Luton will be fired up for their Championship debut following back-to-back promotions but could get a reality check when entertaining Middlesbrough. The visitors only just missed out on making the play-offs again last term and were in the Premier League as recently as three seasons ago.
Leeds are again among the pre-season favourites to gain promotion from the Championship but face a tricky start when visiting Bristol City on Sunday. The Robins finished just outside the play-off places last term and are a settled outfit under Lee Johnson, so this has all the makings of a close contest.
Rangers will be fired up to exorcise the demons of their last trip to face Progres Niederkorn in a Europa League qualifier two years ago. On that occasion, the Glasgow giants lost in Luxembourg to crash out, but this time they travel with a 2-0 advantage and much greater focus.
Aberdeen showed plenty of spirit to earn a 1-1 draw with Chikhura Sachkhere in Tbilisi and are fancied to finish the job off at Pittodrie. Derek McInnes has to contend with injury problems at the back ahead of this Europa League qualifier, but the Dons can do enough going forward to progress.
Wolves were frustrated for long periods of their first clash with Crusaders but are still well placed to coast through this Europa League qualifier. Wanderers eventually secured a 2-0 advantage at Molineux after having 80 per cent of the possession and should again dominate in the return fixture.
Bayern Munich won three of the first four Audi Cup tournaments and will be looking to make up for a poor showing when it was last held a couple of years ago. Turkish outfit Fenerbahce should receive strong support at the Allianz Arena but look out of their depth at this level, on all known evidence.
Real Madrid have had to endure a very rocky pre-season campaign and look worth taking on against Tottenham at the Audi Cup in Germany. The Whites were thrashed 7-3 by city rivals Atletico in New Jersey on Friday and could still be shell-shocked from that International Champions Cup performance.
PSV face a tough test when visiting Basel in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier but are rated too good to go out at this stage. The Dutch outfit fired in a couple of late strikes when securing a slender 3-2 advantage on home turf and can finish the job off in Switzerland.
Celtic will take a comfortable 5-0 lead over Nomme Kalju to Estonia for the second leg of their Champions League qualifier. However, the Hoops may now have one eye on Saturday’s Scottish Premiership opener against St Johnstone, so that could allow their hosts to at least be more competitive.
Benfica have already claimed two International Champions Cup victories, but AC Milan may now give them a tougher test in Foxborough. The Rossoneri should strip fitter for a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich and Marco Giampaolo will be keen to take something out of this second contest.
Benfica were competitive in last season’s International Champions Cup and got off to a flying start this term when beating Guadalajara 3-0 in California. Fiorentina had previously edged out the Mexican side 2-1 in Illinois, but then had their limitations exposed in a 3-0 Charlotte loss to Arsenal.
Arsenal’s youngsters have exceeded expectations at the International Champions Cup but may be brought back down to earth by Real Madrid. The Whites will have a big following in Washington and could do with a boost in morale after losing to Bayern Munich in their opening contest.
Bayern Munich have the benefit of already playing twice in the International Champions Cup and that can help them see off AC Milan in Kansas City. The German giants lost 2-1 to Arsenal but then improved greatly from that outing when beating Real Madrid 3-1 in front of over 60,000 fans in Houston.
Viktoria Plzen acquitted themselves pretty well in last season’s Champions League group stage and could give Olympiakos a decent test in the Czech Republic. However, their Greek opponents have a great record in European qualifiers, being unbeaten in their last 10 such fixtures.