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The top four race looks really open this season and Chelsea have a real advantage by not being in Europe. 

Chelsea are not as far away from the Champions League spots as their 10th placed finish last year would suggest.

The Blues pretty much tanked their season after Enzo Maresca left the club and were around the top three positions while he was still in his role. 

Chelsea have signed Morgan Rogers as well as Marco Palestra already this summer and are heavily linked with a move for Maxence Lacroix at the time of writing. 

These additions add to the likes of Emegha and Quenda who had already secured moves to the West London side.

These signings signal a shift from Chelsea’s previous obsession with only securing young talent. Most of these players are also very tall and physical, an aspect that Chelsea desperately fell short for last year. 

Xabi Alonso is clearly a very capable manager having won the league title with Bayer Leverkusen and maintaining a 71% win percentage as Real Madrid boss.

He’s coming into an environment where the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, the two powerhouses of the last 10 years, have new managers - a terrain which could be perfect for Alonso to finally make this Chelsea side competitive in the Premier League with only one game per week.

Stockport faced heartbreak in the League One Play-Off Final at the end of last season as they were beaten 4-1 by Bolton at Wembley. 

That was the second consecutive season in which Stockport have finished third and gone out in the playoffs, which tells me that they are a club that are doing a lot of things right at this level and should have a decent stab at getting out of League One at the third time of asking.

Stockport really didn’t do much wrong when you look at their underlying numbers from last season, they ranked within the top 5 sides for most key metrics and also had one of the league’s top scorers in Kyle Wootton.

Stockport were a similar price to register a Top 6 finish last year and I think the market is underestimating their chances again as a side that now understands League One quite well. Stockport are priced at 5.50 to earn promotion this year, which is a price also worth looking at. 

Barnet are definitely a side worth keeping an eye on this year after finishing eighth at the first time of asking after winning promotion to the EFL.

They finished just two points below a spot in the playoffs last year and notably had the second best away record of any side in the division. It was their inconsistent home form which saw them fall short of a Top 7 finish.

Barnet are third favourites to be promoted from League Two this term, only sitting behind Salford City and Bristol Rovers. We’ve got some insurance by backing them for a Top 7 finish even if they slightly underperform from pre-season expectations.

The Championship extending the number of playoff spots down to eighth is a really significant change this season and Wrexham could easily benefit.

Phil Parkinson’s side finished seventh last season, just two points away from Hull who eventually earned promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs. 

That finish would be enough this year for Wrexham to have a chance of promotion and I think we’ll see the Welsh side battling in the top half of the Championship again this term.

Wrexham have a really deep squad with a wealth of Championship and EFL experience that can aid them in a push for the playoffs this year. 

I think there’s a decent price on this when considering that the likes of Norwich, Sheffield United and Birmingham are shorter than Wrexham to secure a Top 8 Finish - I’d back Wrexham to be just as competitive as those sides.

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Returning to the winner’s enclosure last time out after a lengthy spell without a win, AMAZONIAN DREAM (9.0) enjoys racing here at Windsor and, given he looks to be turning a corner with his recent form, he holds bold claims at an appealing price.

Showing positive signs in his last three appearances over course and distance, the seven-year-old has produced results of 2,2,1, and given all three of those starts had Oisin Murphy on board, the duo need to be respected on their return. Although carrying a 4lb penalty after his win, his course form can’t be ignored, securing four course and distance wins throughout his career and thriving on good to firm ground, he looks a solid candidate stepping up into Class 3 company today.

Landing a Class 4 contest last week, Amazonian Dream is stepping up into Class 3 today but considering how well he won last time out and given he already has experience in this sphere with two Class 3 wins to his name, his price looks promising today.

Looking like 5f is the trip for WHAT A TAHOO (8.4), the three-year-old has impressed in his last four appearances since dropping back in trip, and given he produced a game performance when winning over course and distance earlier this month, he’s the one to beat.

Since being dropped to 5f in May, What A Tahoo has won two of his four starts, and although he met trouble at Musselburgh in his penultimate start, he bounced back to score over course and distance next time out. Looking to build on his performances of late, he looks the sort that is going to progress into tougher races through time, and with Cam Hardie retained, the pair hold leading claims.

Opting to make all the running last time out, What A Tahoo could well adapt these new tactics again given his performance last time out, and considering he is only racing 3lb heavier, it’s unlikely it will cause him any major problems.

FANDOM is one of the more interesting each-way contenders, for this season's prestigious Stewards’ Cup Handicap, run over the 6f distance.

The son of Showcasing has shown winning form over 6f this season, and he has been largely progressive - including a keeping-on 3rd at Ascot over 5f last time.

The move back to 6f, at this speedy course, could ideally suit.

The Richard Hannon-trained runner was a Listed winner in the US and could be peaking at the right time this week.

Watch out for him late on the scene, at a juicy each-way price.

BOW ECHO deserves to be a short-priced favourite, for this year’s G1 Sussex Stakes.

The George Boughey-trained three-year-old was a thoroughly convincing winner of the G1 2000 Guineas on seasonal reappearance.

He confirmed form with Gstaad, who impressively landed G1 Irish 2000 Guineas after finishing behind the selection at Newmarket, when out-speeding him at Royal Ascot.

Although Bow Echo has to contend with a different track, he certainly has a progressive profile, and he has all the class and latent ability to remain unbeaten.

Opera Ballo is likely to set a frantic gallop, which is likely to prove to be my selection’s strength.

PERSHAADA holds strong claims in whichever race she enters - either a 5f Conditions event or the 5f Group Three, later on the card.

The two-year-old filly has improved with each start, including a course success on third outing.

She beat a pair of future winners that day, and proved her ability to handle a downhill track.

She built on that impressive novice win, with an excellent 4th in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A repeat performance may be enough to land this prize, for a stable that certainly target this big summer festival.

Despite this big-field maiden obviously featuring completely unexposed types, I was extremely impressed with LAUNCH SEQUENCE on debut at Doncaster, where she finished a fast-finishing 3rd.

A 160,000GBP breeze-up purchase, was a huge eye-catcher that day, waiting for room as he made headway from the rear in the penultimate furlong.

This half-brother to a 6f winner, with that initial experience under his belt, can go close.

NOBLE HORIZON arrives in this ultra-competitive handicap, following an effortless five-and-a-half-length success at Leicester. That much improved effort came after good market support, on second outing for Oli Rix.

The in-form trainer may not have been happy with a 10lb rise in the weights, but the horse is bred to be better than a handicapper, as a half-brother to six winners (including at Group level) and his dam won the G1 Irish Oaks.

If the draw is kind, I can envisage Noble Horizon sitting prominently and hopefully kicking into the straight, to give rivals plenty to think about, as a well balanced individual.