Weekend tips: Huge early London derby as Serie A and LaLiga return | OneFootball

The big five are back as this weekend marks the return of Serie A and LaLiga to go with last week’s opening rounds for the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

This is what we have to look forward to.

Big early capital battle

It may still be early days in the Premier League season but the fixture computer has already thrown up a mouthwatering showdown in London.

That sees top-of-the-table Tottenham travel across the city to face Chelsea after both teams impressed for different reasons on opening weekend.

After falling behind early, Spurs rallied to thrash Southampton 4-1 and looked a frightening attacking prospect, while the Blues ended their recent hoodoo at Goodison Park to escape Everton with a narrow win.

Impressive as Tottenham were then, this is a different prospect, particularly with Thomas Tuchel’s recent record against them and Antonio Conte in particular, riding a five-game winning streak, while they haven’t lost this fixture in the league since 2018.

During their seven-game winless run against their capital rivals, Spurs have mustered just one goal, while their last win at Stamford Bridge four years ago was their only victory at that venue from their last 37 trips in all competitions.

Chelsea are priced at 4.00 to continue the recent trend and win to nil, while Tottenham are 3.2 to leave with a rare win and both teams to score can be had at 1.7.

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Serie A’s top two kick things off

Italy’s top flight returns with a bang on Saturday night as last season’s top two Milan and Inter raise the curtain on the new campaign.

The champions are first up as they welcome Udinese to what promises to be a packed-out San Siro ready to hail their heroes in their attempt to defend their crown.

Milan have been beaten by the Friuliani only once in their last 10 meetings in Serie A – although that defeat did ominously come on matchday one in 2019.

They’re still favourites to start as they mean to go on though, as are Inter, who travel to newly-promoted Lecce and that fixture isn’t expected to pose too much problems for Simone Inzaghi’s side.

Romelu Lukaku’s return adds a new dimension to their attack, while André Onana and Henrikh Mkhitaryan also look to be smart additions but they’ll need to have their wits about them at the Stadio Via del Mare, where Inter have failed to win on their last three visits.

Both clubs to begin with a victory is 1.67 for the double, while it is 1.95 for the Nerazzurri to win and Lukaku to get on the scoresheet on his second debut.

Uncertainty surrounds Barcelona’s return

Barcelona are back in competitive action after a tumultuous summer at the Camp Nou. And that’s putting it mildly.

Experts in finance rather than football were required to pore over the goings on as Joan Laporta’s latest term in charge heads into uncharted territory.

Despite the club’s well-documented financial issues, they have still pulled off some stunning activity in the market, headlined by the swoop for Robert Lewandowski, in addition to Jules Koundé, Raphinha, Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, even Ousmane Dembélé left the club after his contract expired, only to return two weeks later to pen a renewal.

Whether any of his new arrivals will be witnessed in action for the Blaugrana’s opener against Rayo Vallecano at home on Saturday night remains to be seen, with LaLiga red tap preventing their registration as of the time of writing.

Despite those difficulties, there appears to be value in the 1.67 for Barça to win and over two goals, although Rayo did win both fixtures between the sides last season and are 13.00 to make it three-in-a-row.