: Dundee United v Hibernian – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
Wednesday 12 August
5:55pm: Scottish Premiership: St. Mirren v Celtic – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
Thursday 13 August
5:40: Pre-season friendly: Ajax v FC Utrecht – LIVE on ESPN channel 218
