Tony Kelshaw 
Burnley face an uphill battle to qualify for the Europa League group stage as they go into the second leg of their tie with Olympiacos 3-1 down. The Clarets have also been struggling in the Premier League, being beaten by the same scoreline against Watford and losing 4-2 at Fulham either side of the trip to Greece.
Celtic still have work to do when hosting Suduva in Thursday’s Europa League play-off but should be more focused for the second leg. The Hoops had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Lithuania but will be looking to assert some authority on the return fixture at Parkhead.
Rangers will take a 1-0 lead to Russia for the second leg of their Europa League qualifier with Ufa and are fancied to battle through to the group stage. Connor Goldson’s close-range strike put the Glasgow giants in the driving seat and they will now look to finish the job off.
With the start of England’s Premiership Rugby competition fast approaching, we’ve spoken to former Newcastle and Northampton star Tom May about the upcoming season. May discusses his old teams’ prospects and highlights which new recruits he is looking forward to watching across the whole tournament.
Nottingham Forest have yet to taste defeat in the Championship this season and look in better shape than Birmingham at this early stage. The Blues have failed to score a goal since an opening 2-2 draw with Norwich and that has seen their Trueform ratings slump.
With Europe’s domestic club rugby season set to kick off with the start of the French Top 14 competition this week, we’re asking former Toulon star Tom May for his thoughts on the state of play across the Channel, with Les Bleus’ national team also discussed.
Swansea and Leeds will both be more than happy with their Championship results so far and we reckon they are hard to split at Liberty Stadium. United are two points better off following three straight wins in this division, but home advantage can help City to hold their own in Wales.
Real Madrid can recover from their UEFA Super Cup loss to city rivals Atletico by starting the new La Liga season with a win over Getafe at the Bernabeu. The Whites have won the last nine head-to-head meetings between these sides, with the most recent being a 3-1 triumph at this venue in March.
Stoke have not adjusted well to life in the Championship and could still be vulnerable when visiting Preston on Saturday evening. North End are always difficult opponents at Deepdale and have already claimed league and EFL Cup victories on home turf this month.
Tyson Fury continues on the comeback trail when facing Italian heavyweight Francesco Pianeta in Belfast and should have little trouble in extending his unbeaten record to 27-0. The former world champion returned from a long absence to brush aside Sefer Seferi and is expected to be sharper for that outing.
We’re eyeing an 11/2 handicap treble with this week’s Super League predictions, as teams gear up for the second round of matches in the Super 8s. The focus now is on which sides will boost their hopes of making the Grand Final at Old Trafford in late October and these selections are all hungry for success.
Celtic could still be feeling sorry for themselves after a disappointing Champions League exit when visiting Partick in the Scottish League Cup. Add on the fact that Thistle pushed the Hoops hard in two Premiership encounters at Firhill last season and the feeling is that we may get a tight tussle in this tie.
After picking out US PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari (6th), the task is to keep the good run going with our Wyndham Championship betting tips. The first selection from the top of the market is Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who has hinted at a return to peak form.
With the final major of the season in the books, we return to regular European Tour action and another new course for the Nordea Masters. Our golf guru Phil Casey hit the target with 18/1 winner Brooks Koepka at the US PGA Championship and is eyeing another nice pay-out this week.