Real Madrid v Malaga - Mourinho honeymoon to continue
Sunday 30 August, 16:00
Live on Premier Sports
It might be the calm before the storm, but all is currently well with Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. After a 13-year absence the Portuguese veteran was given a hearty welcome back to the Bernabeu for his second home debut, so much so that he appeared moved to tears.
Madrid went on to crush Real Sociedad 4-1, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick, Jude Bellingham excelling and even Vinicius Junior accepting being subbed with a smile. Afterwards, Mourinho was particularly glowing about Mbappe, who now has 89 goals in just 105 Real Madrid matches.
Los Blancos have now won both of their games, and I'd expect them to extend that winning streak against newly-promoted Malaga. So far Malaga have lost 2-0 at Atletico Madrid and drawn 1-1 at home against fellow top-flights new-boys Deportivo La Coruna.
Real Madrid really cut loose against Real Sociedad, and I think they'll do the same here. We can back the razor-sharp Mbappe to score two goals or more at 6/42.50 on the Sportsbook, something he did in midweek and a feat he managed 16 times for club and country last season.
Back Kylian Mbappe to score twice or more @
Lazio v Genoa - Gattuso folly will be exposed
Sunday 30 August, 19:45
Live on DAZN
Italian football has a reputation for rewarding failure, whether unfairly won or not. Max Allegri blew up completely at Milan last season, turning a title contender into a team that didn't even qualify for the Champions League, but was welcomed by Napoli. New Lazio boss Rino Gattuso has had a coaching career littered with failures, the latest of which was overseeing Italy missing yet another World Cup, and yet he's walked into a job with a former champion in Serie A.
Admittedly, Lazio have their issues at the moment. Ongoing protests against the stewardship of owner Claudio Lotito mean only a few thousand fans have renewed their season tickets, and with Mario Gila's move to Milan, the Roman giants have lost one of their best players.
It's been a mixed start under Gattuso. Lazio crashed out of the Coppa Italia to lower-league Mantova, but did win their Serie A opener 1-0 at Bologna. New signing Davide Frattesi bagged the only goal of the game.
However, Lazio were deeply unconvincing in that win (their goalkeeper Christos Mandas was superb), and I'm going to back Genoa +0.5 on the Asian Handicap market at 1.9420/21. Daniele De Rossi (a Roma legend who would love to beat Lazio) saw his team thrash Ascoli 4-1 in the Coppa Italia, and then they competed well in a 2-0 defeat to Napoli.
I have very little faith in Gattuso, and I'm backing Genoa to at least pick up a point.
Back Genoa +0.5 on the Asian Handicap @
Bayern Munich v Stuttgart - Kane to shine in opening night bonanza
Friday 28 August, 19:30
Live on BBC iPlayer
Last weekend's Franz Beckenbauer Supercup was a fascinating curtain-raiser. We were one stoppage-time miss away from being right about laying Bayern at Borussia Dortmund, but ultimately last season's German double winners prevailed 2-1.
Bayern faded in the second half, but they were simply magnificent in the first. They won the shot count 11-0 and scored two exceptional goals - Michael Olise teed up summer signing Nathaniel Brown to score on his debut, and then Olise raced beyond defender Ramy Bensebaini to score a superb individual goal.
Bayern have won the Bundesliga by 13 and 16 points under Vincent Kompany, and it's incredibly hard to see how anyone bridges the gap this season. Bayern smashed the league's single-season scoring record last term, and if anything their squad looks stronger.
This dominance is underlined by the Bavarians' recent record against Friday night's opponents Stuttgart. Since Kompany took charge, Bayern have won all six competitive games against the Swabians, with an aggregate score of 21-4. Last season alone, Bayern swept Stuttgart aside in the Supercup, the league and the DFB Pokal final.
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in that final, and remarkably has three trebles against Stuttgart since he came to Germany. The England captain delivered 61 club goals for Bayern last season, and a good World Cup for his country has put him in the mix for the Ballon d'Or.
Kane has netted 14 times across eight meetings with a Stuttgart team that tends to try and go toe-to-toe with Bayern and leaves plenty of gaps. I'll back Kane to score twice or more at 15/82.88.
Back Harry Kane to score twice or more @