Andrew McDermott 
The European team will hope experience gives them the edge as we pick out our Ryder Cup predictions for the 2021 event at Whistling Straits. Padraig Harrington’s men are very much the underdogs at 2/1 despite winning seven of the nine Ryder Cup contests that have been held this century.
Tottenham are the 5/1 favourites to win the Europa Conference League as they prepare to begin their campaign in north-west France. They face a tricky opener, though, with Rennes third in the outright betting at 14/1 and both teams are struggling for goals.
Leicester are yet to find their best form this season and look short of confidence as their Europa League campaign gets under way on Thursday night. The Foxes have lost two of their first four matches in the Premier League, losing 4-1 at West Ham last month and 1-0 at home to Manchester City on Saturday.
West Ham are back in Europe and will be determined to get off to get off to a flying start as they head to Croatia for their opening Europa League match. The Hammers are unbeaten in the Premier League after four matches but now begin the challenge of also competing in Europe, which could stretch their squad.
Inter Milan and Real Madrid are familiar foes after being placed in the same Champions League group for the second successive season. Inter claimed the Serie A title last term but it was a very different story in Europe as they finished bottom of Group B with just one win.
Ajax failed to get out of their Champions League group last season so will be keen to make a fast start when they head to Portugal. They have been priced up as the slight favourites but this looks a tough one to call in an open group which also contains Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas.
PSV Eindhoven face a tough start to their Europa League campaign when they host Real Sociedad on Thursday night. The Spanish side are the 11/10 favourites to win Group B so PSV must hit the ground running if they are to pick up points in their opener.
Watford begin life back in the Premier League at Vicarage Road and will be aiming to start with a win in front of their own fans against Aston Villa. However, the Hornets head into the new campaign as one of the favourites in the top-flight relegation odds.
Burnley and Brighton occupied the two places above the relegation zone last season and will be keen to get off to a fast start when they meet at Turf Moor on the opening weekend. The Clarets only picked up two points from their first seven matches last season.
We’re tracking the latest Lionel Messi transfer news, rumours and odds for clues on where Lionel Messi could move to this summer. Barcelona sent shock waves across the football world when announcing the 34-year-old Argentina superstar was heading for the exit door.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals conclude with arguably the pick of the last-eight matches when the United States face Jamaica. At least one of these teams have reached each of the last eight finals and this is a repeat of the 2017 showpiece, which the USA won 2-1.
The ‘big five’ European leagues have released their schedules for the 2021-22 season so we have analysed the fixture difficulty for them all. While every team has to play everyone else at some point, timing can be everything. A tough start can easily undermine a positive pre-season, while a gentle run of opening fixtures can provide the momentum necessary for a successful campaign.
Great Britain’s women made a winning start to their Olympic campaign but are expected to face a tougher test when they meet hosts Japan on Saturday. Team GB began with a 2-0 victory over Chile – just as we predicted at 4/1 – and are top of Group A after the opening round of matches.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics get under way on July 23 and we are assessing the Team GB odds heading into the Games. The Olympics have been delayed by a year but are still due to take place amid a state of emergency caused by rising coronavirus rates in the Japanese capital.