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Kairat will need to make strong use of their home advantage here if they are to have a chance of coming through this tie against an Anderlecht side who come into this clash in decent form - but not many clean sheets.

The away side have kept just one shut out across their last seven matches, with this run including all four legs of their previous qualifying ties against Hammarby and PAOK. Kairat struggled a little during Champions League qualifying, but did have at least 15+ shots in all three of their home matches. 

They scored in two of these games and have a unique advantage when at home due to the weather conditions that often surround their games in front of their home fans. Kairat have not lost a single game at home domestically this term, winning seven of their 10 matches and netting 23 goals in the process (2.3 per game). 

Thun were one of the stories of the season across Europe last year, winning the Swiss Super League as a newly promoted side.

They continue to be underrated in these markets, as they were in the last round of qualifying where they scored in both legs to see off Icelandic opponents by 5-3 on aggregate. 

Thun have only failed to score once in their last 13 matches across all competitions, highlighting their impressive scoring power which should come to the fore again here. 

Lech Poznan are favourites to win this game, but their home form last season wasn’t that consistent with the Polish side only winning seven of their 17 games in front of their home fans - conceding 29 goals in the process.

Egnatia have seen both teams score in all six of their games this season - that includes four Champions League qualifying games and two in Europa League qualifying.

In the last round they beat Shamrock Rovers 5-1 at home, to come back from a 3-1 first leg defeat and take themselves to the brink of qualification.

Lillestrom are odds-on favourites to win in Albania, yet they’re only in Europa League qualifying because they won the 2025 Norwegian Cup in a remarkable season where they also won the second tier title.

They have only kept one clean sheet in their last 10 games, but do sit 5th in the Eliteserien, just one point off the European places.

Egnatia have seen both teams score in all six of their games this season - that includes four Champions League qualifying games and two in Europa League qualifying.

In the last round they beat Shamrock Rovers 5-1 at home, to come back from a 3-1 first leg defeat and take themselves to the brink of qualification.

Lillestrom are odds-on favourites to win in Albania, yet they’re only in Europa League qualifying because they won the 2025 Norwegian Cup in a remarkable season where they also won the second tier title.

They have only kept one clean sheet in their last 10 games, but do sit 5th in the Eliteserien, just one point off the European places.

This is Hearts’ last chance to secure European football off the back of their outstanding 2025/26 season.

They lost 6-0 to Sturm Graz (aggregate) in the Champions League process and 7-2 to Benfica (also aggregate) in the Europa League one, but Europe is still achievable - the winner of this tie gets Conference League.

This is Rapid’s third Conference League qualifying tie, comfortably progressing 9-3 and 6-1 on aggregate. 

They’ve seen BTTS land in three of those four games.

Hearts have seen this bet land in four of their last five, including both legs of their tie with Benfica.

Attack looks like the best form of defence for both teams.

PAOK dropped into the Conference League after suffering a 4-2 aggregate defeat against Anderlecht last time out, but they now have an ideal opportunity to bounce back from that setback.

The Greek side are not short of experience on the European stage, and visiting sides often find it difficult to come away from the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki with any points. In fact, PAOK were the only side in the Greek top flight last season to go unbeaten at home - they won 11 of their 13 matches in total. 

Brann won’t be used to playing a side as strong as PAOK, and their form this season has been mixed. Brann currently sit sixth in the Norwegian Eliteserien, with the record of eight wins, one draw and eight losses. Their defensive record has been poor, with 27 goals conceded in that time, and PAOK will be able to take advantage of any defensive weaknesses.

Lech Poznan come into this first leg after securing a convincing 6-0 aggregate victory over KI Klaksvik in the previous round.

The Polish champions only managed a narrow 1-0 win at home, but they were much more clinical in the return fixture, putting five goals past their opponents from the Faroe Islands, and that will fill them with confidence coming into this clash. 

However, Thun aren’t a side to underestimate, and they should be much more competitive than Klaksvik. They came away with a 6-0 win against Saxon Sports last time out, after beating Vikingur Reykjavik 5-3 on aggregate.

Goals have been a target whenever Thun are playing, and they usually don’t struggle to find the back of the net. Keeping Lech Poznan at bay will be their biggest challenge here, though. It’s a clash between two strong sides, title-holders in their respective divisions, so it promises to be an intriguing contest.

