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.
Chelsea begin the defence of their Champions League title with what looks a straightforward test when entertaining Zenit. The Russian side have every incentive to do well, as they will host the final in St Petersburg, but look up against it on all known form.
Man Utd paid the price for two away defeats when failing to qualify from last season’s Champions League pool so will be fully focused for this trip. The good news is that the Red Devils enjoyed a 3-0 win over Young Boys in Berne three years ago, when Paul Pogba hit a double.
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Tottenham will be looking to bounce back from a shock 1-0 defeat in Portugal last week when hosting Pacos Ferreira in their Europa Conference League qualifier. Nuno Espirito Santo rested players for the first leg and has some selection headaches here.
Rangers will only take a slender 1-0 lead to Armenia and are set to take on Alashkert in sweltering heat in this Europa League qualifier. However, despite a below-par effort and going down to 10 men, Steven Gerrard’s side rarely looked in danger of conceding at Ibrox.
Celtic are in pole position to qualify for the Europa League group stage after a 2-0 first-leg win over AZ Alkmaar in Glasgow. However, the Dutch side did show some encouraging signs going forward in that contest and this promises to prove a tricky trip to Holland.
PSV have work to do after losing 2-1 away to Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier but did impress in Lisbon. Roger Schmidt’s side showed great resolve to recover from a shaky start and could easily have returned to Holland on level terms.
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St Johnstone showed great spirit to earn a draw with Galatasaray in Istanbul, even if it was against 10 men at a neutral venue. However, Gala hinted at times why they have qualified for Champions League group-stage football in six of the last nine seasons.