Bristol Rovers ended last season in excellent form and can carry that momentum into their opener against newly-promoted York. Steve Evans’ side won ten of their final 12 League Two matches and went unbeaten across the last nine, while they have lost just once in seven away games. Rovers also scored in 17 of their final 19 league outings, so they should have enough attacking threat to make their experience at this level count.

Both teams have scored in four of Norwich’s last five competitive games and in five of West Brom’s last eight competitive games. The two teams also recorded 4-1 wins over lower-ranked sides in the Carabao Cup last weekend.

East Kilbride have made a strong start after winning promotion to League One. They’ve scored six goals across an unbeaten start, and they’re hosting a Cove Rangers side who have lost five of their last six games across all competitions. However, both teams have scored in East Kilbride’s last six matches.

Charlton have won seven of their last 11 matches on opening day and played well in a 3-1 win over Cheltenham last weekend. They should utilise home advantage to overcome a Derby side that have struggled in pre-season and were beaten at home by Lincoln City on Saturday.

Plymouth hit their stride to end last season, having lost just one of their final ten League One matches. They should start this season chasing promotion, and they got a victory under their belt against Exeter in the Carabao Cup on Monday.

Sheffield United’s squad has been decimated over the summer and Birmingham are well-placed to make the most of their hosts’ losses. The exits of Gus Hamer and Andre Brooks will limit Sheffield United’s creativity but they have scored in six straight games and can still call upon the likes of Callum O’Hare and Patrick Bamford, so back them to score in a defeat.

Dundee United are unbeaten in 11 home games and that includes a win over Celtic in March. They won both home meetings with the Bhoys last term, while the visitors have failed to win three of their last eight competitive away games.

Getafe qualified for the Conference League last term and the good vibes can continue in their season opener. Jose Bordalas’s side have won their last two away matches against Alaves, a team who survived by only one point last season.

Excelsior scored four goals at Cambuur on opening weekend while PSV shipped four against AZ in the Super Cup and two to Fortuna Sittard last weekend. The champions have now conceded two or more goals in six of their last 10 matches, and they may have to score three goals to claim all the points if they continue to defend as poorly.

Chesterfield finished last season in strong form and should be backed to pick up where they left off against Fleetwood. The hosts lost just one of their final ten League Two matches and won three of their last four at home, while scoring in 18 of their last 20 league games on their own patch. Fleetwood’s away record is less convincing, with just one win from their last seven road trips and no clean sheet in their final six away matches.

Bolton may be among the favourites for the drop, but Preston lost their last five pre-season friendlies and needed penalties to get past Huddersfield in the EFL Cup. Including friendlies, Bolton have won two of their last three home games and have kept a clean sheet in each of these.

Luton finished last season by winning four of their last five League One away games, and they won eight of their final ten games overall. The Royals should be a solid midtable side this term, but the Hatters’ late flourish to a season in which they started as promotion favourites suggests they can hit the ground running this time around.

MK Dons scored in a defeat at Championship side Norwich in the cup last week, and they should be involved in another open game. Oxford come down amid a transfer embargo, but they have talented players from last season’s second-tier campaign, so back both sides to get on the scoresheet.

Rochdale can mark their return to League Two with a victory over Newport. The visitors ended their promotion-winning National League campaign with four games unbeaten, while Newport finished just above the relegation places last term. Rochdale also have an encouraging record in this fixture, losing only one of their last six league visits to Newport and keeping four clean sheets in the last six meetings overall.

Oldham finished last season strongly and can carry that momentum into their League Two opener against relegated Port Vale. The hosts won three of their final four matches, scoring at least twice in each victory, and have found the net in 16 of their last 18 league games. Port Vale arrive after relegation from League One and ended last season with four consecutive matches without a clean sheet, giving Oldham a good opportunity to start with three points.

MK Dons scored in a defeat at Championship side Norwich in the cup last week, and they should be involved in another open game. Oxford come down amid a transfer embargo, but they have talented players from last season’s second-tier campaign, so back both sides to get on the scoresheet.

Both teams have scored in four of Norwich’s last five competitive games and in five of West Brom’s last eight competitive games. The two teams also recorded 4-1 wins over lower-ranked sides in the Carabao Cup last weekend.

