Watford have earned creditable draws in their last two Championship games against Wrexham and West Ham, but they could come unstuck against Swansea. The Welsh outfit have shown great defensive resolve so far and should still be buzzing from their 3-0 victory at Derby on Saturday.

Preston fell to their third successive Championship defeat when losing to pacesetters Charlton and they may struggle when Bristol City visit Deepdale. The Robins claimed their first success with a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth after just missing out on a win at Birmingham, so go for an away success.

Barnet are unbeaten in League Two this season, collecting seven points from three games, and they can claim the spoils when they head to an Exeter side who have lost two of their three matches. The visitors have won five in a row away from home in the league.Barnet are unbeaten in League Two this season, collecting seven points from three games, and they can claim the spoils when they head to an Exeter side who have lost two of their three matches. The visitors have won five in a row away from home in the league.

Norwich have scored 10 goals across their three victories this season, and they’ve conceded once in each of those wins. Stoke are bottom of the table and boast the worst underlying record too, but the Potters have scored in every game they’ve played this term.

Bromley had a rude awakening to life in League One when they were thumped 7-2 at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and the scale of that defeat may have left some scars. Orient have had their issues already this season, but they have been strong defensively and could gain three points.

Walsall have started the League Two season strongly, winning two and drawing one of their three games and keeping two clean sheets in the process. The Saddlers have won the last three meetings against Crewe to nil and can record another victory at Gresty Road.

West Ham have seen both teams score in all five of their matches this term, while the same has landed in each of Wolves’ three league games. The visitors have scored 14 times in five outings so far, while the Hammers have generated 5.1 Expected Goals across their first three Championship outings.

Stoke have conceded nine goals across their three Championship defeats this season, scoring in every game. They meet a Norwich side that beat Burnley 4-1 on Saturday, and over 2.5 goals has landed in all five of the Canaries’ matches this season.

Charlton’s win over Preston at the weekend put them top of the Championship table, but the Addicks are 22nd in the Expected Points table. West Brom lost at Middlesbrough at the weekend, but the Baggies started the campaign with victories over Norwich and Burnley.

Mjallby beat Sirius 4-3 in their last league game on August 15, having lost three from four in the Allsvenskan before that. Djurgarden have won five of their eight league trips this season, and they can add to that fine return.

Real Madrid started the season by conceding in victories against Espanyol and Real Sociedad. While they beat Malaga 4-0 on Sunday, they still faced 14 shots in that victory. Betis were beaten 5-2 by Levante in their last league game, and they conceded chances in 1-0 wins over Valencia and Real Sociedad.

PSG’s Ligue 1 campaign has started with two 2-2 draws, following their Super Cup defeat against Lens. Monaco met PSG four times last season, and they only suffered one defeat across those matches. That includes a 3-1 victory in Paris back in March, and they’ve made an encouraging start across Ligue 1 and Conference League qualifying.

Tottenham have been shaken by back-to-back Premier League defeats, and it looks like it’s going to take time for Roberto De Zerbi to get his expensive new signings to click. Oliver Glasner’s side nearly capitalised on a disjointed Liverpool side last weekend, and they can get three points on the board at Tottenham’s expense.

Athletic Bilbao opened their campaign with a home loss to Sevilla, and they were played off the park in a 2-0 loss at Barcelona. Edin Terzic remains a questionable choice of manager, and they look vulnerable against an Atletico side that have managed to take seven points from three matches.

Sassuolo started the campaign by impressing in a defeat to Atalanta, and they followed that up with a 2-1 victory over Torino last week. The Neroverdi won the xG battle 2.7 to 0.88 in Bergamo. Their bold decision to appoint former Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani as their manager appears to have paid off based on the early evidence, and they can take something away from this visit to Bologna.

Chelsea have now conceded in 18 straight matches, and it’s hard to see them ending that streak away to the champions. For all of Arsenal’s defensive strength, they only kept one clean sheet at home to their fellow top six sides last season. The Blues have compensated for their defensive issues with a brilliant front three, so both sides should get on the scoresheet.

Both teams have scored in Remo’s last four league games, and the second-bottom hosts have only failed to score in two of their 11 home matches this season. Coritiba’s last three matches have seen both teams score.