Braga played out a goalless stalemate against Dinamo Minsk last time out, which was all they needed to do to win the tie, but this clash against Austria Vienna looks set to be much more open and entertaining.

The visitors travel to Portugal as underdogs, but they have every reason to approach this match with confidence, and it isn’t really their style to sit back and absorb pressure. 

Both legs of Vienna’s previous European tie finished 2-1, as they eventually prevailed after  a penalty shootout. Vienna eased past FK Liepaja with a 5-1 aggregate victory prior to that.

The Austrian side have scored 15 goals in eight matches across all competitions this season, which shows how they can carry a threat in the final third, and Braga will have to be wary of that.

Jagiellonia produced an impressive performance against Rangers in the previous round of the Europa League qualifiers, winning 2-1 in Poland before holding on to a 1-1 draw at the Ibrox Stadium.

The Polish side looked dangerous in transition across the two legs, as they managed ten shots with seven on target in the home fixture against Rangers. This upcoming clash against Iberia looks like a much easier matchup on paper, and Jagiellonia will once again hope to take a positive result into the second leg. 

Iberia needed extra time to overcome Larne in the previous round, following a goalless draw in Northern Ireland. Prior to that, they were beaten 3-1 by Slovan Bratislava over two legs. The Georgian side come into this clash as notable underdogs, and Jagiellonia should be able to capitalise.

Copenhagen have started this season in excellent form, and they are still unbeaten after seven matches across all competitions. Impressively, the Danish side have emerged victorious in six of those games, with a total of 23 goals scored.

Copenhagen have bagged multiple goals in all of their matches so far, which shows just how effective they are going forward. This price for Copenhagen to win looks great value, not only because of their recent form, but also because they deserve to be playing at a higher level than the Conference League. 

Copenhagen competed in the Champions League last season, and despite not making it out of the league phase, they did win two of their eight games. Inter Turku deserve credit for making it to this stage, but this promises to be a real challenge for them as there is a significant gulf in quality between the two sides.

Hull are going to really struggle to be competitive in the Premier League this season with the lowest valued squad in the league. They did really well to secure promotion via the playoffs last season, but all the underlying data suggests that this achievement did come with quite a bit of luck and I think that will play out in them finishing towards the bottom of the table.

Manchester United enjoyed a decent second half of the season under Carrick following the departure of Amorim and this game gives them an opportunity to make a strong start to the campaign. Tielemans and Santos should feature as new signings and United actually had a pretty good away record last season - losing just four of their 19 away matches.

Did you know that Brentford have never beaten Tottenham at home in the Premier League?

It's quite an interesting stat, considering how difficult of a ground the Gtech has become in recent campaigns - especially for some of the traditional big six sides. Even during their disaster season last year, Tottenham beat Brentford at home and earned a point against Keith Andrews' side on the road.

It's also worth noting that most of Tottenham's poor form was at home last season, they ranked sixth for away form last season and crucially avoided defeat in 12 of their 19 matches. They have bolstered the squad significantly over the summer window with the likes of Tonali, Van Hecke, Fernandes and Robertson all joining and De Zerbi led them through a promising pre-season campaign where Tottenham avoided defeat across five matches.

This is a favourable first game of the season for Arsenal, who are protecting the title for the first time under Mikel Arteta and I expect them to get off to a comfortable start.

Arsenal showed their quality in taking apart Manchester City in the Community Shield last week, coming away 3-0 winners and looking comfortable in that victory despite being without key players. 

They’ve recruited well with the likes of Tzolis and Guimaraes bolstering an already complete squad which should serve them well to push for the title again this campaign.

Arsenal netted 41 goals across their 19 home games in the Premier League last season (2.15 per game), only Manchester City (45) scored more goals at home than Mikel Arteta’s side.

Both head to head meetings between these sides last season saw BTTS, with Betis coming away 3-1 winners as the home side last term followed by a 2-2 draw when they traveled to face Real Sociedad. 

Real Sociedad saw BTTS in all six of their friendly matches ahead of the new campaign, and have seen BTTS in each of their last 10 matches more widely. 