Both of these sides drew 2-2 in their opening match, with promoted side Academico Viseu recording four shots on target away to Benfica. There were four goals in the first half of Santa Clara’s opener, and both teams can get on the scoresheet in this clash.

Rayo Vallecano drew 1-1 at Sevilla in March, and five of the last seven meetings have seen both teams find the net. Three of Sevilla’s last four friendly matches have seen both teams score, while the visitors have been defensively poor in their warm-ups, conceding twice in all four matches, although they’ve only failed to score once.

League-leaders Sirius have scored twice in every Allsvenskan match this season, and they’ve netted 21 goals in eight away trips. The visitors scored four goals against Mjallby in July, and they visit a side that has lost three of their last four matches.

These two sides shared five goals in the League Cup in July, and East Kilbride have made an incredibly high-scoring start to the season. Cove Rangers lost 4-2 in their last game, so goals should be on the cards in this contest.

Excelsior scored four goals at Cambuur on opening weekend while PSV shipped four against AZ in the Super Cup and two to Fortuna Sittard last weekend. The champions have now conceded two or more goals in six of their last 10 matches, and they may have to score three goals to claim all the points if they continue to defend as poorly.

Club Brugge scored 32 times across their final 10 matches in last season’s league campaign, and they started this term with a routine 3-0 victory over Kortrijk. Leuven suffered a 3-1 defeat at Sporting Charleroi, which came on the heels of a 6-3 loss to Lille in their final preseason friendly.

East Kilbride have made a strong start after winning promotion to League One. They’ve scored six goals across an unbeaten start, and they’re hosting a Cove Rangers side who have lost five of their last six games across all competitions. However, both teams have scored in East Kilbride’s last six matches.

Both teams have scored in four of Norwich’s last five competitive games and in five of West Brom’s last eight competitive games. The Canaries have enough quality to secure a win given the way they handled MK Dons in the cup last weekend.

Sheffield United’s squad has been decimated over the summer and Birmingham are well-placed to make the most of their hosts’ losses. The exits of Gus Hamer and Andre Brooks will limit Sheffield United’s creativity but they have scored in six straight games and can still call upon the likes of Callum O’Hare and Patrick Bamford, so back them to score in a defeat.

Charlton have won seven of their last 11 matches on opening day and played well in a 3-1 win over Cheltenham last weekend. They should utilise home advantage to overcome a Derby side that have struggled in pre-season and were beaten at home by Lincoln City on Saturday.

Wycombe finished last season strongly in attack, scoring three or more goals in three of their final four League One matches. Blackpool struggled against stronger opposition at home, failing to win nine of 12 games against top-half teams and losing six. With the visitors expected to make at least a playoff push, back an away win.

Chesterfield finished last season in strong form and should be backed to pick up where they left off against Fleetwood. The hosts lost just one of their final ten League Two matches and won three of their last four at home, while scoring in 18 of their last 20 league games on their own patch. Fleetwood’s away record is less convincing, with just one win from their last seven road trips and no clean sheet in their final six away matches.

Hamilton have won their opening two league matches this season without conceding, and their League Cup campaign wrapped up with a 5-0 win over Elgin last month. Airdrie had a poor record on their travels in the Championship last term, and they’re backed to fall short in this trip.

Ian: James Morrison’s Baggies scraped together enough points in their last 12 games to stay above the relegation zone, but this looks a difficult game against a side who lost just two of their final ten games at Carrow Road.

Aidan: The Potters finished down in 17th last season, 18 points off the top six, but have had a decent summer, beating Everton and drawing with Valencia in prestigious friendlies, before they saw off Oldham 2-0 in the EFL Cup last weekend. It’s also worth remembering Stoke usually start the season well. This is the fourth year running they have kicked-off with a home game and they are aiming for a fourth successive victory.

Aaron: Newly promoted Willem II lost all three home meetings with their fellow top four sides in the second tier last season. The hosts were thumped 4-1 at Go Ahead Eagles in their return to the Eredivisie, and this is an even tougher test.

Alex: FC Porto ended a three-year wait for the Primeira Liga title last season and beat Rio Ave to nil both home and away in the process. They have opened their campaign with two wins to nil, while Rio Ave generated just 0.19 expected goals in their 1-0 defeat to Gil Vicente last weekend.

