Read the season preview for the transfers and pre-season form.
Premier League MW 1
Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal
Its a London Derby to kick off the Premier League season as Arsenal travel to Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace. Arsenal have been busy this summer and several pundits and neutrals are putting them in their top four for the season. The pressure is on Arteta in his third full season and near enough a squad that is his to push for that top four finish. Palace under Vieira were exciting and streetwise last season and that continues this season with their signings during the transfer window. Selhurst Park will be buzzing for the first game but Arsenal have looked good and Jesus is on form. I expect a win for the Gunners.
Fulham vs. Liverpool
Saturday begins in London once again with runners up Liverpool taking on Championship winners Fulham. This time Fulham are under the management of Marco Silva and were amazing in the 2nd tier last season but the club usually struggle in the Premier League. Liverpool won the Community Shield last season and they should start the season off with a win. For Fulham all they can do is hope to survive. An easy win for the away team.
Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa
Promoted Bournemouth welcome Gerrard’s Villa for their first game. Villa have had a good transfer window and a decent pre-season and they look ready for what is to come. Bournemouth in my opinion will be fighting for survival and while they are known to pull of surprise results Villa should win this game.
Newcastle United vs. Nottingham Forest
Eddie Howe and Newcastle are looking to break into the top 10 and they welcome Nottingham Forest for their first game. Forest are back after 23 years and are one of the historical teams in English football. Forest themselves have bought several players during the summer and Steve Cooper is an exciting manager. This should be a fun game and the result could go either way.
Tottenham vs. Southampton
Tottenham have had a busy summer and many are saying that Conte will have them challenging the top two. Southampton in my opinion will be fighting for survival this season and Hassenhutl is under pressure to get results. This should be a simple win for Tottenham at home.
Leeds United vs. Wolverhampton
Leeds United just about survived last season and Jesse Marsch has been busy getting in his own players for the season ahead. Wolves were strong defensively but struggled offensively and they haven’t done much in the transfer window to solve their struggles up front. This should be an evenly matched game but I think Leeds could get a surprise win. I think Leeds will have a decent season.
Leicester vs. Brentford
Leicester are struggling financially and could be losing some big players while Brentford had a brilliant season but could face second season syndrome. This should be an evenly matched game and either team could win.
Man United vs. Brighton
ManUnited are under new management with Erik ten Hag coming in but it hasn’t all gone to plan this summer. Martinez and Eriksen are good signings but Ronaldo is causing problems and Martial is injured ahead of the game. Suddenly that first game of the season is looking tricky and Brighton are turning up under Graham Potter and they beat United at the end of last season. This should be an interesting game and Brighton could cause an upset.
West Ham vs. Man City
West Ham had a brilliant season last year and they bought Scamacca this summer and are still in the market for other players. City the Champions are looking to make it a hattrick this season but lost the Community Shield to Liverpool last weekend. This could be a tricky game as City tend to start the season poorly and West Ham could get a result in this game.
Bundesliga MW 1
The Bundesliga is back for another season and as always Bayern Munich should win it. The Germans have lost Lewandowski but have replaced him with Sadio Mane and that shouldn’t be an issue for them. Borussia Dortmund have bought several players, Adeyemi, Schlotterbeck, and Sule are brilliant players but as always the question is will they manage to compete with Bayern Munich. RB Leipzig have signed David Raum and could sign Timo Werner if reports are to be believed. Bayern Munich travel to Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund take on Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig travel to Stuttgart, and Schalke are back as they travel to Koln. It should be another season of Bayern domination.
Ligue 1 MW 1
A similar story to the Bundesliga in Ligue 1 except this time PSG actually look like a serious team. Christoph Galtier has come in as their new manager and Ocampos is their sporting director and they look like they have a plan. They have bought some exciting young talent and I have no doubts they will win Ligue 1 once again. The other teams don’t look as strong and the rest I feel will be fighting for second. Lyon take on Ajaccio, Monaco travel to Strasbourg, PSG travel to Clermont, Lille take on Auxerre, and Marseille take on Reims. The neutrals always hope someone else can challenge for these titles but PSG are so dominant and so superior that I don’t see any other winner.