They’re actually without a clean sheet across their last 15 matches, so I wouldn’t expect them to keep out a Betis side that scored 34 goals at home last season (1.78 per game). 

Betis did concede 19 goals at home last season (1.0 per game) and the underlying data would suggest that they can replicate their 3-1 win over Real Sociedad last season - a game that saw both sides come away with a healthy xG (2.47-0.84). 

Johanna Walsh has finished in the top three in all five of her career races.

That includes two runs over today's distance and three over today's ground conditions.

She has already won at this level and should be able to handle the occasion in this high profile race.

Jockey, Dylan Browne McMonagle, has rode Johanna Walsh in all of her previous races.

She comes into the race having with two wins and a 2nd-placed finish in her last three starts.

Vauntingly has finished in the top four in all five of her career races.

That includes two races over today's trip and all five have been over these ground conditions.

She's proven at this level and running for an in-form trainer - J P O'Brien.

She has finished 2nd or better in each of her last four races.

Clearly a horse on the rise, and one that could prove to be a value third favourite.

Theheatison has finished in the top five in all five of his career races.

That includes four races over today's trip and two over these ground conditions.

This is a step up in class, but he's very comfortable with the distance.

His 3rd at Newmarket last time out was the standout race in his career so far.

He's an enticing outsider in a big field.

Albaydaa has finished in the top five in all seven of her career races.

All seven have been run over today's distance with three coming on these ground conditions.

She is well suited to the distance and came 2nd at Ascot in May over it.

She has placed in both of her previous runs at the level.

W J Haggas is a trainer to watch at the festival, and there's familiarity in the jockey booking, with Tom Marquand set to ride Albaydaa for the fifth time.

Kai Havertz scored Arsenal’s second goal in their 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield last time out, heading home after being set up by Christos Tzolis.

Havertz still divides opinion as a striker, but I do think he suits this Arsenal side and will inevitably get chances here in a side that will create plenty of chances against a newly promoted Coventry outfit.

Havertz scored three goals across four starts at the World Cup from seven shots on target (1.77 per 90), and averaged 2.78 shots per 90 in the Premier League last season across seven starts - scoring two goals in the process.

Gyokeres is also an option for Arsenal from the bench if they can’t break Coventry down with Havertz leading the line, he scored 14 goals in the Premier League last season and is a decent Super Sub option. 

Caleb Yirenkyi has joined Coventry from Nordsjaelland after impressing in Denmark for the last two campaigns. He also enjoyed a strong World Cup campaign for Ghana, committing seven fouls across three starts (2.39 per 90).

Yirenkyi played 90 minutes against England as part of these appearances at the World Cup, committing three fouls alone in that encounter as Ghana earned a 0-0 draw against Thomas Tuchel’s side in the group stage of the competition.

Yirenkyi will have a tough first assignment in the Premier League here with his direct opponents likely to be Bruno Guimaraes (2.75 fouls won per 90) and Myles Lewis-Skelly (2.06 fouls won per 90) - with the latter also being fouled twice in the Community Shield last time out.

Yirenkyi averaged 1.65 fouls committed per 90 in the Superligaen last season, so he’s already got quite a solid base to improve on here against the best side in the Premier League who now have two of the strongest players when it comes to winning fouls in central areas. 

I picked out this selection as a Gem Bet for the Community Shield last week, with the price available at 2.10. 

I mentioned that we wouldn’t see that price again, and it has dropped significantly since but is still a solid option for this opening game of the Premier League season.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is a brilliant player and it looks like we’ll be seeing him more in central areas this season given that Arteta has played him in midfield throughout pre-season and in the Community Shield last week.

Lewis-Skelly was fouled twice in that game against Manchester City, and has been fouled at least once in all four of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies - winning 2+ fouls in three of these games.

He lines up against a Coventry side that will try everything to break up the game as much as possible, as his direct battle against Caleb Yirenkyi is one to watch. 

It’s hard to see anything other than a convincing Arsenal win in this game. The handicap is available at 1.5, which is a little too short for me - but backing Arteta’s side to score 2+ goals looks like a decent angle.

