 |
| There’s plenty of international club friendlies this weekend with some headline clashes to enjoy. |
Saturday 29 July
15/20 Chelsea | Draw 51/20 | Inter Milan 34/10 (13:35)
Chelsea will take on Inter Milan on Saturday at the National Stadium in Singapore before their Community Shield clash with Arsenal. Antonio Conte’s side outclassed the Gunners 3-0 at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing last weekend, earning some consolation for May’s FA Cup final defeat. Chelsea’s sharp performance certainly caught the eye, even if it was just a pre-season affair. The Premier League champions will be even stronger following the new arrivals of Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Morata. They should beat Inter Milan quite comfortably.
13/20 Arsenal | 28/10 | Benfica 38/10 (17:20)
Arsenal welcome Portuguese champions Benfica to London on Saturday for the Emirates Cup, an annual two-day pre-season tournament. The Gunners suffered a humiliating 3-0 friendly defeat against Chelsea in China last weekend and Arsene Wenger will demand an improved performance. New signings Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette will be looking to impress in their first game at the Emirates. Wenger’s side are unbeaten in their last eight home matches, winning seven times. Benfica have lost two of their last three friendlies, losing 5-1 to Young Boys and 1-0 against Hull last time out.The Gunners are tipped to win.
33/10 Monaco | 28/10 | Paris Saint-Germain 7/10 (21:00)
Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain will settle scores in Morocco on Saturday in the French Super Cup. Despite Monaco winning Ligue 1 last season, PSG are favourites to win the clash as the Red and Whites have sold some of their key players. Tiemoue Bakayoko has joined Chelsea, while Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy has moved to Manchester City. Monaco haven’t done too well in their pre-season friendlies, failing to beat Rapid Wien, PSV and Fenerbahce, before losing to Sporting Lisbon. PSG have comfortably beaten Monaco in their last two meetings, winning 4-1 in the Coupe de la Ligue final and 5-0 in the Coupe de France semi-final. Back Unai Emery’s men to win at 7/10.
Sunday 30 July
5/4 Man City | 5/2 | Tottenham 37/20 (00:05)
Manchester City will battle Tottenham at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday. The Citizens were beaten 2-0 by rivals Manchester United last week and Pep Guardiola will be hoping to see a better performance from his players. Mauricio Pochettino’s side were impressive in their opening match of the International Champions Cup as they comfortably saw off Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 in Orlando. Spurs are unbeaten in their last four meetings against City, winning three times. Back Pochettino’s side to win at 37/20.
15/10 Real Madrid | 5/2 | Barcelona 31/20 (02:05)
Real Madrid and Barcelona will lock horns in a pre-season version of El Clasico at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. This will be the first Clasico outside of Spain in 35 years and also the first for new Barca head coach Ernesto Valverde. The array of attacking prowess and creative talent that will take to the pitch is phenomenal and the skill set to be showcased will be superb. A tight affair is expected but 15/10 on the European champions is too good to pass up.
9/4 Roma | 5/2 | Juventus 21/20 (22:00)
Roma and Juventus will square off at Gillette Stadium on Sunday in what will be the final match of the International Champions Cup. The Serie A champions have parted ways with Dani Alves and Leonardo Bonucci but have already made four major signings: Mattia De Sciglio, Douglas Costa, Federico Bernardeschi and Wojciech Szczesny, who spent the last two seasons on loan at Roma. I Giallorossi have also lost Rudiger, Mohamed Salah, Mario Rui, Leandro Paredes and Francesco Totti, without making any major signings. The Old Lady should prove too strong for Roma.
TREBLE @ 5/1
Chelsea Win 15/20
PSG Win 7/10
Juventus Win 21/20
Written by Chad Nagel
