Norwich have enjoyed a solid pre-season, losing just one of their seven matches, and that form is far better than MK Dons’ record of three defeats in their last five games. The Dons do pose an attacking threat, though, evidenced by their tally of 45 away goals last term, and they can net in defeat at Carrow Road.

Ayr have won five straight matches, scoring at least twice in four of those victories. That includes an away win at Premiership outfit Falkirk in the cup, and they can secure another win at a Dunfermline side who were outplayed in last weekend’s draw with Inverness.

Dundee battled well against Celtic in their Scottish Premiership opener, eventually losing 1-0. They did ride their luck, however, and it is likely Aberdeen will prove too strong as well, especially after a morale-boosting win over Hearts.

The spygate scandal will make Southampton a target for opponent fans this season and they won just three of their opening ten last term. Colchester were solid at the back last term and lost only two of their final 13 home games, so they could upset the Saints.

These two sides finished level on points last season, and five of their last six meetings have seen both teams score. Arouca struggled on their travels last season, conceding 34 goals in 17 away matches, including a 1-1 draw at Guimaraes.

West Ham have held on to some of their stars, despite their relegation, and they face a financially constrained Portsmouth as they look to start the season in positive fashion. Pompey are winless in their last five pre-season friendlies and look set to fall to defeat in London.

Arbroath have suffered three defeats to nil in their last four matches, and they host an Inverness side who look solid at the back. The visitors should have enough to shade this encounter, after a strong League Cup showing.

Burnley have not won since February but they should have the quality to edge a victory over Notts County, who were promoted from League Two last season.

Leicester City will be desperate to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking and they can head into their league opener with a positive result in this EFL Cup first-round tie. The Foxes have already defeated Northampton in pre-season and another comfortable win could be on the cards at the King Power Stadium.

Bradford fell short in the League One playoffs last season and they should be able to outclass a Rochdale team that earned promotion from the National League via the playoffs last term.

The Mariners went unbeaten through pre-season, winning four and drawing three matches, while the Tangerines lost their last three warm-up games against Tranmere, Barrow and Port Vale. Grimsby boasted the sixth-best home record in England’s fourth tier in the 2025-26 campaign and their strong form at Blundell Park can see them past Blackpool.

Carlisle ended last season with an eight game unbeaten run at home before the play-offs. They won six of those games and covered a -1 handicap in five of those wins, they look capable of winning with room to spare against a team who were playing in the sixth tier last season.

Cambridge’s excellent home record powered them to automatic promotion from League Two last season and they should be backed to beat Barnet in the EFL Cup first round.

Viking have a 100% home record this season, scoring close to four goals per game on their own patch. However, the second-placed side have kept only one clean sheet in their last seven league matches ahead of the visit of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg have lost half of their away trips so far, so back Viking to win a high-scoring game.

Valerenga have lost six of eight meetings with sides above them, and they should struggle at the league leaders. Bodo have won five straight league games, while they drew 3-3 in Europe in midweek, and they can impress going forward against a side that has lost 4-0 and 3-0 over the last month.

Hamilton have won back-to-back games 5-0 ahead of Saturday’s clash with Alloa. The visitors were beaten 4-1 at Ayr in their last away trip, and three of their last four matches have seen both teams score.

Viking average 3.83 goals per game at home, and they should punish a Sarpsborg side that drew 3-3 at Molde last week. The visitors have already suffered some heavy away defeats without visiting the top three, and they should struggle against a Viking side that have a perfect home record, so goals should be on the cards.

Union Saint-Gilloise topped the regular season standings this season, and while they fell short in the Champions’ play-offs, they finished eight places above Westerlo. The visitors have scored nine goals in their last three competitive matches and should set the standard here.

Queen’s Park suffered a 2-0 loss at Livingston last week, but they won 3-1 in their two home matches in the League Cup group stage. Raith have scored in four of their five matches this term, so back goals in this Championship clash.