Only Manchester City (45) scored more goals at home than Arsenal (41) in the Premier League last season. That works out to an average of 2.15 goals per game, with Arsenal picking up more points than any other side at home last term (47).

There isn’t a tougher assignment in the Premier League at the moment than travelling to the Emirates, so this will be a tough task for Coventry and maybe a bit of a learning curve for Frank Lampard and his side as they adapt to the division ans try to implement their new signings. 

Satellite of Love has won both of his career starts to date.

Those two races came over today's distance.

He's second-favourite, at the time of writing, which shows the respect he's received from the bookmakers, considering that this race represents a step up in class.

Trainer, Clive Cox, specialises in horses of his age (two), and has had recent success in this exact race at York.

Jockey, Rossa Ryan, has won this race in each of the last two years.

Centigrade has won two of his three career races.

All three of those races came over today's distance.

His trainer, Ralph Beckett, won this exact race last year, so there is course form from his staple to carry into the event.

Having won two of his first three races, even the exception to that winning run was a 2nd-placed finish where he was only beaten by a head.

This promising four-year-old can deliver the goods and justify favouritism as the standout horse in the 15:00.

It looks like Ellis Simms will start the season as Coventry’s main striker having impressed in pre-season with goals against Espanyol and Monaco, building on his impressive campaign in the Championship last term.

I did think we’d see Haji Wright leading the line for Coventry after his 17 goal haul in the Championship last term, but Simms scored 13 goals across just 15 starts in the second division - a rate of 0.72 goals per 90. 

This is an exceptional record and I think he’s the most likely to cause Arsenal problems in this game when Coventry can get into more advanced areas on the counter attack. He managed 76 shots in the Championship last term (4.20 per 90), seeing 34 of these attempts find the target (1.88 per 90).

Riccardo Calafiori scored after just 20 seconds in Arsenal’s win over Manchester City in the Community Shield last time out, pushing forward to get on the end of a through ball by Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Calafiori is one of the most adventurous fullbacks in the Premier League and repeatedly kept pushing on into advanced areas when Arsenal went forward, also offering a threat from set pieces with Arteta’s side still having corners as a main part of their attacking approach this season.

Calafiori averaged 1.69 shots per 90 in the Premier League last season, and could be a good option to break down what should be a low block from Coventry with his late runs into the box, many of which go untracked as a result of his clever movement.

Bobby Thomas picked up more yellow cards than any other Coventry player in the Championship last season (8) and also picked up a red card during the campaign.

I think the centre back will end up with a healthy card count again this season given his aggressive nature and the step up in quality of opposition that he will have to deal with in the Premier League.

Thomas is a very physical centre back, he is likely to struggle with the cute movement of Havertz who knows how to antagonise his direct opponent as well with Arsenal perfecting that side of their game last term - much to the annoyance of the rest of the league.

Thomas collected those cards from a foul average of just 0.77, suggesting that a decent portion of his fouls are cynical or reckless rather than it being a case of Thomas accumulating small niggling fouls. 

Heerenveen have seen BTTS in five of their last six matches across all competitions, seeing BTTS & No Draw in four of these games.

Each of the last five head to head meetings between these sides has seen BTTS, with both league meetings last season seeing BTTS & No Draw.

Zwolle conceded 50 goals on the road in the Eredivisie last season, more than any other side in the division - but they did manage to score 23 goals across their 17 matches. 

Fortuna Sittard have seen BTTS in both of their Eredivisie matches so far, winning one of these games.

Alkmaar ran out 4-1 winners over Utrecht on the road last time out.

This fixture produced seven goals last season as Sittard came away 4-3 winners over Alkmaar. 

Cheltenham have seen BTTS & No Draw in both of their competitive matches so far this season, losing in the EFL Cup to Charlton before winning 2-1 against Rotherham.

Swindon’s home games were very entertaining in League Two last season, scoring 38 goals (1.65 per game) and conceding 27 (1.17 per game). 

Swindon saw BTTS & No Draw in both of their friendly matches before the campaign, and in the first round of the EFL Cup as they lost 3-2 to Cardiff.

Derby have seen BTTS in each of their last three matches, seeing BTTS & No Draw in two of these games.

Cardiff scored in the last minute against Wrexham last time out to earn a point, they’ve seen BTTS & No Draw in two of their last three matches.

