SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Bournemouth v Crystal Palace Monday 1 October, 20:00 Live on Sky Sports 1 Cherries hoping to bounce back Bournemouth have made a great start to the season so it was a little surprising to hear  Eddie Howe  say that his side must get back to basics after last week's defeat at Burnley. True, it was a big defeat, the 4-0 scoreline equalling their worst Premier League loss, but prior to that game the Cherries  had done little wrong in claiming 10 points from their opening five games  and last week's defeat to the Clarets can easily be forgiven from a form perspective. Having said that, conceding four goals to a team looking for their first league win of the season was disappointing, and Howe's men also conceded twice in a midweek EFL Cup win over Blackburn, so perhaps the Bournemouth boss is far more concerned about his team's  defending  than he is with his  attack . The Cherries can move up level with Watford in sixth with a victory thoug...

Leaders to make it eight in a row Nice v PSG  (11th v 1st) Saturday 16:15 BST Live on Betfair Live Video PSG are serial record collectors and the opportunity to equal one dating back more than 80 years should inspire them to victory at the Allianz Riviera on Saturday afternoon. Lille started the 1936-37 with eight straight victories and PSG will match that tally if they claim all three points on the Cote d'Azur this weekend. It would be madness to back against Thomas Tuchel's side right now given how they're playing: they've scored at least three goals in each of their seven Ligue 1 games, reserving their best performance of the season for their 4-1 victory over Reims on Wednesday night. Even more frightening for Nice is the prospect of a  hungry and determined Kylian Mbappe returning here after a three-match suspension.  The World Cup winner will have had fidgety feet watching his team-mates from the touchlines so expect a turbo-boosted performance from him...

All roads lead to Lazio Roma v Lazio Saturday, 14:00 Live on Betfair Live Video The Serie A weekend starts with the high potential for drama at the Olimpico as  Roma and Lazio face off  in a game that Eusebio Di Francesco really can't afford to lose. I know that Roma got back to winning ways in midweek against Frosinone, but that's such a routine victory that it doesn't count for much, and certainly doesn't hide the fact that they have been poor this season so far. Di Francesco already had his doubters after the way that his team capitulated against Liverpool in the first leg of last season's Champions League semi-final, and he needed to hit the ground running, rather than limping tamely. Roma have already lost twice in Serie A, they've been brushed aside by Real Madrid in the Champions League, and they have twice been held to home draws, by Atalanta and Chievo. They've looked listless and disorganised, and Simone Inzaghi and Lazio must fancy tha...

West Ham United v Manchester United Saturday, 12:30 Live on BT Sport 1 Irons in fightback mode Things change quickly in football. Just ask West Ham, who were in full doom-and-gloom mode at the start of the month after starting the season with four straight losses. But  they shook off the dust with a stirring win away to Everton , were unlucky to follow it up with a win over Chelsea, and put eight goals past Macclesfield in midweek. Suddenly, the mood is altogether improved. It would be misguided to read too much into the Macclesfield result, of course, but it was a handy confidence booster for a few squad players.  The return of Marko Arnautović , who has missed the last couple of games, is also great news; he should lead the line, with Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko also returning to the attack at the London Stadium. But arguably it's the midfield that has been the key to West Ham's improvement. Jack Wilshere's injury prompted a switch to a three-man en...