PSV were totally dominant when thrashing Galatasaray 5-1 in Eindhoven and can confirm that superiority in the second leg in Istanbul. A date with Celtic or Midtjylland looks assured for the Dutch outfit, who appear to be back on an upward curve under Roger Schmidt.
Great Britain’s women have already done us a couple of favours at the Olympics and can wrap up top spot in their group by edging out Canada. Hege Riise’s well-drilled side have been rock-solid in securing two clean-sheet victories and may again be just too strong.
Celtic face a tough trip to Denmark as they look to progress to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The Hoops were held to a 1-1 draw by Midtjylland in the first leg at Parkhead last Tuesday night and were thrashed 6-2 by West Ham in Saturday’s friendly.
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.
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.
Canada were one of the most impressive teams during the group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and may feel aggrieved to be seen as the underdogs for their quarter-final in the eyes of the bookmakers. The Reds enjoyed two comfortable victories before a narrow loss denied them top spot in their group, although it should be noted Costa Rica were one of only two teams to progress with three wins out of three.
Mexico head into the quarter-finals as the 6/4 favourites in the CONCACAF Gold Cup winner odds and will hope to prove why when they face 22/1 outsiders Honduras. Mexico have won the Gold Cup a record 11 times including three of the last five editions so there is plenty of reason to think they are the team to beat.
Qatar are playing at the CONCACAF Gold Cup as part of their preparations for hosting next year’s World Cup and it has been so far so good. They qualified for the quarter-finals as winners of Group D with seven points from their three matches and are favourites to reach the last four.
Manchester City start their Premier League title defence at a ground that has not treated them well so far. Pep Guardiola’s side have lost on all three visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without even scoring a goal.
Newcastle and West Ham go head to head on the first weekend of the season for the second year running. The Magpies came out on top at the London Stadium last September, but the Hammers regrouped superbly and enjoyed a fine campaign that ended with Europa League qualification.
Wolves begin a new era in the Premier League with Bruno Lage at the helm after Nuno Espirito Santo left the club by mutual consent at the end of last season. Lage, a former assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea before having success as Benfica head coach, will start his tenure with a trip to the King Power Stadium against Leicester.
Everton begin a new era at Goodison Park as Rafael Benitez takes charge of his first match at the Toffees against Southampton on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign. The former Liverpool boss has been tasked with replacing Carlo Ancelotti, who returned to Real Madrid, as Everton target European football after just missing out last season.
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. Their supporters were absent last season as the Hornets achieved promotion back to the top flight last season and Watford head into the new campaign as one of the favourites in the Premier League relegation odds.
Norwich begin a Premier League season against Liverpool for the second time in three years hoping for a better outcome. The Canaries, who lifted the Championship title once again, travelled to Anfield on the opening day in 2019/20 and went down 4-1 having trailed 4-0 at half-time.