Girona dropped down from La Liga last season and were held to a 1-1 draw by Leganes at home in their season opener last weekend. The Catalan club were unlucky to be denied a win but can get their first three points at Cordoba as they bid to bounce back at the first attempt. The hosts finished in mid-table last season and should struggle against a side who are likely to challenge for promotion.

Betis finished 14 points ahead of Real Sociedad last season and were generally strong at home. La Real struggled on their travels, winning just three of their 19 trips, and ended the campaign with a seven-game winless run after lifting the Copa del Rey. Betis have enjoyed a productive pre-season and look well placed to begin the new La Liga campaign with a victory. Both teams scored in both meetings between these two sides last season and in nine of Betis’ last 10 games. Sociedad scored on average over a goal per game on the road in the league last season. 

Only Lens and Paris Saint-Germain picked up more points at home in Ligue 1 last season than Marseille. Strasbourg have struggled to adapt to Hugo Oliveira’s methods so far since he took charge and they failed to score in four of their seven friendlies, so L’OM can pick up a win and a clean sheet. 

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield and look capable of seeing off Coventry with plenty of room to spare. The Gunners are a settled unit who have made minor improvements over the summer, while this is a new-look Coventry side who could need a few weeks to gel. The Sky Blues should be competitive in the top flight but this may be the wrong time for them to take on the league champions away and Arsenal can lay down an early marker by covering a -2 handicap.

Over 3.5 goals has landed in both of Standard Liege’s games this season and that pattern could continue against RAAL La Louviere, who suffered a pair of 2-1 defeats so far. The visitors have conceded more than once in five of their last six games stretching back to last season, and these sides could serve up an entertaining clash and combine for at least four goals.

Dunkerque have scored seven and conceded five across just two games so far and another clash with goals at both ends is expected when they host Montpellier. The visitors are on an 11-game scoring streak including pre-season and have conceded in eight of those.

Both teams have scored in both of Maastricht’s games this season, while Volendam have scored five and conceded three across their two games.

Both teams have scored in all four games involving one of these sides this season and there have been goals at both ends in each of the last three meetings.

Over 3.5 goals has landed in both of Standard Liege’s games this season and that pattern could continue against RAAL La Louviere, who suffered a pair of 2-1 defeats so far. The visitors have conceded more than once in five of their last six games stretching back to last season, and these sides could serve up an entertaining clash and combine for at least four goals.

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield and look capable of scoring multiple goals against Coventry. After beating City 3-0 in the Community Shield, Arsenal can at least match that three goal haul against the Sky Blues.

Bohs’ games average 2.7 goals per game and Derry’s figure in that statistic is slightly higher at 2.8. Both teams have scored in four of the last five meetings and both of these teams can contribute for a game with over 2.5 goals.

Betis finished 14 points ahead of Real Sociedad last season and were generally strong at home. La Real struggled on their travels, winning just three of their 19 trips, and ended the campaign with a seven-game winless run after lifting the Copa del Rey. Betis have enjoyed a productive pre-season and look well placed to begin the new La Liga campaign with a victory.

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield and look capable of seeing off Coventry with plenty of room to spare. The Gunners are a settled unit who have made minor improvements over the summer, while this is a new-look Coventry side who could need a few weeks to gel. The Sky Blues should be competitive in the top flight but this may be the wrong time for them to take on the league champions away and Arsenal can lay down an early marker by covering a -2 handicap.

Waterford have put together an impressive run to move out of the drop zone and they can boost their survival chances further with a win at rock bottom Sligo. Waterford have four wins and two draws in their last six league games, while the hosts are winless in nine in the league – losing six of those games.

Only Lens and Paris Saint-Germain picked up more points at home in Ligue 1 last season than Marseille and they should be able to outclass a Strasbourg side that have struggled in pre-season.

Girona dropped down from La Liga last season and were held to a 1-1 draw by Leganes at home in their season opener last weekend. The Catalan club were unlucky to be denied a win but can get their first three points at Cordoba as they bid to bounce back at the first attempt. The hosts finished in mid-table last season and should struggle against a side who are likely to challenge for promotion, but Cordoba did strike twice in defeat last week and have scored in six successive competitive home games so they can deny Girona a clean sheet.

