Man City have claimed two Community Shield victories under Pep Guardiola but the Spaniard seems less fired up for this year’s clash with Leicester. Guardiola has declared he will have to “play with a second team” due to star names returning late from international duty.
USA and Mexico both scrambled through their CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals but El Tri have been more impressive overall during this tournament. Home advantage will also mean nothing for the Stars and Stripes as their opponents are assured of strong support in Nevada.
With 23,000 fans allowed into Ibrox, Rangers can begin the new Scottish Premiership campaign by again celebrating last season’s stunning title triumph. Steven Gerrard’s side ended Celtic’s dominance north of the border when topping the table by 25 points.
Celtic can put a heart-breaking Champions League exit behind them to start their Scottish Premiership campaign with a win at Hearts. The Jambos easily earned promotion from the Championship and have done well in the Premier Sports Cup but now step up in class.
South Korea and Mexico have both done well at recent Olympics and again impressed during the group stage of this summer’s tournament. All the signs are that a cracking quarter-final is on the cards in Yokohama and the feeling is this tie could go to extra time at least.
Defending Olympic champions Brazil made smooth progress through the group stage and should prove too hot for Egypt in the quarter-finals. The underdogs have looked organised and efficient so far but lacked a cutting edge up front versus Spain and Argentina in their pool.
Japan were the only team to win all three group-stage games at the Tokyo Olympics and look worthy favourites to see off New Zealand. The Kiwis did look defensively sound in two of their matches, though, so we’re not expecting this to be a blow-out now the pressure is on.
Ivory Coast battled their way through a tough group at the Tokyo Olympics and are fancied to give Spain a stiff test in the quarter-finals. La Rojita look equally determined to make up for a moderate recent record in this event but have had trouble scoring goals so far.
Mexico have been crowned CONCACAF Gold Cup champions four times in the last six renewals and look on course to reach the final again. Canada head into this semi in good spirits but are 59 spots lower down the FIFA rankings and that gulf in class is expected to tell in Houston.
Qatar have been entertaining guests at the CONCACAF Gold Cup but face a tough test when taking on USA in the semi-finals in Texas. The hosts have reached the final 11 times in 15 renewals of this tournament, including when narrowly beaten by Mexico in the 2019 decider.
Great Britain almost paid the price for resting players versus Canada but should be back at full focus for the women’s quarter-finals. Australia represent spirited opponents but are rated just a level below, judged on what we have seen so far at the Tokyo Olympics.
Celtic face a tough trip to Denmark as they look to progress to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The Hoops were held to a 1-1 draw by Midtjylland in the first leg at Parkhead last Tuesday night and were thrashed 6-2 by West Ham in Saturday’s friendly.
PSV were totally dominant when thrashing Galatasaray 5-1 in Eindhoven and can confirm that superiority in the second leg in Istanbul. A date with Celtic or Midtjylland looks assured for the Dutch outfit, who appear to be back on an upward curve under Roger Schmidt.
Great Britain’s women have already done us a couple of favours at the Olympics and can wrap up top spot in their group by edging out Canada. Hege Riise’s well-drilled side have been rock-solid in securing two clean-sheet victories and may again be just too strong.