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This should be a really exciting game between two Welsh sides who will have lofty ambitions this season. They actually met in the EFL Cup last year, a game that ended 2-1 to Cardiff with both sides registering an xG in excess of 1.0 (1.14-1.97).

Cardiff saw five goals in their EFL Cup tie against Swindon last time out, coming away 3-2 winners with an xG of 2.52. They did allow the away side to record an xG of 1.36, which is a pattern I think we’ll see from Cardiff throughout this season. 

They want to play good football, which is admirable, but this will come at a defensive cost in the Championship.

Wrexham saw 56 goals across their 23 away matches in the Championship last season (2.43 per game), notably seeing an exact split in the number of goals scored and conceded (28).

Benfica are as short as 1.17 with some bookmakers to win this game, so we’re getting a slightly better price on Marco Silva’s side to score 2+ goals in their opening game of the domestic campaign.

Benfica didn’t lose a single away game in Liga Portugal last season, winning 12 of their 17 matches. They scored 33 goals across these games (1.94 per game), a tally only bettered by Sporting (38) in the Portuguese top flight. 

By contrast, Casa Pia only managed to win two of their 17 home games in Liga Portugal last term. Only three sides in the division conceded more goals at home than Casa Pia (26) last season, suggesting that Benfica should be able to come away with a comfortable victory. 

Yousef Salech was really impressive for Cardiff in the League One last season, netting 14 goals across 26 starts and finishing the campaign as Cardiff’s top scorer.

Salech achieved this tally from 89 shots (3.39 per 90), seeing 31 of these efforts find the target (1.18 per 90) - numbers which suggest that Salech is capable of replicating this sort of form in the Championship.

Salech has already shown he has the ability to perform at this level having netted eight goals across 14 starts in the Championship during the 24/25 campaign - averaging 1.48 shots on target per 90.

He’s started the season very strongly with a brace against Swindon in Cardiff’s EFL Cup first round victory, managing three shots on target in that game.

Lewis O’Brien was a useful player in the final third for Wrexham last season, ending the campaign with 10 goal contributions across 29 starts in the Championship.

I’m more interested in the defensive side of his game for this selection with O’Brien likely to be part of a midfield three which should be engaged in a real battle in the middle of the park.

O’Brien committed 31 fouls in the Championship last season, working out to an average of 1.04 fouls committed per 90.

If you look at O’Brien’s heat map, he spends most of his time on the left hand side of the pitch - making his direct opponents Alex Robertson (1.59 fouls won per 90) and Perry Ng (1.81 fouls won per 90).

This will be Perry Ng’s seventh season at Cardiff, and he’s played a very regular role from fullback during his time at the club.

I’m interested in his battles with George Thomason (0.74 fouls won per 90) and Nathan Broadhead (1.08 fouls won per 90) who could outnumber him at times with Wrexham often lining up with wingbacks and trying to create those overloads in wide areas.

Ng averaged 1.13 fouls committed per 90 in League One last season, and is likely to be more regularly tested in the Championship given that Cardiff won’t be as dominant as they were last season.

Cardiff were involved in a five-goal thriller against Swindon in their most recent EFL Cup tie, coming away 3-2 winners with an xG of 2.52. They did allow the visitors an xG of 1.36, which feels like a pattern we’ll see from Cardiff throughout this campaign.

They want to play attractive football, which is admirable, but it will likely come at a defensive cost in the Championship.

Wrexham saw 56 goals across their 23 away league games last season (2.43 per game), with a remarkably even split between goals scored and conceded (28 each).

These sides faced off in the EFL Cup last year, with BTTS landing on that occasion as Cardiff came away 2-1 winners over Wrexham.

There is a lot to like about Wrexham coming into the 26/27 Championship season. They’ve recruited well, signing the likes of Patterson, Imray and Whiteman having already bolstered their squad in January as well.

They finished just two points outside of the playoff spots last year, a finish that would actually gain them a spot in the playoffs this time around with the number of spots available extending down to eighth.