These sides faced off in January last year in a game that ended 2-1 to Cardiff, with both sides registering an xG in excess of 1.0 (2.27-1.24).

Both of these sides have made positive starts to the season, avoiding defeat in each of their opening two matches of the campaign.

Fortuna Sittard have seen BTTS in both of their matches so far, holding PSV to a 2-2 draw on the opening day away from home before beating a newly promoted Cambuur side 3-1 in front of their own fans.

Alkmaar saw BTTS last time out as they came away 4-1 winners over Utrecht on the road in a game that saw them rack up an xG of 2.10. Their last visit to this stadium produced seven goals, with Fortuna Sittard coming away 4-3 winners on that occasion.

Fortuna Sittard scored 28 and conceded 29 goals at home in the Eredivisie last season, working out to an average of 3.35 goals per game.

I was impressed with both of these sides on the opening weekend of the EFL as both managed to collect three points with QPR beating Portsmouth 3-1 and Bolton winning 2-1 at home against Preston at home.

Both teams were quite entertaining in registering those victories as well, Bolton racked up an xG of 1.10 from 15 shots while QPR had an xG of 2.07 from 13 shots as the away side.

QPR have seen BTTS in five of their last six matches ahead of this clash, including their EFL Cup tie against Millwall which ended 1-1. They saw 77 goals across their 23 home games in the Championship last term, working out to an average of 3.34 goals per game.

West Ham gave up a two goal lead on the opening weekend as Burnley came from behind to earn a point against the Hammers thanks to a brace from Zain Fleming.

That was probably a good experience for West Ham to have as it shows how competitive the Championship can be, but I do expect them to register their first win of the campaign against a Charlton side who are going to pick up most of their points at home this season.

Charlton only managed to win four of their 23 away matches in the Championship last season, notably only scoring 21 goals across these games. 

I’m not sure that this will be enough firepower to trouble a West Ham side who have just added Joel Piroe to their attacking options, alongside the talent of Bowen, Castellanos and Soloman.

Real Madrid’s frontline looks frightening this season with Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham now joined by Yan Diomande. 

Jose Mourinho’s side should be able to get off to a strong start here against an Espanyol side that they beat 2-0 on the road back in May, thanks to a brace from Vinicius Jr. 

Real Madrid have won six of the last seven head to head meetings between the sides, and come into this clash having avoided defeat in pre-season - winning four of their five matches.

Espanyol failed to beat the likes of Coventry, Middlesbrough and Burnley during their pre-season campaign.  Only four sides in LaLiga picked up fewer points than Espanyol at home last season, with Manolo Gonzalez’s side notably only scoring 21 goals across their 19 games - only two sides scored fewer goals at home in the Spanish top flight.

There's usually no shortage of goalmouth action when East Kilbride are involved, and I expect more of the same when they travel to Montrose on Saturday.

Mick Kennedy's side have adapted well to life in Scottish League One, with their games proving just as goal-heavy as they were last season. 

Over 2.5 goals has landed in two of their opening three league games, while all four of their Scottish League Cup matches also cleared that line. 

The case for overs is strengthened further by Montrose's own record, with each of their opening three league games producing at least three goals. 

That includes a 5-0 home defeat to Hamilton on the opening day, while Stuart Petrie's side also pushed title favourites Ross County close in a 2-1 defeat a fortnight ago. 

That suggests the hosts can play their part in what has the makings of another high-scoring affair.

I'm keen to back Hamilton to pick up another win when they travel to East Fife on Saturday.

Darian McKinnon's men have hit the ground running in Scottish League One, taking maximum points from each of their opening three matches. 

They thumped Montrose 5-0 on the road on the opening weekend and put four past Airdrie last Saturday to move to the top of the table. 

The Accies also fired in five against Elgin in the League Cup before the league campaign got underway, so they should head to Bayview brimming with confidence.

As for East Fife, they have made a mixed start to the campaign, picking up one win and a draw before losing 2-1 away to Peterhead last weekend.

The Fifers face a serious step up in class this weekend, and I fancy Hamilton to bank all three points at Bayview.

Ross County have made an excellent start to the season, and I think they can maintain that momentum when they travel to Airdrie on Saturday.

