Football betting tips: European outright
Serie A
3pts Lecce to be relegated at 5/6 (General)
2pts Roma top four finish at 4/5 (Sky Bet)
1pt Como top four finish at 9/4 (William Hill)
Ligue 1
2pts Esteban Lepaul Top Goalscorer at 5/1 (Paddy Power, Sky Bet)
1pt Lois Openda Top Goalscorer at 14/1 (General)
Serie A
Serie A starts with two matches on Saturday afternoon, while Ligue 1 marks its return with Marseille vs Strasbourg in Friday night. Working through the considerable list of season-long markets that are available, it is the Serie A team selections that stand out.
In Italy’s RELEGATION market, LECCE are backed at 5/6 to go down. They stayed up by just one place last season but won't be as lucky this time.
Lecce’s main summer signing is Willem Geubbels from Paris FC. The 25-year-old striker was poor in Ligue 1 last season, and has an erratic longer-term scoring record. Geubbels is not a player you can rely on to keep your team out of trouble.
Several other bottom-half teams look stronger this term. That leaves Lecce in the lurch, and potentially stranded alongside promoted pair Frosinone (1/3 to go down) and Monza (4/7), who also look weak.
The TOP 4 FINISH market makes interesting reading. The contenders are Inter (1/20), Napoli (4/11), Juventus (2/5), Milan (8/15), Roma (4/5), and Como (9/4).
Milan and Napoli do not appeal. Ruben Amorim, in as Milan manager, has a rebuilding task on his hands. Napoli’s 4/11 is too short: they appear no better-equipped than their rivals.
We'll instead back ROMA and COMO, third and four respectively last season. Stability will be key for the former, entering a second season under manager Gian Piero Gasperini. They should improve under him, and have momentum, having finished 2025-26 strongly.
The concern over Como is that being in the Champions League for the first time ever may dent their domestic form. With excellent manager Cesc Fabregas and star player Nico Paz still on board, however, their continental exertions alone are not a reason to rule them out. The odds on Como repeating last season’s placing are too big given so few of the teams around them are stronger.
Ligue 1
In Ligue 1, a couple of TOP SCORER selections stand out, even without each-way pauyout. We'll back Rennes’ ESTEBAN LEPAUL, who is the 5/1 second-favourite to retain his Golden Boot. Lepaul was the 21-goal top scorer last season, finishing five clear of the rest.
He will get good service at Rennes, has an obsession for scoring goals, and is better value than market favourite Ousmane Dembele (3/1). The Ballon d’Or holder may simply not play enough minutes to win the prize as manager Luis Enrique likes to rest him for Champions League games.
LOIS OPENDA also warrants attention at 14/1. He is on loan at Lyon and has already impressed for them in the Champions League playoffs. The Belgian striker has thrived in France in the past, too: he netted 21 goals for Lens in 2022-23. He has picked the right environment to put a disappointing 2025-26 at Juventus behind him and can have another big season.
La Liga
The action is under way in Spain, though the two Clasico giants are yet to enter the fray.
This time last week, Real Madrid (11/8) appealed more than Barcelona (8/11) in the Title Winner market. Since Rodri joined Barcelona, we have to fancy the Catalonians.
Instead, while he may be short, KYLIAN MBAPPE at 4/7 top scorer and win a third successive LaLiga Golden Boot makes a lot of sense. There is no obvious rival to the 27-year-old superstar, and he remains hungry to earn every award he can. As long as he stays fit, the prize will be his.
We won't be backing him as a single in this column, but certainly wouldn't put anyone off adding him to any season-long multis.
Odds correct at 10:00 BST (20/8/26)
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