As domestic football ramps up across Europe, we've picked out a nice 3/1 Friday double!
SJK v FC Lahti - Finnish Veikkausliiga - 16:30
While most leagues in Europe are starting, or at least about to start, the Finnish top division has been in full swing all summer.
My tip here is for SJK to beat Lahti in a mid-table showdown; the hosts have won three of their last four both at home and in total, while the visitors have just a single victory from their last seven outings.
More encouraging is Lahti’s stinking away form: they’ve lost three of their last five, with the two other results coming against bottom side VPS and ten-man Mariehamn – neither result inspiring much confidence.
The value is with the hosts.
VfB Stuttgart v Hannover - 2. Bundesliga - 19:30
Stuttgart and Hannover were both relegated from the Bundesliga last season, but it’s the hosts who I expect to secure an opening-day victory in the second-tier.
Tim Walter’s men won this fixture 5-1 last season, while Hannover garnered just five points on the road, and it’s hard to see them improving at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Stuttgart are much better equipped to make an immediate return to the Bundesliga, and that journey starts on Friday.
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