West Ham have made great progress under David Moyes over the past couple of years, including in their clashes with Man City. The Hammers have picked up a point in two straight Premier League meetings at London Stadium and beat the Blues on penalties in the EFL Cup last term.
Leicester claimed an eighth-placed finish following a fine end to 2021/22 while Brentford will be out to avoid the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’. The Foxes did the double over the promoted Bees last term, with the west London club ending a very respectable 13th.
Fulham face a baptism of fire on their return to the Premier League when hosting last season’s runners-up Liverpool at Craven Cottage. The Reds won 16 of their final 18 fixtures in this competition last term, drawing with Manchester City and Tottenham in the other two.
The pressure will be on Steven Gerrard when Aston Villa kick off their Premier League season against Bournemouth. Villa struggled for results at the back end of last season, but the former Rangers boss has splashed the cash again over the summer.
Leeds will be desperate for a positive start to the Premier League season this time around when they entertain Wolves at Elland Road. The Whites needed seven attempts to get off the mark last term and, after sacking Marcelo Bielsa, only avoided relegation on the final day.
Montreal have won both previous home encounters with Inter Miami and can continue that trend at Stade Saputo this weekend. The Impact are in fine form, picking up 10 points from the last 12 available following Wednesday’s dramatic 2-1 victory at Columbus.
Tottenham and Southampton have a habit of producing goals when they get together and another entertaining encounter is on the cards in London. Both teams have scored in 14 of their last 15 head-to-head meetings, with the most recent being a 3-2 Premier League win for Saints.
Rejuvenated Toronto are fancied to build on their recent improvement by securing a positive result when visiting Nashville. The hosts have won only one of their last seven matches at GEODIS Park, posting four draws and suffering two losses during that sequence.
Vancouver will be looking to get their home form back on track against Houston. The Whitecaps have lost their last two on home soil, having not lost in six outings there, but the good news is that the Dynamo have been struggling badly on the road this term.
Columbus and Montreal were each involved in goalless stalemates last time out but we’re hoping for more excitement when they meet in midweek. Both teams have scored in three of the last four head-to-head encounters between these sides.
Euro 2022 could not have worked out any better, with hosts England facing eight-time champions Germany in Sunday’s dream final at Wembley. Both sides have powered through playing at a high tempo and have stood out in this tournament due to their physical strength.
Two in-form sides go head to head when CF Montreal host New York City FC on Sunday. Montreal have won four of their last six matches, while the MLS champions have only tasted defeat in one of their last 16 games.
Burnley and Huddersfield will have new managers in the dugout when they kick off the new Championship season on Friday night. Vincent Kompany has succeeded Sean Dyche at the Clarets, while Danny Schofield took over the Terriers after Carlos Corberan’s shock resignation.
England are fancied to get past an ageing and ailing Sweden side to reach the Euro 2022 final. The Scandinavians were hit by a Covid outbreak before their quarter-final clash with Belgium and the Lionesses will have seen little to fear from the team which scraped through in Leigh.