Gareth: Tamworth will feel they are capable of challenging for promotion this season and the early signs are promising. AFC Fylde won promotion last term and made a solid start with a 2-2 draw at home to Wealdstone last weekend, but they are facing a Lambs side who claimed 38 points from 23 home games last season

Warren: QPR have lost the influential Sam Field and their mix of free transfers and loan signings might take time to gel. Pompey have lost just one of their last five encounters with the R’s and finished last season with two wins and two draws in their last four fixtures at Fratton Park.

Both teams have scored in four of Norwich’s last five competitive games and in five of West Brom’s last eight competitive games. The two teams also recorded 4-1 wins over lower-ranked sides in the Carabao Cup last weekend.

The exits of Gus Hamer and Andre Brooks will limit Sheffield United’s creativity but they have scored in six straight games and can still call upon the likes of Callum O’Hare and Patrick Bamford. Birmingham have some serious talent of their own, however, and can edge to victory at Bramall Lane.

Four of Dundee United’s last 11 home games have ended all square, including a 1-1 draw at home to Rangers at the end of July. They face a Celtic side that have drawn two of their last eight on the road.

Barcelona have won back-to-back La Liga titles and netted 95 times last season, and the return of Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid is unlikely to stop the Catalans from clinching a third successive title.

Mourinho has not won a league title since 2015 and there is almost certain to be friction among the big egos at the Bernabeu, especially with the Special One at the helm.

Arsenal landed a long-awaited Premier League title last season and have improved with the additions of Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis over the summer.

The main reason for their favouritism, however, is what is going on at their rivals.

Manchester City begin life without Pep Guardiola and both Chelsea and Liverpool have new managers to bed in, while Manchester United are still relatively unproven under Michael Carrick.

The Scudetto has not been successfully defended since 2020, but Inter can break that streak despite an upheaval at the back.

John Stones and Manuel Akanji arrive to compensate for the losses of Denzel Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij and Stefan de Vrij and, while the Nerazzurri may look weaker overall, many of their rivals have also taken a step backwards.

Napoli have an ageing squad and will have to do without Antonio Conte, while AC Milan have given Ruben Amorim a chance in the dugout and Juventus are still playing catch-up after a terrible period of recruitment.

Like Bayern Munich, PSG look almost untouchable at the top of Ligue 1 and, while Lens were last season’s surprise package, a host of departures bring the other Ligue 1 teams into play.

While other teams have suffered summer losses, sixth-place finishers Rennes have taken strides forward after cashing in on Jeremy Jacquet and boast last season’s top scorer in Esteban Lepaul.

It is hard to see anybody topping a rampant Bayern Munich, but Borussia Dortmund are the best chance of challenging the Bavarians after finishing second last season.

They have kept the majority of their squad together and added a host of exciting youngsters to their books, while last season’s third-place finishers, RB Leipzig, have lost Yan Diomande.

Bayer Leverkusen are unproven after the appointment of their third manager in the past year, while Stuttgart are unlikely to be able to bridge last season’s 11-point gap to Dortmund.

Noah Naujoks has scored 12 goals in his last 24 Eredivisie appearances for Excelsior, including a brace against Cambuur last weekend. His late runs into the box could cause problems for a PSV defence that has shipped six goals in two games so far this term.

Andre Silva has returned for a second stint with Porto and found the net in his second Primeira Liga debut last weekend. The 30-year-old scored ten goals for Elche in La Liga last season and netted 16 Primeira Liga goals in his last season at Porto in 2016/17.

Excelsior scored four goals at Cambuur on opening weekend while PSV shipped four against AZ in the Super Cup and two to Fortuna Sittard last weekend. The champions have now conceded two or more goals in six of their last 10 matches, so could be vulnerable at the back on Saturday.

Club Brugge scored 32 times across their final 10 matches in last season’s league campaign, and they started this term with a routine 3-0 victory over Kortrijk. Leuven suffered a 3-1 defeat at Sporting Charleroi, which came on the heels of a 6-3 loss to Lille in their final preseason friendly.

Rayo Vallecano drew 1-1 at Sevilla in March, and five of the last seven meetings have seen both teams find the net. Three of Sevilla’s last four friendly matches have seen both teams score, while the visitors have been defensively poor in their warm-ups, conceding twice in all four matches, although they’ve only failed to score once.

