With England's Community Shield between Liverpool and Crystal Palace taking place along with the first matches of the Coppa Italia, the new domestic season in Europe's biggest footballing nations is kicking into gear this weekend, which calls for some predictions.
Who will prove to be the best bit of business? Who will bang in the goals? Who will be looking for a job come Christmas? And who will lift the silverware when all is said and done?
Flashscore.com's editors have had a go at predicting how things will pan out across the continent's major leagues in the campaign to come.
Best signing
Finley Crebolder: I’m gonna go for Roma’s signing of Evan Ferguson on an initial loan deal. There’s clearly a big talent there, and Gian Piero Gasperini had a real gift for getting the best out of his strikers at Atalanta.
Danny Clark: Brighton’s capture of left-back Maxim de Cuyper for a reported £17.5 million looks to be an inspired piece of business for the Seagulls.
Having starred for Club Brugge in their run to the Champions League round of 16 last season, the Belgian international should become a mainstay in Fabian Hurzeler’s side after the summer departure of Pervis Estupinan.
Harry Dunnett: All the talk this summer in the Premier League has been on the striker market with the big six looking to strengthen in that department; however, my hunch is that it will be three midfielders who will play a bigger role in deciding the fate of the title race. Those are Florian Wirtz to Liverpool, Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City and Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal.
With destroyer Rodri back, I believe Reijnders will be the pick of the bunch with his defence-splitting passes and major goal threat from midfield. The perfect Kevin De Bruyne replacement? Perhaps.
Pat Dempsey: I'm going bang for buck: Arsenal getting Christian Norgaard from Brentford for under 12 million euros is a steal, and I expect him to play a surprisingly important role this season, albeit a less glamorous one.
Josh Donaldson: Napoli were the stars of the show last season in Serie A and they have perhaps strengthened even further with the addition of De Bruyne. He has played extremely well in light blue for years now and the recipe of Naples with the Belgian just feels so irresistible. He may be 34 now, but it feels like this could be the start of a beautiful partnership - he just has to make sure he doesn't get in Scott McTominay's way.
Surprise package
Finley: Wolfsburg. They’ve spent a fair amount of money and have an exciting new manager in Paul Simonis, who did really impressive work at Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles, so I’ll back them to go from finishing 11th last season to fighting for a top-four finish.
Danny: Valencia. After a strong second half of the 2024/25 campaign under Carlos Corberan, I'm backing Los Che to significantly improve on their 12th-placed finish in LaLiga and challenge for a Champions League spot this time around.
Harry: Como 1907. I might be a bit obsessed with this side, but this pick is based on a strong belief that Cesc Fabregas (who turned down Inter Milan in June) is building something really exciting in Lake Como, not any bias. After an impressive first season in Serie A last season, Italy’s richest club will hope to reach new heights in 2025/26 and securing a European finish is not beyond them.
Pat: Paris FC. Ligue 1 has been good the last couple of seasons for surprise packages; last term, it was Strasbourg, and the one before it was Brest's incredible run to third place. This time, I think newly-promoted Paris FC might make a bit of a splash. The middle of the Ligue 1 table can be very tight, and I think the Red Bull-affiliated disruptors might just sneak up into the top half.
Josh: Sunderland. A surprise promotion package into the Premier League at this point is a side that can just stay up. Of the trio from last season's Championship, the Black Cats are the ones who have strengthened the best, bringing in youth and experience to improve their squad. They will survive on the final day, but that will be enough for them to keep their status and shock the world.
First major sacking
Finley: Igor Tudor at Juventus. They seemed fairly reluctant to give him the job on a permanent basis in the first place, which isn't a great sign.
Danny: Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. The Portuguese coach endured a miserable first campaign in charge of the Red Devils, losing 16 of his 42 matches across all competitions.
United’s level of performance and consistency has yet to improve at all under Amorim, and with serious doubts remaining over his goalkeeper, defence and midfield heading into the new season, there’s every chance he’ll be shown the exit door if results don’t come, and quickly.
Harry: Daniel Farke at Leeds. It was tough to decide between Farke and Burnley manager Scott Parker, two great coaches in the Championship who have proven in the past not to be up to the demands of the Premier League. Farke could be gone by October.
Pat: Vincent Kompany. The operative word here is 'major' - I don't think this will be the first sacking of the season, but maybe the first really big one. Of course, Bayern somewhat ran away with the league last season, but we all know how ruthless they can be. If they aren't dominating the Bundesliga and challenging for the Champions League, the 'Kompany experiment' will finish this season.