Young Boys have scored 19 goals across their first five league games of the campaign, and they should trouble an FC Zurich side who have suffered three defeats in five this season. The hosts did win 3-2 at Lausanne last time out, while the visitors have conceded twice in four of their first five matches, with every one of their games featuring at least four goals.

There should be goals in this one as Portsmouth look to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat at Bristol City. Visitors Derby have conceded nine goals in their four matches this season and the desired defensive improvement may not arrive in time for this trip to the south coast.

Stoke have conceded nine goals across their three Championship defeats this season, scoring in every game. They meet a Norwich side that beat Burnley 4-1 on Saturday, and over 2.5 goals has landed in all five of the Canaries’ matches this season.

Wolves drew 2-2 in their league opener against Blackburn, and West Ham have only suffered one defeat in five matches this term, despite their slow start. The Hammers have drawn two from three in the league, and they can match Wolves in a high-scoring contest.

Norwich have scored 10 goals across their three victories this season, and they’ve conceded once in each of those wins. Stoke are bottom of the table and boast the worst underlying record too, but the Potters have scored in every game they’ve played this term.

West Ham have seen both teams score in all five of their matches this term, while the same has landed in each of Wolves’ three league games. The visitors have scored 14 times in five outings so far, while the Hammers have generated 5.1 Expected Goals across their first three Championship outings.

Castellanos has scored three goals in the cup for West Ham this season, and he’s generated 1.4 xG across three league games. The forward scored twice against Wolves in April.

West Ham have seen both teams score in all five of their matches this term, while the same has landed in each of Wolves’ three league games. The visitors have scored 14 times in five outings so far, while the Hammers have generated 5.1 Expected Goals across their first three Championship outings.

There looks a strong chance that both teams will score in this one. That has happened in all five of Blackburn’s matches this season and Lincoln will be keen to put on a show in front of their home fans after gaining a valuable 1-0 win over fellow promoted side Bolton on the road on Saturday.

Both of these teams have made decent starts and goals can be expected at both ends when they meet on Tuesday. That has happened on 10 of the last 12 occasions that Huddersfield have been in action, while Oxford have kept two clean sheets in their last 18 league games on the road.

Both teams scored in four of Wycombe’s final five games last season, and the same has landed in their first five matches of this campaign. Sheffield Wednesday won 7-2 against Bromley at the weekend, and they won 2-1 at Orient in their first league trip of the campaign.

West Ham have seen both teams score in all five of their matches this term, while the same has landed in each of Wolves’ three league games. The visitors have scored 14 times in five outings so far, while the Hammers have generated 5.1 Expected Goals across their first three Championship outings.

Stoke have conceded nine goals across their three Championship defeats this season, scoring in every game. They meet a Norwich side that beat Burnley 4-1 on Saturday, and over 2.5 goals has landed in all five of the Canaries’ matches this season.

Bradford have lost just one of their last 10 League One home matches and they should be confident they can see off Cambridge after two clean sheets at Valley Parade this season. The visitors’ confidence is likely to have been dented by successive home defeats to Millwall and Huddersfield.

Bristol Rovers have won 12 of their last 15 League Two games and they are looking for a ninth straight win at home when they entertain Colchester, who have won just two of their last six away matches.

Norwich have scored 10 goals across their three victories this season, and they’ve conceded once in each of those wins. Stoke are bottom of the table and boast the worst underlying record too, but the Potters have scored in every game they’ve played this term.

City aren’t quite right yet under Enzo Maresca. They may well come good but Lens away was arguably the worst road trip from Pot 4 while Napoli and Leipzig represent stern tests from Pot 3. And then there’s PSG and Barcelona. Altogether a tough test.

The home game against Bodo/Glimt and trip to Slavia ought to be the bedrock of a campaign in which Dino Toppmoller’s impressive group – who have already beaten PSG in the French Champions Trophy – can emerge successfully.

Barcelona could easily lose in Paris, legitimately drop points at Galatasaray and at home to Man City. One more slip and the top eight could feasibly elude them.

Arsenal were flawless 12 months ago and should have no difficulty getting to the 16 points which are probably required.

BVB came close to the top eight last season and have a great draw this year with Betis, AEK Athens, Sabah and even Inter Milan at home looks winnable.