FC Porto ended a three-year wait for the Primeira Liga title last season and beat Rio Ave to nil both home and away in the process. They have opened their campaign with two wins to nil, while Rio Ave generated just 0.19 expected goals in their 1-0 defeat to Gil Vicente last weekend.

The first leg of this tie was a thrilling 3-3 draw in Belgium and that is far from an anomaly when it comes to Bodo/Glimt and Union Saint-Gilloise. Over 3.5 goals has been a winner in two of the hosts’ last three games, while the Belgians’ three fixtures this term have averaged 4.67 goals per game.

Dinamo Zagreb were utterly dominant in their 5-0 demolition of Kauno Zalgiris in the first leg, limiting the Lithuanians to three shots and none on target. There is little to suggest they will allow Tuesday’s hosts any more joy in the return leg, so expect them to stroll to victory.

NEC Nijmegen may be playing in Europe for the first time since a 2008/09 UEFA Cup campaign, but they were arguably the better side in the first leg and will take a good deal of confidence into the home leg against an Olympiakos side that were beaten by AZ Alkmaar and Ajax in pre-season.

PSG and Aston Villa played out two thrillers in the 2024/25 Champions League quarter-finals, with the tie ending 5-4 on aggregate, and another high-scoring affair is expected in Salzburg. Both teams have scored in Aston Villa’s last five pre-season friendlies, and Les Parisiens saw goals at both ends in five of their final seven games last term.

Wolves may have lost Joao Gomes and Matt Doherty following their relegation, but the arrivals of Raul Jimenez and Kieran Trippier leave them with a very good squad for the Championship and they open against a Blackburn side that ended last term perilously close to the relegation zone.

Only the relegated Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday won fewer points on the road than West Brom last season and the Baggies may be in for a difficult season after losing Karlan Grant and Josh Maja in the summer. Norwich won four of their final seven home games last term and opened their season by thrashing MK Dons 4-1 in the EFL Cup.

Bradford City missed out on promotion last season, but they had the third-best home record in League One with 15 wins in 23 attempts. 18th-placed finishers Peterborough lost 14 of their third-tier trips, including six of their last eight trips and their February visit to Bradford.

Sevilla finished a dismal 13th in La Liga last season and have done little to improve their squad over the summer. They have lost Akor Adams, who scored ten league goals, and UEFA Conference League finalists Rayo Vallecano went unbeaten in their last four away games last term.

After a decline that began in 2011, Racing Santander secured a long-awaited return to the top flight last season, but they face a tough opener against a Villarreal side that qualified for the Champions League last term. The Yellow Submarine won 22 of their 38 games and should get the new season off to a winning start in Santander.

Osasuna avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth last season and the summer loss of talented winger Victor Munoz will have hit them hard. They picked up just two points from their last seven away games and Celta Vigo will be full of confidence after securing their joint-best La Liga finish last year.

Both teams have scored in five of Telstar’s last six games and they have just one clean sheet in their last 11 competitive fixtures, while they conceded in all their pre-season games. Sparta have gone six games without a clean sheet stretching back into last season.

Both teams scored in Almere’s season opener and in six of their seven pre-season games. Jong PSV won their opener 3-2 and have failed to score in just one of their last six including pre-season friendlies, so goals at both ends are predicted.

Heracles have conceded in each of their last nine competitive games. The hosts scored four themselves against Venlo in their season opener so should be able to strike against Den Bosch. The visitors saw both teams score in their season opener and like Heracles they have gone nine games without a clean sheet.

Both teams scored in five of Grenoble’s final seven games last season and they scored in all of those. They opened the new season with a 4-2 defeat to Dunkerque and goals at both ends could be on the cards again when they face Metz. The visitors beat Guingamp 2-1 in their opener and both teams scored in seven of their eight pre-season friendlies.

Wolves have a strong squad at Championship level and have won their last three games without conceding. They face a Blackburn side that narrowly avoided relegation last season and have shown little in the way of improvement over the summer. Wolves have won their last three games to nil and the last two of these have been 3-0 affairs, while Blackburn lost a friendly 3-0 to Nottingham Forest last month.

Sporting won each of their final three league games last term by at least three-goal margins, while Guimaraes scored exactly one goal in both league meetings last season – losing 5-1 at this venue back in May. A 4-1 win for the hosts has a chance.

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.