Tete Yengi has been in red-hot scoring form for Machida Zelvia in the J1 League so far this season and the 1.97m forward will be one to watch as he hopes to continue that impressive purple patch this weekend.
Elsewhere, Nestory Irankunda will hope to build on his promising Sporting CP debut last week, while RIley McGree continues his comeback from injury for Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship.
In Focus
Yengi in red-hot J-League Form
Tete Yengi has had an extraordinary 2026 and has continued at club level where he left off, scoring midweek to bring his tally to three goals in four games for J1 League side Machida Zelvia.
Yengi was one of the surprise packages at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, scoring on his debut for the CommBank Socceroos in a pre-tournament friendly against Switzerland and appearing at the global finals against Turkey and Paraguay.
The towering forward has been a big factor in Machida winning four from four games (including the Emperors Cup) so far this season and will hope to continue that form against Mito HollyHock this weekend.
Fixture: Machida Zelvia v FC Mito HollyHock - Saturday 29 August, 7.00pm AEST
Circati makes Benfica debut
Alessandro Circati made his SL Benfica debut coming on in the 84th minute against Danish Superliga side AGF Aarhus in the second leg of the Europa League Play-off match. The Portuguese giants won 3-1 on the night to secure a dominant 6-2 aggregate victory and book their place in this year's edition of the competition. Circati will now look to make his maiden appearance in the Primeria Liga on Tuesday morning (AEST) against Estoril.
Result: AGF 1 – 3 SL Benfica (2-6 on aggregate)
Fixture: SL Benfica v Estoril – Tuesday 1 September, 5:45am AEST
Irankunda looks to build on promising debut
After an eye-catching performance last week, and with another seven days of training under his belt, Nestory Irankunda will be eyeing a key role either from the start or off the bench against Rio Ave this weekend.
Sporting will go into the fixture as favourites and may look to unleash their young gun, who could have easily walked away from last week with an assist. Sporting also learned their UEFA Champions League 2026/27 league phase draw which means the young attacker could line up against the likes of FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City and AS Roma.
The Portuguese side are undefeated in three games to start the season with two wins and one draw.
Fixture: Rio Ave v Sporting CP – Saturday 29 August, 5.15am AEST
Path of return being paved by McGree
After being rested for the midweek cup game, Riley McGree could see more action against West Brom on the weekend.
The Middlesbrough man missed out on the FIFA World Cup 2026™ due to injury but picked up an assist in his first game back against Lincoln a few weeks ago and will be hoping to recreate that form while he continues to have his minutes managed.
At his best, the 27-year-old can make a big difference for both club and country and many - including, no doubt, Head Coach Tony Popovic - will be watching his form closely.
Fixture: Middlesbrough v West Brom, Saturday 29 August, 9.30pm AEST
Midweek Headlines
Nicholas D’Agostino and Gianni Stensness will take part in the league phase of the Champions League this season as their Viking FK side defeated Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 in the second leg of qualification. Stensness started and played the full match while D’Agostino was not in the matchday squad.
Result: Viking FK 3 – 1 Dinamo Zagreb (5-3 on aggregate)
Lucas Herrington has continued his fine start to life in Hull, named player of the match in his starting debut for the club. The team won on penalties against Stoke City in EFL Cup.
Result: Stoke City 1 – 1 Hull City (4-5 on penalties)
Mathew Ryan made 7 saves for Levante and was named Player of the Match in a scoreless draw with Osasuna. Every point is crucial in La Liga for Levante and performances like that will go a long way to helping them stay in the league again this campaign.
