Not too long after the Premier League season has finished here, we are ready for it to start all over again. The new teams coming into the league this year from the championship are Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion, and Fulham. The season is going to start off quickly and anything can happen for Premier League betting. Most of the players have not got their usual break as they jumped straight into international games.

The new season is shaping up to be a bit more competitive than last year where Liverpool had a 20-point lead in March. The lack of fans in the stadiums towards the end of the year has been noticeable and does take away from the atmosphere at games. However, the quality of soccer has not declined. It also was probably not a large enough sample to decide if away teams perform better with no fans. This season will paint a clearer picture.

There is going to be continuous fixture congestion throughout the season. It may benefit top clubs who have greater squad depth or punish the ones who are competing in European competitions.

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Even though it feels like the Premier League has just come to a close, which it has, the FA Community Shield is taking place a few weeks later than normal. The Champions League just finished last weekend which seen German Giants Bayern Munich lift the trophy. The Community Shield is usually the opener for the season, letting fans see what the Premier League and FA Cup Champions might offer this year.

Even though this game is taking place a few weeks later than normal it will give us a look at some of the new signings these teams have made. Arsenal will be likely to display their signing from Saint-Etienne William Saliba. The 19-year-old Frenchman may be able to lock up a starting position at center-back with the way Arsenals defense suffered last season. It will be the first time we see Willian play in an Arsenal Jersey after his free transfer from Chelsea.

Liverpool has been linked with a number of players in the transfer market such as Thiago and more recently Lionel Messi. Although Messi is linked with everyone only a handful of clubs could afford to pay his wage demands. However, they did sign Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiakos. The left-back is likely going to be a squad player and may see some minutes during cup games and fixture congestion.

Arsenal vs Liverpool, Saturday 29^th August, 10.30 a.m.

This is successive years for Jurgen Klopp’s side to feature in the Community Shield. After a long and successful campaign, Liverpool traveled to Austria for a pre-season training camp. Liverpool will be preparing to go back for another Premier League title. Although, with Man City and Chelsea being aggressive in the transfer market.

Looking to put their stamp on the start of the league this will not be taken as a friendly by Liverpool. Arsenal on the other hand had a very mediocre season. They finished mid table in the Premier League to the disappointment of their fans. Mikel Arteta is starting his first season as Arsenal manager. After taking over halfway through last season all eyes will be on the Spaniard to put his stamp on the Arsenal squad.

Even though the London side is still very much a work in progress they have firepower upfront with Lacazette and Aubameyang. Over a full season, Liverpool will outperform Arsenal but in one game anything can happen. Arsenal is (+400) to win against Liverpool. Even as underdogs Aubameyang is decent value to score first at (+400) and (+130) to score anytime.

Salah is favorite for the first goal at (+300) and Mane is the second favorite at (+320) to score the first goal. Liverpool is much better defensively with two great full-backs in Trent and Robertson. While Van Dijk is their rock at the back and has his name in the hat for the best center-back in the world. Their ability at the back makes them a much better side than Arsenal as things stand. A safer bet for this game is Liverpool to win at (-150) here at Canplay.

Bayern Munich face Paris Saint-Germain in this Sunday’s Champions League Final in Lisbon. The knockout format of games held in the Lisbon bubble have been a great success albeit with some one-sided games.

The curtailed soccer season has thrown up surprises in games across the world but it’s fair to say that these two teams have proven themselves to be the strongest in Europe over the last number of weeks. Bayern Munich embarrassed Lionel Messi and Barcelona with an 8-2 rout while PSG recorded a 3-0 semi-final victory over a strong RB Leipzig. Many people had tipped Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as this year’s winners before they were outclassed by Lyon in the quarter-final.

From a neutral’s perspective, this is one of the best finals we could have hoped for. Bayern have dominated both the Bundesliga and Champions League with their organised pressing and free-scoring attackers while PSG have two of the most exciting attacking players in world football in the shape of Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.

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Some excellent football has been played since project restart has kicked off. The Premier League has been the primary focus of football. That will shift a bit this weekend as we see the semi-finals of the FA Cup take place. Leicester, Norwich, Newcastle, and Sheffield United were the four teams that went out in the quarter-finals.

This left four big hitters in the semi-finals with Man United playing Chelsea, while Arsenal play Man City.

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Another exciting week for Premier League action. Some interesting results so far during the return. Manchester City beat Burnley 5-0, Liverpool drew to Everton and Arsenal lost to Brighton. Some of the big games during the week are Manchester United taking on Sheffield United in a battle for European spots. Southampton takes on Arsenal in a match that could see the Gunners drop to the bottom half of the table if lost. Manchester City takes on Chelsea who are looking to secure a top-four spot.

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Just 4 games remaining in the Bundesliga. The odds have changed dramatically for clubs and Bayern Munich is now (-20000) to win the league. Borussia Dortmund is (-590) to win without Bayern Munich. A good option to go with now is a top 4 finish for the teams battling it out. Borussia Monchengladbach is (+130) to finish in the top 4. They are currently 4th on goal difference and face off against Bayern Munich this weekend.

Even though they are likely to lose to the reigning champions this week they can capitalize on Leipzig’s poor form to clutch a top 4 finish. Especially with the suspension of Leipzig’s center back Dayet Upemecano.

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Bayern has all but secured the Bundesliga title following a midweek which saw the Bavarians beat Borussia Dortmund and all other chasers drop points. The fight for European places remains fierce.

Dortmund now must shift focus from a title fight that isn’t quite over to building upon its four-point advantage on fifth. They can still push towards the title if Bayern makes any slip-ups on the way.  RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach sit behind in third and fourth, the latter ahead of Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference of two.

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Bundesliga action ramps up again this week with a midweek round of fixtures including the top of the table clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. Only four points separates the two teams after both picked up wins at the weekend (correctly predicted in our preview!)

This week’s other top fixtures include RB Leipzig versus Hertha Berlin and Fortuna Dusseldorf versus Schalke.

Without further ado, lets take a look at our top tips for the midweek Bundesliga action.

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After seeing the first major soccer league returning there was almost no form to go off after the break. At least now we can see which teams have come back out of the blocks firing. The German league is still looking like it is going to be a furious and hard push to the end of the season for teams like Munich, Dortmund, and Wolfsburg.

This week we get to see a Berlin city derby and the leagues two top teams push towards lifting the title. Dortmund and Bayern play each other next week and depending on that result every single point will be crucial for these sides.

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The return of the first major soccer league. The Bundesliga is starting back up this weekend where there will be home and away games being played. There will be no neutral venue games taking place for the remainder of the season. No doubt there is going to be a surge in views for the German league from soccer fans worldwide. The stadiums will have to remain empty for the rest of the season which will dampen the atmosphere.

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