PSV’s hammerings of Napoli and Liverpool last term were rare highs in an otherwise disappointing campaign. This season’s draw looks far kindlier for Peter Bosz and his Eredivisie big-hitters.

And finally – and this is trusting PSV to get to the last 16 as a bare minimum – how about the Dutch side’s American frontman Ricardo Pepe.

Eindhoven boss Peter Bosz was delighted to see Pepe stay this summer and the 23-year-old is already among the goals in the Eredivisie.

Pepe scored 19 times for PSV last season and in a side who will score plenty of goals in the mood, especially at home, he again could outrun his odds.

Top goalscorer betting in the Champions League invites each-way bets given the number of potential runners with so many teams looking to get 10, 12 maybe even more games under their belts.

Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy took full advantage of that in the first instalment of the new-look Champions League in 2024/24.

Again, the German powerhouses only reached the quarter-finals but in that time the Guinea international popped in 13 goals, tying top-scorer honours for the competition with Raphinha of Barcelona.

He scored 22 goals for Dortmund last term and is a major threat in this market at a fancy price.

Kylian Mbappe had an explosive World Cup winning the Golden Boot with 10 goals.

That followed a season in which he scored 42 goals for Real Madrid – plus several more for France – and he has started this season with a hat-trick in his second club game, a 4-1 win over Sociedad.

Mbappe fired off 18 shots in his first two games for Real this season and will rack up chances. And if he racks up chances he racks up goals, quite likely enough to win the Golden Boot.

It is desperately hard to make a case for sides outside the top six.

Inter Milan, possibly, at 28-1 or Atletico at 40-1 given Diego Simeone’s men have become such a major player in Europe.

Three-figure runners are clearly easier to ignore but PSV have a puncher’s chance and will be desperate to avenge last season’s flop when they finished 28th in the league phase despite scoring more goals than Man City.

This was a team capable of thrashing Napoli 6-2 and Liverpool (away) 4-1, but a 3-0 loss at Newcastle in between home losses to Atletico and Bayern did for them. This time round, their draw looks far easier and if nine points is the benchmark then it is easy enough to see them getting those from home games against Brugge and Shakhtar with a trip to newcomers Viking a massive plus.

Peter Bosz has held on to last season’s top scorer Ricardo Pepi and added defensive quality in Filip Kostic and Lutsharel Geertruida.

Guus Til, Sergino Dest and Ivan Perisic are big players in a team who should make the top 24 and, with a kindly draw, have a slim chance of outrunning their odds.

The final is in Madrid next spring and a Madrid side may well be there.

Real, 15-time winners, were quarter-finalists last year when they went out in a shooting spree against Bayern Munich and they look better equipped this time.

Jose Mourinho, a two-time winner of the tournament with two different clubs, is back at the helm and whether or not that is a positive will forever be debated.

But just look at the group of players at The Special One’s disposal.

That front three of Jude Bellingham playing in and around Vinicius Junior and the extraordinary Kylian Mbappe, with any of Arda Guler, Endrick, Yan Diomande, Rodrygo and so on and so on, makes mouths water.

Mourinho has also looked to improve them defensively though the likes of full-backs Denzel Dumfries and Marc Cucurella will do far more bombing forward than sitting back in this team.

You’ll never win anything challenging on two fronts, they said. You’ll never win anything playing the way you do, they sniped.

Arsenal proved the doubters wrong with the latter, almost wrong with the former and stronger this season than they were last, expect the Gunners to have a real shot at going one better in Europe.

Mikel Arteta’s men were simply fabulous in the Champions League last year, winning all eight group games – 3-1 wins over Inter Milan and Bayern and a 4-0 drubbing of Atletico the highlights – and gutsily squeezing past Leverkusen, Sporting and Atletico before succumbing to PSG in the final in Budapest.

That game finished 1-1 and went to penalties but we all know it was a mismatch.

Arteta knows, therefore, the gap between his side and PSG needs to close and shrewd summer transfer work might have enabled him to do that.

The arrivals of Ezri Konsa, Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis add quality and, critically, depth and if Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka can stay injury free – something the Norwegian wasn’t often enough – then there is everything to like about this most solid of groups.

You absolutely can challenge on two fronts – Arsenal have proved that and bear a Premier League winner’s rosette as proof.

The next step is conquering Europe and having come so close on May 30 take them to get it right this time.