Last week we looked at our preview for the forthcoming Premier League season which got underway this past weekend in spectacular style with plenty of goals for the returning fans to enjoy.
So this week, with the other top leagues in Europe also getting their season underway either at the same time, or next weekend, we have decided to bring you our preview of four of the top leagues across the continent, namely Ligue One (France), the Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain) and Serie A (Italy).
It has been an interesting end of season period with some tumultuous events across Europe seeing some big-name players on the move, such as Lionel Messi joining Paris St Germain after a tearful farewell at cash-strapped Barcelona.
With the financial pinch particularly evident in Spain, it should be an interesting season across all of European football’s main leagues and we could also see some interesting developments in the other major competitions, the Champions League and Europa League.
As always, you can find plenty of great value betting on all the top leagues around Europe with bet365 Sport and we have used their odds at the time of writing for this article.
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Let’s now take a look at each of the four big leagues across Europe with our tips for who will do well in each of them.
France – Ligue One Preview And Tips
- Current Champions – Lille
- 2021/22 Season Likely Contenders – Paris St Germain
- 2021/22 Season Possible Contenders – Marseille, Nice, Lyon, Lille, Monaco, St.Etienne
I have started my review with the French league because I think this is the league that has the least doubt about who will win it, especially given Paris St Germain’s recruitment of players from across Europe over the pre-season period.
Given a squad that already boasted the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Marco Verratti, Marquinhos and Mauro Icardi, they have since added Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Giorginio Wijnaldum and of course Lionel Messi to that squad, which puts them not just on another level in France, but in Europe too.
In truth, it would be a far bigger surprise if PSG do not win Ligue 1 this season than if they do, and I think the owners would assume a Ligue 1 title is a given and that this team has been built not just to achieve that, but more to win the Champions League that has eluded them the last two years.
I can’t see anyone really challenging PSG for the title, but I think the teams chasing them will likely involve Marseille, Nice, Lille, Monaco with St Etienne also potentially good enough to get embroiled in what looks like being a battle for second place in the table.
- Tip – Paris St Germain (1/12 with bet365)
Spain – La Liga Preview And Tips
- Current Champions – Atletico Madrid
- 2021/22 Season Likely Contenders – Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
- 2021/22 Season Possible Contenders – Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Villarreal
Atletico Madrid took advantage of some stumbles from Barcelona and Real Madrid last season to claim the La Liga title but the big three in Spain are going to find things a little tougher this year, given the severe financial predicament that they face at the moment.
That could mean Barcelona and Atletico in particular find things tough, with Barcelona already forced to offload a number of players and in all likelihood, ready to jettison more if they can receive agreeable offers for those players.
Atletico are in a slightly better position, but not by much and they are largely reliant on the squad that won them the league last season, although they too could lose a number of stars if the right offers come in.
As such, I think Real Madrid will be the team to watch out for this season in La Liga. They have lost Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, which is a worry, but I think they have enough quality in midfield and attack to go one better and win the league this season.
Sevilla, Villarreal and Real Sociedad are likely the teams that may push on to challenge the dominance of the top three, but it would be a big surprise if any of that trio managed to finish higher than 4th in the table come the end of the season.
- Tip – Real Madrid (6/5 with bet365)
Germany – Bundesliga Preview And Tips
- Current Champions – Bayern Munich
- 2021/22 Season Likely Contenders – Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Leipzig
- 2021/22 Season Possible Contenders – Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach, Vfl Wolfsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt
Hansi Muller has left Bayern Munich to take up his role with the German National team and Julian Nagelsmann, the highly respected young coach, has come in from Red Bull Leipzig in his place. Bayern have kept the majority of their squad together from last season and have also snapped up Dayot Upemecano from Red Bull (who also lost Ibrahima Konate from their defence to Liverpool).
So Bayern are going to be very strong once again and their main rivals, Dortmund and Leipzig, have both lost key players over the end of season period and while they have also brought some players in, the generally feeling is that both squads are a little weaker due to those departures.
As such, this looks like being another good season for Bayern Munich fans and it is hard to back against them winning yet another Bundesliga title.
I think four teams could challenge for a top three spot, Frankfurt, Leverkusen, Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg, but I think that will be a secondary issue as Bayern will likely run away with the league title once again.
- Tip – Bayern Munich (3/10 with bet365)
Italy – Serie A Preview And Tips
- Current Champions – Inter Milan
- 2021/22 Season Likely Contenders – Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli, AC Milan, AS Roma, Atalanta, Lazio
- 2021/22 Season Possible Contenders – Sassuolo, Fiorentina, Sampdoria
It has been a relatively quiet summer for transfers in Serie A, with perhaps the moves at manager being more newsworthy. Jose Mourinho is back in Italy, this time with AS Roma and Juventus have reappointed Massimiliano Allegri as their manager.
Given Italy won Euro 2020, it is going to be interesting to see how this season pans out with Champions last year Inter Milan losing a couple of key players, while Juventus so far have managed to hold on to a number of stars.
AC Milan’s biggest loss is keeper Donnarumma who left for PSG on a free, while the likes of Napoli, Lazio and Atalanta also cannot be discounted, especially the latter whose young team have been one of the standouts in Serie A over the last couple of years.
However, given the key departures suffered by the two Milan teams and AS Roma being well off the pace last season, I feel Juventus will be the champions this time around and I would expect Roma to be challenging the Milan clubs and Atalanta for a place in the top four.
- Tip – Juventus (4/5 with bet365)
With the season just under way across Europe, there has not been a better time to get your bet on for these markets with bet365 !
