Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Paul Doyle’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 5th
Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker): 50-1
The plan
The end may be the best place to start. Leicester will conclude their campaign against Spurs, Everton, Watford and Southampton.
That looks a relatively benign run-in after two successive seasons in which Brendan Rodgers’ side dropped out of the Champions League places by losing three of their last four league matches.
Premier League 2021-22 preview No 9: LeedsRead more
Then ag…
Barcelona s bid for a third successive LaLiga title and 27th overall will begin and end away from Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde s men are set to visit Athletic Bilbao in their opening fixture of the new season on August 18, whil they will conclude the campaign on the road to Deportivo Alaves on May 24.
Barca beat rivals Real Madrid twice last term and will hope to continue their Clasico dominance in 2019-20. Camp Nou plays host to the first encounter on October 27, with the return match scheduled for March 1.
Delivering domestically is certain to again be a priority for head coach Valverde and captain Lionel Messi but the club s increasingly impatient need to claim another Champions League crown will serve as a major subplot throughout the course of the season.
It was an interesting week in international football. World Cup qualifiers all over the world meant so much to so many and for some it was exhilaration, for some it was agony.
The week started with the possibility of France, Portugal and Argentina all in danger of missing out on South Africa 2010. The South Americans have scraped through and the two European sides now face the play-offs.
Big countries missing out
The interesting thing for me is the big countries who won t be at next year s World Cup. The biggest surprise for me has been England s opponents in group six Croatia.
Croatia struggle in qualification
In recent years the Croat s have proved difficult opponents for everybody they have played. They have good technical ability and seemed t…
It s over. The European Championship, officially labelled as Euro 2020 due to the reason most obvious, came to its end on Sunday evening as Italy took the trophy and the crown of the continent from England, back to Rome. The prophecy the Azzurri fans had come up with in response to England s It s coming home It s coming to Rome has been proven true.
It was a rather exciting tournament, with plenty of good football and a few surprises along the way, two ingredients necessary to make an exciting international tournament. Mind, not everything went exactly as planned and not all we saw was positive. Let s take it from the start.
Christian Eriksen
Italy had comprehensively beaten Turkey in the tournament opener and Wales had just drawn with Switzerland, when the fateful cla…
Phil Foden could miss the opening month of Manchester City s Premier League title defence with the foot injury that ruled him out of the Euro 2020 final and left him in tears.
England playmaker Foden was laid low during the build-up to the Wembley showdown with Italy, having impressed in an extra-time cameo against Denmark in the semi-finals.
Roberto Mancini s Azzurri prevailed on penalties as the 21-year-old was restricted to a watching brief and, with City beginning their top-flight campaign at Tottenham on Sunday, he will be out of action once more.
Back-to-back home games against newly promoted Norwich City and Arsenal will also come too soon, with a September 11 trip to Leicester City after the international break or the following weekend s game against Sout…
Remi Garde wants his Lyon side to use their 2012 Coupe de la Ligue final defeat as motivation for Saturday s clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Lyon were beaten 1-0 by Marseille two years ago and Garde s side will look to make amends in Saturday s final at the Stade de France.
While PSG are 25 points ahead of Lyon in Ligue 1, Garde feels his side have the motivation to pull off an upset.
I hope to see a different Lyon to the team that played the 2012 final against Marseille, which left a bitter taste in the mouths, he said on Friday.
We had the impression we didn t really compete that day. I ve undoubtedly modified things in the approach and the aim is to win the final and ensure we have fewer regrets than in 2012.
PSG are on course to retain the Ligue 1 titl…
Now that the pomp and circumstance of Week 1 in the NFL have come and gone, we get back to the Thursday Night Football matchups we have grown accustomed to as the New York Giants visit the Washington Football Team.
But what better way to make this NFC East battle (that only a mother could love) than by finding some winning bets. Washington is a 3.5-point NFL betting favorite despite losing its starting quarterback for the next couple of weeks. Does that mean the G-Men could have some value as an underdog?
Find out in our free NFL picks and predictions for Giants at Washington on September 16.
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The countdown to Christmas is coming at you like a runaway Polar Express, which means the pressure is on to wrap up your holiday gift giving wish lists.
The big debate facing yuletide shoppers is the same sticky scenario troubling NFL bettors this time of year: quantity versus quality.
Do you buy a bunch of cheaper gifts or a few really nice ones? Do you grab the pile of points with crap teams or look for NFL point spread picks on competitive clubs as short underdogs?
If the past two weeks are any evidence, short NFL underdog picks are the gift that keeps on giving. And big pups, well… enjoy your off-brand smart watch. I’m sure it’ll work fine.
Underdogs of six points or more are just 2-9 ATS, with double-digit dogs…
The Arizona Cardinals will try to get their offense on track in Week 7 as the Cards host the New Orleans Saints as slight favorites with a total of 45 Thursday night.
DeAndre Hopkins’ suspension is over but I’m backing another Arizona pass catcher, and whoever is under center for the Saints should have an easy time in the air. Arizona’s defense ranks dead last in success rate per drop back on the season.
Find out all my thoughts in my free NFL player prop picks for Thursday Night Football between the Saints and Cardinals.
Be sure to also check out Jason Logan’s full game betting analysis before kickoff!
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The first bye weeks of the 2023 NFL season have arrived in Week 5, but that doesn’t mean the betting opportunities have dried up.
I’ve scoured the NFL odds and put together a parlay of my two top total plays, plus a same-game parlay involving the early-morning affair in London.
Read on for my free NFL picks.
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