Stuart Kettlewell's side have quickly put any concerns over a relegation hangover to bed, topping a Scottish League Cup group that included top-flight outfit Dundee.

They carried that form into the league, winning each of their opening two fixtures before producing another impressive result last weekend by beating Dunfermline 2-1 away from home to book their place in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Airdrie, meanwhile, are still searching for their first league victory after drawing their opening two matches before being hammered 4-0 by Hamilton last weekend. 

That setback will hardly fill the Diamonds with confidence ahead of the visit of a Ross County side that are playing with plenty of confidence at the moment.

I think Dunfermline can get on the scoresheet at least once when they travel to Livingston in the Scottish Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Neil Lennon's side have made a mixed start to the season, but they have generally been reliable in front of goal, netting 12 times across their opening seven games. 

Notably, Dunfermline secured a 1-0 victory away to top-flight St Mirren during the League Cup group stage.

Livingston, meanwhile, were comfortably beaten 2-0 by Partick Thistle in their last outing and could consider themselves fortunate not to have suffered a heavier defeat. 

The Lions also conceded when playing host to Partick during the League Cup group stage, and Dunfermline should provide a similar test on Saturday.

Neither Morton nor Arbroath have had much to shout about during the opening weeks of the season, but I fancy the visitors to come away from Cappielow with something to show for their efforts.

It has been a miserable start to the campaign for Morton, who lost all 4 of their Scottish League Cup group stage games before coming away empty-handed from each of their opening 2 league fixtures. 

There is also no shortage of issues behind the scenes, with Ian Murray admitting that the club could be forced to forfeit matches given how stretched his squad is.

Arbroath are also searching for their first league win of the season, but they at least got themselves on the board with a goalless draw against Inverness last time out. 

The Red Lichties also picked up a couple of wins in the League Cup, so I think they can avoid defeat in Greenock on Saturday afternoon.

Bryan Mbeumo is set to start the season as Manchester United’s main striker with Benjamin Sesko still getting back to full fitness following an injury.

Mbeumo has become a very reliable goalscorer at this level having netted 10+ Premier League goals in each of the last two campaigns, including reaching 20 goals for Brentford in the season prior to joining Manchester United.

Mbeumo took 73 shots in the Premier League last season (2.51 per 90), seeing 32 of these efforts find the target (1.10 per 90).

I’d expect Manchester United to have at least five efforts on goal in this game, they had more shots on target than any other side in the Premier League last season (5.70 per game).

Bruno Fernandes is arguably the best player in the Premier League and enjoyed a really successful season last year, registering 30 goal contributions across his 35 starts in the top flight.

He was mainly a creative asset for United, racking up 21 assists and beating the Premier League record for the number of assists in a single season. He did pitch in with nine goals though from 85 shots (2.50 per 90).

He maintained an average of 0.70 shots on target per 90 in the Premier League last season and I think he’ll get opportunities here to get shots away from distance with Hull expected to sit quite deep and look to pick off United on the counter.

Harry Maguire enjoyed a strong second half of the campaign last season as United finished third in the Premier League and should be an important figure at the back again for Carrick’s side.

Maguire is surprisingly good at winning fouls for a centre back. He’s always been quite comfortable on the ball, and often comes out on top in duels due to his physical stature which opposition strikers tend to struggle against.

He’ll be up against Oli McBurnie here, who is going to spend a lot of time chasing down long balls. McBurnie averaged 1.61 fouls committed per 90 in the Championship last season, a rate that should translate to the Premier League.

Maguire won 16 fouls across his 19 starts in the Premier League last season (0.87 per 90), ranking him in the 78th percentile for fouls won when compared with other centre backs in the division. 

Manchester United saw an average of 9.69 corners per game in the Premier League last season, seeing 8+ match corners in 74% of their matches.

I’d expect them to come away with a healthy corner count again in this clash, given that they will be up against a low block that will force them into wide areas to get crosses into the box.

United have the height and delivery to offer a real threat from these situations this season too - with the likes of Fernandes seeking out Maguire and others in the penalty area with his precise deliveries.

Hull may also be able to contribute to the overall corner count given that they saw an average of 10.31 corners in the Championship last season, seeing 8+ corners in 78% of their matches. 