Cardiff were dominant in League One last season, but I do have some concerns about their style of play at this level with the players that Brian Barry Murphy has available to him. It’s clear that he’s not going to change how he sets his team up, but that could prove costly against some of the heavy hitters in the Championship.

This bet is priced as short as 2/1 with some bookies.

Sky Bet are offering a 167% increase on 2/1, boosting this from 5/1 to 7/1 themselves, for a repeat of last season's Premier League - Arsenal finishing 1st and Man City 2nd.

With so much turnover elsewhere, Arsenal are 6/4 to retain the title and with City are the clear second-favourites in the market.

Enzo Maresca has experience balancing European football and aiming to compete towards the top of the division, they have the heavily odds-on favourite for the Golden Boot, Erling Haaland, in their ranks and a repeatable playing style that Maresca will look to build on, rather than tearing it up and starting from scratch.

Third and fourth favourites for the title, Liverpool and Chelsea, are set to endure clunkier transitions with their managerial changes (Arne Slot to Andoni Iraola and Liam Rosenior/Calum McFarlane to Xabi Alonso).

The top two in the Premier League has been Arsenal and Man City, in different orders, in three of the last four seasons.

7/1 suggests there is only a 12.5% chance that it finishes Arsenal 1st and Man City 2nd, I'd argue it's far more likely than that and other bookies agree.

AFC Wimbledon saw this bet land in all of their six EFL Trophy games last season.

All of those games saw over 2.5 goals as well, with three of the six seeing over 5.5 goals.

Leyton Orient have scored in their first two competitive games of the season, and my Goals Sheet has flagged this game as a good opportunity for a Both Teams to Score bet.

The EFL Trophy is typically a goal-heavy competition, with lots of managers opting to rotate their squad and be a bit less strict tactically.

Orient saw BTTS land in their first two EFL Trophy games last season.

This is the 2nd-highest rated game on my Goals Sheet for a Both Teams to Score bet.

Reading have seen BTTS land in both of their competitive games so far this season, including a 4-3 defeat at home to Luton on Saturday.

Wycombe have also seen BTTS in both of their 2026/27 games to date, they’ve scored in the first half of those two games as well.

From a Reading-Wycombe 2026/27 four-game sample, this bet has landed 100% of the time.

Reading saw both teams score in two of three EFL Trophy outings last season, while the bet landed in Wycombe's two opening games of the 2025/26 competition.

Their League One head-to-heads last season were 3-2 (to Reading) and 2-2 as well, comfortably landing this bet.

This game was among the highest-rated for Both Teams to Score on my Goals Sheet.

Viking have seen BTTS land in five of their last six games, scoring two or more goals in four of those.

They’ve also scored in 18 of their 19 competitive matches this season.

Dinamo Zagreb are only two games into their domestic campaign, but have seen a lot of goals in their previous Champions League qualifying ties.

They beat Thun 4-3 on aggregate, with BTTS landing in both legs, before setting up this tie with a comprehensive 7-1 aggregate win over Kauno Zalgiris.

Reigning Eliteserien champions, Viking, have actually conceded in eight of their last nine matches.

Both of these sides will feel as though they have earned a spot in the Champions League for next season having battled through two rounds of qualifying already - and I expect this to be a competitive tie across the two legs.

Fenerbahce saw BTTS in their first league fixture of the campaign last time out, losing 2-1 on the road in a game that produced a combined xG of 4.09. 

They didn’t lose a single home game in the Super Lig last season, but did concede 19 goals across their 17 matches - and Lyon are a step up in opposition compared to the majority of sides they face domestically. 

Lyon saw BTTS in the first leg of their qualifying tie against Sparta Prague in the last round, losing 2-1 in that game before turning it around in the second leg. They also saw BTTS in three of their four friendlies ahead of the new campaign.

Viking have only failed to score once across their last 47 matches across all competitions, with that blank coming away from home against Sarpsborg a few weeks ago - a game that still saw Viking have 12 shots and register an xG of 0.92.