Result: Levante 0 – 0 Osasuna
Paul Okon-Engstler made his competitive debut for 1. FC Köln as a late substitute in 2-1 victory against Wurzburger Kickers in DFB-Pokal
Result: Wurzburger Kickers 1 – 2 1. FC Köln
Midweek Results
Jackson Irvine (Cerezo Osaka, J1 League) – second half substitute in 3-1 victory over F.C Gifu in the Emperor’s Cup
Riley McGree (Middlesbrough, EFL Championship) – unused substitute in 3-1 victory over Doncaster in EFL Cup
Mohamed Toure (Norwich City, EFL Championship) – not in matchday squad for 2-1 victory against Cardiff City in EFL Cup
Alex Robertson (Cardiff City, EFL Championship) – 94% passing accuracy, 13 progressive carries in 2 key passes in 2-1 defeat to Norwich City in EFL Cup
Joe Gauci (Lincoln City, EFL Championship) – started in goals and made two saves in 4-1 victory over Blackpool in EFL Cup
Harry Souttar (Leicester City, EFL League One) – unused substitute in 3-1 defeat against Ipswich Town in EFL Cup
Tete Yengi (Machida Zelvia, J1 League) – came off bench in second half to score in 3-0 win v Morioka in Emperor’s Cup
Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata, J2 League) – not in matchday squad in 4-0 defeat to Kagoshima United in Emperor’s Cup
Ajdin Hrustic (Al Nasr; UAE Pro League) – not in matchday squad for 3-2 victory v Al-Ettifaq
Fran Karačić (Hajduk Split, HNL) – v Rakow Czestochowa in Europa Conference League Play-off Second leg, Friday 28 August, 3.00am AEST
Martin Boyle (Hibernian, Scottish Premiership) – 76 minutes in 3-2 defeat to Gent in Europa Conference League Play-off Second Leg (3-2 defeat on aggregate)
Cammy Devlin (Rangers, Scottish Premiership) – suspended for 1-0 defeat to Jablonec in Europa Conference League Play-off Second Leg (1-1 on aggregate, 4-3 defeat on penalties)
Daniel Arzani (Ferencváros, Nemzeti Bajnokság) – 12 minutes in 4-0 win v Trabzonspor in Europa League Play-off Second Leg (5-0 win on aggregate)
Elsewhere in Action
Lucas Herrington (Hull City, Premier League) – v Coventry City, Sunday 30 August, 12.00am AEST
Mohamed Toure (Norwich City, EFL Championship) – v Burnley, Sunday 30 August, 12.00am AEST
Alex Robertson (Cardiff City, EFL Championship) – v Sheffield United, Sunday 30 August, 12.00am AEST
Joe Gauci (Lincoln City, EFL Championship) – v Peterborough, Saturday 29 August, 9.30pm AEST
Hayden Matthews (Portsmouth, EFL Championship) – v Bristol City, Sunday 30 August, 12.00am AEST
Harry Souttar (Leicester City, EFL League One) – v MK Dons, Saturday 29 August, 9.30pm AEST
Sam Silvera (MK Dons, EFL League One) – v Leicester City, Saturday 29 August, 9.30pm AEST
Patrick Beach (ES Troyes, Ligue 1) – v Lorient, Sunday 30 August, 4.45am AEST
Connor Metcalfe (FC St. Pauli, 2. Bundesliga) – v 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Sunday 30 August, 9.30pm AEST
Paul Izzo (Randers, Danish Superliga) – v AGF, Monday 31 August, 12.00am AEST
Ryan Teague (KV Mechelen, Belgian Pro League) – v La Louvière, Sunday 30 August, 12.00am AEST
Nicholas D’Agostino (Viking FK, Eliteserien) – v Aalesunds FK, Sunday 30 August 2.00am
Gianni Stensness (Viking FK, Eliteserien) - v Aalesunds FK, Sunday 30 August 2.00am
Deni Juric (Wisla Plock, Ekstraklasa) – v Korona Kielce, Saturday 29 August, 2.00am AEST
Kai Trewin (New York City FC, MLS) – v Toronto FC, Sunday 30 August, 9.30am AEST
Aiden O’Neill (New York City FC, MLS) – v Toronto FC, Sunday 30 August, 9.30am AEST
Patrick Yazbek (Nashville SC, MLS) – v Cincinnati, Sunday 30 August, 10.30am AEST
Kye Rowles (D.C United, MLS) – v LAFC, Sunday 30 August, 9.30am AEST
Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata; J2 League) – v Iwaki FC, Saturday 29 August, 7.00pm AEST
Ajdin Hrustic (Al Nasr; UAE Pro League) – v Al-Taawon, Saturday 29 August 4.00am AEST
Unavailable players
Jordy Bos (Feyenoord, Eredivisie) – Injured
Lewis Miller (Blackburn, EFL Championship) – Injured
Cameron Burgess (Swansea City; EFL Championship) – Injured
Jacob Italiano (Grazer AK; Austrian Bundesliga) – Injured