The European football season is back up and running, which means that gamblers around the world will be back making soccer predictions. But, which teams should gamblers be wagering their money on for the biggest games in the Premier League and Bundesliga this coming weekend?
Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04
The reigning European and Bundesliga champions will get their 2020-21 campaign underway against Schalke at the Allianz Arena this weekend. Last season was a special one for Bayern Munich as they ended the campaign with Champions League glory against Paris Saint-Germain.
In Robert Lewandowski, they also have one of the very best players in world football at their disposal. The Pole scored 55 goals in all competitions last term, and he will be looking to start the season by finding the net once again against Schalke.
It was a devastating end to the 2019-20 season for Schalke, as they failed to win in their final 16 games of the season. That means that they haven’t won a game in the Bundesliga since the middle of January. David Wagner is lucky to still be in charge of Schalke going into this new season, but they will have to be more competitive than they were in the second half of last season. However, there will be doubts surrounding their chances, as they have lost first-team regulars from last season Jonjoe Kenny and Weston McKennie.
It’s hard to see anything other than a win for Bayern Munich in this Bundesliga opener, as they have far too much quality in the attacking areas for Schalke to contend with.
Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Monchengladbach
Two sides that ended the 2019-20 season in the Champions League places will go head to head to open their respective campaigns this term. Borussia Dortmund haven’t been far away from the back pages throughout the summer, as the long-term future of Jadon Sancho has persisted.
However, it would seem as though Dortmund have won the battle of wills against Manchester United and will keep their star winger. Dortmund will be hoping that they are better positioned to challenge for the title this season, and the arrival of 16-year-old Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City certainly offers a new threat. The teenager became the youngest scorer in Dortmund’s history in their recent DFB-Pokal win over Duisburg. Thomas Meunier has also been brought in to replace the outgoing Achraf Hakimi.
Borussia Monchengladbach finished last season strongly to secure fourth place over Bayer Leverkusen, and their main target for this season will be the same. They have strengthened their squad during the off-season as they have brought in Hannes Wolf and Valentino Lazaro from RB Leipzig and Inter Milan respectively. Their competitive season got underway with an 8-0 win in the domestic cup against Oberneuland last weekend. Patrick Hermann scored a brace in the win, while there were also goals for Jonas Hofmann, Nico Elvedi and Ibrahima Traore.
This will be a much bigger test for Monchengladbach, and it is hard to see them getting all three points. The most likely result for gamblers is a home win for the runners-up from last season.
Chelsea vs Liverpool
There is a huge game in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon as the champions take on one of the teams that are expected to be one of their nearest challengers. Chelsea have spent big to close the gap on the top two, as they have brought in illustrious talents such as Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva. There will be more pressure on Frank Lampard this season to deliver a piece of silverware, and the Blues got off to the best possible start.
It was uncomfortable at times for Chelsea in their Premier League opener, but they managed to get over the line and secure an opening day 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. The Blues took the lead through Jorginho before a Kepa Arrizabalaga mistake allowed Leandro Trossard to equalise. Chelsea went ahead a couple of minutes later through a Reece James scorcher before Kurt Zouma wrapped up the three points.
Liverpool were made to work even harder in their opener, as they were given a huge scare by newcomers Leeds United. Once again, defensive errors were the reason for Liverpool’s downfall, with Virgil van Dijk gifting Patrick Bamford the chance to equalise at 2-2 before half-time. However, Jurgen Klopp’s men had too much going forward, as a Mohamed Salah hat-trick wrapped up a hard-fought three points at Anfield.
This should be a thrilling fixture between two teams that should be comfortably finishing in the top four this season. It will be the first big challenge for Chelsea, but it’s likely that Lampard would be happy with a point from the fixture.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester City
Many experts see Manchester City as the outstanding choice to win the Premier League this term, and they will kick off their season with a difficult opening day assignment against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves beat City twice in the Premier League last season, and that will be something that Pep Guardiola will be hoping to change.
City wasted little time in addressing the areas of their squad that needed attention, with Nathaniel Ake being brought in from Bournemouth and Ferran Torres coming in from Valencia. The Cityzens have lost David Silva and Leroy Sane over the off-season, and there will be extra pressure on Phil Foden to fill the void left by Silva.
Wolves will have just the domestic competitions to focus on this season after they failed to finish in a Europa League spot last season. That could end up being a blessing in disguise for the team from the Black Country, as they played a remarkable number of games last term. They have strengthened over the summer months with Portuguese players Fabio Silva, Tote Gomes and Vitinha all brought in. Wolves opened the season with a dominant display against Sheffield United, with Raul Jimenez and Romain Saiss both scoring in the opening six minutes.
This will be a more difficult challenge for Wolves, but they have excelled against the top six since being promoted. Gamblers may wager on this game ending in a draw.