Relegated Airdrie drew 0-0 in their League One opener last weekend, but expect more entertainment against a high-scoring East Kilbride side. The visitors have netted twice or more in all five of their matches this season, including a 5-1 victory in their league opener. They’ve scored and conceded in each of their last four games, so back goals for both sides.

These two sides finished level on points last season, and five of their last six meetings have seen both teams score. Arouca struggled on their travels last season, conceding 34 goals in 17 away matches, including a 1-1 draw at Guimaraes.

New England Revolution have been excellent at home, winning eight of their last ten MLS matches at Gillette Stadium, but Houston Dynamo FC arrive in equally encouraging form. Houston have scored in five straight league games and in seven of their last eight, while New England have been prolific themselves, coming off a 4-1 victory over Atlanta United. With both attacks carrying momentum, goals at either end look likely.

Norwich have enjoyed a solid pre-season, losing just one of their seven matches, and that form is far better than MK Dons’ record of three defeats in their last five games. The Dons do pose an attacking threat, though, evidenced by their tally of 45 away goals last term, and they can net in defeat at Carrow Road.

St Mirren let themselves down at home last season, but Craig McLeish’s troops have started the campaign in fine form. They have scored two or more goals in four of their five competitive matches and after an impressive victory over Falkirk last weekend, they can get the better of newly-promoted St Johnstone.

Reigning champions PSV cruised to the Eredivisie title last season, having finished 19 points ahead of Feyenoord. Fortuna were comfortable in 11th, but they struggled on the road. PSV did lose 4-0 to AZ Alkmaar last week, giving Fortuna hope they can grab a consolation goal.

Jarrod Bowen has opted to remain at West Ham after their relegation and he could be in for a prolific season. He has been the Hammers’ star player for multiple years, hitting double figures for goals in each of the last five seasons.

West Ham have held on to some of their stars, despite their relegation, and they face a financially constrained Portsmouth as they look to start the season in positive fashion. Pompey are winless in their last five pre-season friendlies and look set to fall to defeat in London.

A whopping 52 points separated the two teams in the table last season and Sporting should be able to outclass their hosts with ease. The visitors have scored 17 goals in pre-season and will look to carry that form into the new campaign.

Reigning champions PSV cruised to the Eredivisie title last season, having finished 19 points ahead of Feyenoord. Fortuna were comfortable in 11th, but they struggled on the road. PSV did lose 4-0 to AZ Alkmaar last week, giving Fortuna hope they can grab a consolation goal.

Union Saint-Gilloise topped the regular season standings this season, and while they fell short in the Champions’ play-offs, they finished eight places above Westerlo. The visitors have scored nine goals in their last three competitive matches and should set the standard here.

New England Revolution have been excellent at home, winning eight of their last ten MLS matches at Gillette Stadium, but Houston Dynamo FC arrive in equally encouraging form. Houston have scored in five straight league games and in seven of their last eight, while New England have been prolific themselves, coming off a 4-1 victory over Atlanta United. With both attacks carrying momentum, goals at either end look likely.

Estrela only just avoided relegation last season, winning six of their 34 matches. Only goal difference kept them out of the bottom three and the gulf in class should be evident from the outset. Sporting have won the last 13 competitive meetings between the pair and have kept clean sheets in the last three encounters.

Union Saint-Gilloise have scored goals for fun of late and they netted three against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League in midweek. Westerlo have scored in three consecutive friendlies, but they have won once since the end of April.

Portsmouth spent last season battling the drop and seem set for another season of struggle. They have made some bold transfer moves but they have signed players unproven in this league, and don’t necessarily seem any stronger than they were last season so they are among the contenders to drop down to League One.

Cambridge won promotion last term and are yet to really strengthen their team. The U’s spend four years in League One before a campaign in League Two last term, and they only finished higher than 18th in one of those seasons. Of all the promoted teams, Cambridge are perhaps the most likely to drop straight back down.

Tranmere lost 20 of their final 26 games last season and only avoided the drop by two points. The two teams that came up from the National League should be competitive and that should result in an intense relegation fight, and Rovers look likely to be involved.