Dinamo Zagreb have contested four games in Champions League qualifying so far, keeping just one clean sheet across these games. Thun managed to score twice against them as the away side a few weeks ago, despite dropping down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes of the encounter.

Viking should be able to continue their superb run of scoring which stretches all the way back to midway through last year. They’ll be confident of their chances on home soil, so a goal here should be enough to keep them in the tie heading into the second leg next week. 

This should be a really entertaining tie over the two legs between two of the most positive sides in Europe. 

We’ve already seen how both can get involved in high scoring matches, with Bodo Glimt seeing BTTS in both legs in the last round of qualifying against Union Saint Gilloise and Nijmegen coming away 2-1 winners over Olympiakos in the second leg of their qualifying tie in the last round. 

Both sides have seen BTTS in each of their last three matches ahead of this clash, with all of these games seeing 3+ goals as well. I see these teams as being relatively well matched, which should see chances created and converted at both ends. 

Atletico Madrid have had a very positive summer window, bringing in the likes of Romero, Kang-In Lee, Hjulmand and Grimaldo to improve their squad and possibly set up a push for the title this year.

Only Real Madrid and Barcelona picked up more points at home than Atletico Madrid in LaLiga last season, with Diego Simeone’s side winning 15 of their 19 matches. They scored 39 goals across these games (2.05 per game) and should be able to score at least twice against a newly promoted Malaga side.

Malaga conceded 2+ goals in all four of their friendly matches ahead of the new campaign, including conceding three goals to a Leicester side competing in League One this season. They are likely to struggle with the quality of Atletico Madrid in this opening game of the campaign.

These are the top two sides in the Western Conference at the time of writing, but there is a gap between them when looking at their home and away records.

Vancouver have the strongest home record in the Western Conference having won seven of their nine games in front of their home fans. They’ve only conceded five goals across these games, netting 22 goals in the process.

62% of Houston’s points in the Western Conference this season have come from their home matches. They’ve only won four of their nine away games, conceding 17 goals across these games. 

The gap between these sides may not be obvious when looking at the league table, but there is a clear advantage for Vancouver as the home side in this clash. 

I’m always keen to go against Montreal when they’re away from home in the MLS. 

They’ve got a dreadful record on the road over the last few seasons, and that’s continued this term - they’ve only won one of their nine away games this campaign, conceding 25 goals in the process.

Unsurprisingly, this is the worst away record of any side in the Eastern Conference. They’ve only scored 12 goals across these games as well, losing seven of their nine games. 

They take on a Columbus side who have struggled a little more than they did last term, but crucially have only lost three of their nine home games this season.

Columbus have not lost to Montreal home or away since 2022, a run spanning seven games with Columbus winning four of these games. Montreal’s recent form is also really poor, failing to win any of their last eight games in the MLS.

BTTS has landed in each of the last seven head to head meetings between these sides, stretching all the way back to 2023.

The most recent clash between these teams produced 10 goals as Inter Miami came away 6-4 winners over Philadelphia back in May - which is a good snapshot of the level of goal volume we could see from both of these sides in this encounter.

Inter Miami have seen BTTS in each of their last five matches ahead of this clash, and have also conceded 19 goals across their 11 away games this term. 

They have scored 25 goals across these games too, which is more than any other side on the road in the Eastern Conference this season. Philadelphia have seen BTTS in three of their last five matches across all competitions. 

Orlando have been the most entertaining side to watch in the MLS this season, and their style of play makes them a really good side to back for goals.

Orlando have seen BTTS in each of their last five matches and have seen 30 goals across their nine home games this campaign (3.33 per game) with a fairly equal split in the number of goals scored and conceded (16-14). 

The last two head to head meetings between these sides have seen BTTS. Furthermore, Chicago have seen 27 goals across their eight away games this term (3.3 per game), giving both sides really solid goal records ahead of this clash.

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.