17:45 Thursday

FC Zurich vs Arsenal - Arsenal to Win & Over 3.5 Goals 

Zurich have had an awful start to their title defence, going winless in seven and currently sitting joint bottom of the league. They have the second worst defensive record in the league, conceding 16 goals so far this season. On top of this, they have failed to score on four of their seven games so far, giving them the worst attacking record in the league too.

The only positive note for the Swiss side so far this season is the fact that they qualified for the Europa League, after being knocked out of the Champions League by Qarabag in the second round of qualifying. They beat Hearts in the Europa League play-off leg to qualify for a group stage that consists of Arsenal, PSV and Bodo/Glimt. 

On the contrast, Arsenal have had a brilliant start to the season. They currently sit top of the Premier League after winning five of their first six and only picked up their first loss of the season to Manchester United at the weekend.

Mikel Arteta has got his side playing with confidence and his new signings have settled into life at the Emirates very well. They have scored in every single game this season and have scored two or more in five of their six games. Because of this, and Zurich’s terrible start to the season, we think Arsenal will win this one comfortably. 

20:00 Thursday

Man United vs Real Sociedad - Man United to Win & Over 2.5 Goals 

Erik ten Hag has steadied the ship at Old Trafford after a rocky start to the season. They have now gone won four wins on the bounce and have moved within three points of the leaders. This feat is even more impressive considering they have had to beat both Liverpool and Arsenal on the way.

New £90 million signing, Antony, got off the mark on his debut vs Arsenal at the weekend and has United fans excited about his future at the club. Since being beaten 4-0 away at Brentford, Ten Hag dropped Harry Maguire and United have looked like a new team, playing attractive football whilst looking solid at the back. 

Real Sociedad have had a steady start to the La Liga season, winning three of their first five. They have had a tough run of fixtures to start the season too, playing Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao within a month of each other.

Although they have been fairly solid at the back, despite conceding four goals against Barcelona, they have struggled to score. They have scored the fourth least goals in the league and have failed to score more than one in a game this season. With this in mind, and the fact United are in good form, we predict ten Hag’s Red’s win this one. 

20:00 Thursday

West Ham vs FCSB - West Ham to Win & Over 2.5 Goals 

The Hammers have had a slow start to the season but have turned it around recently with a win at Villa Park and a draw at home to Tottenham. They were also good against Chelsea at the weekend and will feel hard done by to pick up the loss after a dubious VAR decision ruled out Maxwel Cornet’s debut goal.

They have spent well this summer and have picked up several players with European experience, including Lucas Paqueta, who will make their side stronger. They have been good in Europe so far, cruising through to the group stages and will hope to take that form into the next phase of the competition.

FCSB are another team who have had a poor start to the season, drawing four and losing two of their first seven. They finished 2nd last season but currently sit 13th in the league after seven games. They’ve just about snuck into the Conference League group stages also, after narrowly beating Viking, Dunajska Streda and Saburtalo on aggregate.

West Ham will come into this game with confidence that they can get their European campaign off to a good start. They have the home advantage and a much stronger squad. For this reason, we think they will win fairly comfortably.