Elsewhere, I expect Sevilla to sack new boss Matias Almeyda by about Christmas if things don't massively improve; that club is sleepwalking towards a first relegation in over 25 years.
Josh: Erik ten Hag at Bayer Leverkusen. It's sometimes the worst position a manager can be in, taking over from a historically successful manager, but Ten Hag has decided to follow Xabi Alonso into the Leverkusen hot seat, and I predict a disaster. He won't win any of his first five league games with a depleted side, will be unceremoniously dumped out of the DFB Pokal and will be out before the leaves fall off the trees next to the Rhine.
Top scorers in the top five leagues
Finley: Erling Haaland, Rafael Leao, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Mika Biereth.
Danny: Erling Haaland, Romelu Lukaku, Julian Alvarez, Harry Kane and Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Harry: Alexander Isak, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Serhou Guirassy and Ousmane Dembele.
Pat: Viktor Gyokeres, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Mason Greenwood.
Josh: Mohamed Salah, Lautaro Martinez, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Ousmane Dembele.
Champions of the top five leagues
Finley: Manchester City, AC Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
Rayan Ait Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki are top signings for Man City, and the return of Rodri will be massive. I’m also not convinced about Liverpool’s balance if they try and squeeze Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike into the same side.
Serie A is tough to call given most of the major clubs have new managers, but I’ll go for Max Allegri’s Milan. Juventus and Inter have unproven coaches, and I can see things going wrong between Antonio Conte and Napoli in classic Conte fashion given the tension between him and the club president. With a strong squad and plenty of experience in winning titles, Allegri seems well-placed to take advantage. Oh, and Luka Modric is still pretty darn good.
Danny: Liverpool, Inter, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
Harry: Liverpool, Inter, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
I feel we say this every August, but on paper, the Premier League title fight looks fascinating this season, with potentially Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal all in the race. It is very hard to call between three of those four sides, but I think Liverpool, based on last season and their ambition in the transfer window, are a level above the rest. That is assuming all the new parts click.
As Fin says, Serie A is also difficult to call, but for different reasons than in England. The tensions between Conte and Napoli’s president are a major concern to the title holders, and Inter have lost the brilliant Simone Inzaghi. I just think Inter still have the best squad in Serie A, and outside of the unstable Napoli, I can’t see another side being competitive enough to challenge.
Pat: Liverpool, Roma, Atletico Madrid, Bayern and PSG.
Let's forget about the last two - most seasons, it's over before it begins (even if I think Kompany will get sacked). Starting with England, Liverpool have the best squad, but it will be closer with City, Chelsea and Arsenal all improved.
Serie A is impossible to call, which is why it will be the best league of the five (once again) for the neutral - I'm tipping Gasperini to continue Roma's title-winning form from the end of last season. Why not?
And, here's my big, bold (probably insane) tip: Simeone will lead Atletico to the LaLiga title. They've had a big rebuild, and I think the depth he's added will see last season's two-horse race turn into a very tight three-horse race - Atletico will focus on the league and just sneak it.
Josh: Arsenal, Napoli, Real Madrid, Bayern and PSG.
No spoilers here, but this will be the season that Mikel Arteta and Arsenal win the Premier League. They have strengthened their weakest areas over the summer, and will take advantage of Liverpool putting their focus on the Champions League to sneak to the title in May. The rest of my picks require less imagination.
Winners of the continental competitions
Finley: Barcelona, Roma and Fiorentina.
Danny: PSG, Aston Villa and Fiorentina.
Harry: PSG, Roma, and Strasbourg.
Pat: Barcelona, Aston Villa (the Emery effect) and Mainz.
Josh: Liverpool, Roma and Nottingham Forest.
Wildcard prediction
Finley: Eddie Howe to leave Newcastle and take over as England manager after they have a disappointing World Cup under Thomas Tuchel.
Danny: After a summer of change in Liverpool’s attack, Cody Gakpo will take his game to the next level, outscoring Mohamed Salah and the rest of the Reds’ forwards over the course of the season.
Harry: Brentford will struggle without Thomas Frank and get relegated, whilst Sunderland will stay up.
Pat: All good ones mentioned... I'm going to suggest something pretty wild. Guardiola will start benching Haaland this season in the league. Here's the thing: he's brought in a few attackers that render Haaland less essential to the starting XI (Marmoush, Cherki, Savinho, etc.), and if things don't go quite to plan for Pep's side, he tends to overreact, rather than underreact. He never wanted him, and he's about to prove his point!
Josh: After years of inconsistency, Sevilla are unable to stop another slide down the table and are relegated from LaLiga, whilst losing both city derbies to Betis.