Betis finished 14 points ahead of Real Sociedad last season and were generally strong at home. La Real struggled on their travels, winning just three of their 19 trips, and ended the campaign with a seven-game winless run after lifting the Copa del Rey. Betis have enjoyed a productive pre-season and look well placed to begin the new La Liga campaign with a victory. Both teams scored in both meetings between these two sides last season and in nine of Betis’ last 10 games. Sociedad scored on average over a goal per game on the road in the league last season. 

Pablo Fornals had nine goals and six assists in La Liga last season. The midfielder scored in the Heliopolitanos’ final two home games last term and has a couple of strikes to his name in pre-season, he is a contender to get on the scoresheet on Friday.

Kai Havertz had a reasonable World Cup with three goals in four games for Germany and he’s been scoring in the summer for Arsenal with two in five, including an effort in the Community Shield. After an injury-hit campaign in 2025-26, he can hit the ground running with a goal against Coventry.

Tom Lonergan has been a key factor in Waterford’s revival with six goals in his last six league games, as well as providing two assists. The 22-year-old has 14 goals in 25 games in this competition and 11 of those have come in his last 14 games, the visiting forward looks a good contender to get on the scoresheet on Friday.

Betis finished 14 points ahead of Real Sociedad last season and were generally strong at home. La Real struggled on their travels, winning just three of their 19 trips, and ended the campaign with a seven-game winless run after lifting the Copa del Rey. Betis have enjoyed a productive pre-season and look well placed to begin the new La Liga campaign with a victory. Both teams scored in both meetings between these two sides last season and in nine of Betis’ last 10 games. Sociedad scored on average over a goal per game on the road in the league last season. That suggests goals at both ends could be on the cards and a 3-1 Betis win has a chance, in what would be a repeat result of the corresponding fixture last season.

Arsenal weren’t particularly heavy scorers last season on their way to winning the league but they may be more ruthless up front this term. After beating Man City 3-0 in the Community Shield, Arsenal can go one better and record a 4-0 success against Coventry. 

Betis finished 14 points ahead of Real Sociedad last season and were generally strong at home. La Real struggled on their travels, winning just three of their 19 trips, and ended the campaign with a seven-game winless run after lifting the Copa del Rey. Betis have enjoyed a productive pre-season and look well placed to begin the new La Liga campaign with a victory.

Joe: Preston could be in for a long season in the Championship if their opener against Bolton is anything to go by. North End were comfortably seen off by the newly promoted side, leaking seven shots on target in a 2-1 defeat. Wolves may not have been at their most impressive in their 2-2 draw with Blackburn last time out but their sheer quality should see them get the better of Preston.

Gareth: Ceuta finished comfortably in mid-table last year after winning promotion, but last week’s 5-1 hammering at Andorra in the first round of fixtures suggests they could become victims of the dreaded second-season syndrome. The visitors won 4-0 when these sides met in a reverse fixture in March last season and can make it two wins in as many games for the campaign.

Henry: Middlesbrough hit 23 efforts on goal, had 40 touches in the opposition box and recorded 76 per cent possession in their 2-1 victory over Lincoln. While that excellent performance came at the Riverside, Blackburn do not rate as much of a step up from Lincoln.

James: Lyon were in Champions League action on Tuesday, drawing 1-1 against Fenerbahce in Istanbul, and the return leg of that qualifier on Wednesday takes precedence over this domestic opener. Toulouse completed the double over Lyon last season, winning both meetings 2-1, and the fact that all of the hosts’ focus will be on this clash suggests they may have the edge again.

Enda: Birmingham put in a solid shift at Bramall Lane in last weekend’s stalemate with Sheffield United and the Blues can collect three points on their first St Andrew’s outing of the term. The Blues were 2-1 winners when the sides met here in April and there are promising early season signs from winger Carlos Vicente and striker August Priske – both January signings – that they are ready to make a telling contribution this season.

Aaron: Viking have won all seven of their home games this season, scoring 25 times, but they’ve kept only two clean sheets across those matches. Second-bottom Aalesund have seen BTTS land in 15 of 17 league games, including each of their last 10.

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.