Hull are going to really struggle to be competitive in the Premier League this season with the lowest valued squad in the league. They did really well to secure promotion via the playoffs last season, but all the underlying data suggests that this achievement did come with quite a bit of luck and I think that will play out in them finishing towards the bottom of the table.

Manchester United enjoyed a decent second half of the season under Carrick following the departure of Amorim and this game gives them an opportunity to make a strong start to the campaign. Tielemans and Santos should feature as new signings and United actually had a pretty good away record last season - losing just four of their 19 away matches.

Bryan Mbeumo started last season really strongly before tailing off a little in the second half of the campaign. 

He’s got a really good opportunity to make a strong start to this season and build some confidence with United taking on Hull and Ipswich in their first two matches of the campaign.

Mbeumo registered 14 goal contributions in the Premier League last season (11 goals, 3 assists) - from an xG & xA tally of 17.2. Only Bruno Fernandes (30) registered more goal contributions for Manchester United last season.

I can see Oli McBurnie ending the campaign as one of the most cautioned strikers in the Premier League given his general temperament and the frustrating scenarios he’s likely to find himself in this season at the pinnacle of a low block.

McBurnie collected eight yellow cards in the Championship last season, for a Hull side that picked up more cautions than any other side in the division (115). 

Only Lewie Coyle (12) and Matt Crooks (13) picked up more yellow cards than McBurnie for Hull in the Championship last season, and both are much shorter than the forward to end up in the referees notebook here.

Youri Tielemans is a very interesting signing by Manchester United with the former Aston Villa man part of a bit of a rebuild in the middle of the park with Carrick also picking up Andrey Santos and possibly Carlos Baleba, who is heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford.

Tielemans likes to shoot from distance, which is the main reason for this angle. 16 of his 24 shots in the Premier League came from outside the box last season (66%) and I can see him stepping into those shooting positions again in this clash.

Hull will sit quite deep in this game and invite Manchester United to break them down, which is where someone with the quality of Tielemans from distance could help United to unlock a stubborn backline when building from wide areas may prove unsuccessful.

These two ranked first and third for BTTS in la Liga last season and I’m expecting an excellent match-up on Friday night, with both sides having serious quality in the final thirds.

Real Sociedad had a huge 78% strike rate for this selection in the ‘25/26 campaign, whilst Betis followed closely with 68%.

La Liga has got off to a flying start with the opening five matches all seeing two or more goals, four of them saw three or more and three of the five paid out on BTTS.

Mikel Oyarzabal may be a miss here from the off, but should get some minutes from the bench.

With star man Oyarzabal set to start from the bench, it’s down to young Óskarsson to lead the line for Sociedad.

The Icelandic striker has netted three goals in pre-season and impressed in limited minutes last year as he scored nine La Liga goals.

His 19 shots on target last campaign were second only to Oyarzabal, despite playing just a third of the minutes.

He averaged 2.05 per 90 and hit the target in seven of his eight domestic starts.

The beauty of this selection is also the potential super sub, with that being Oyazabal, who scored 15 goals last season and averaged 1.20 shots on target per 90 minutes.

The former Man City fullback is an excellent footballer, but I’ve never been overly impressed with his defensive capabilities.

Gomez averaged 1.50 fouls per 90 minutes in La Liga last season and will be lining up against former Man United winger, Antony.

Although much mocked for his time in England, Antony has been a good addition for Betis. He was impeded an average of 1.62 times per 90 minutes in the ‘25/26 season.

Gomez committed a foul on Antony when the two met at this ground last season. Antony was excellent in both fixtures and carries a serious threat for the hosts.

Barrenetxea will start off the left here for Sociedad, which puts him up against Hector Bellerin and Antony.

As much as Antony has been excellent, we know how petulant he can be and he did commit an average of 0.74 fouls per 90 last season. 

An identical output to Bellerin, so a combined 1.48 fouls per 90 between them. Bellerin doesn’t have the lightning pace he once did and is prone to getting caught out, particularly in transition.

Barrenetxea drew fouls at a rate of 1.53 times per 90 on average in La Liga last season and was fouled in both league meetings between the sides.