Chelsea are trying to learn a new system and figure out which pieces go where, and they’re doing it on the fly. Manchester City are four-time defending champs, making this a tough ask for the Blues.
Aston Villa have been one of the worst in the Premier League at starting the season. The Lions have avoided defeat just once in their past five season openers, and they got run over last season by Newcastle United. With Villa now in the role of the hunted, another similar performance would mean disaster.
The U.S. will host the World Cup in two years. The U.S. soccer federation will not have a better chance to make soccer explode here for at least another three decades. After crashing out of Copa America, the Americans can’t go into the World Cup with the same coach.
Neither team is totally secure in first place, as the Orioles still have the Yankees hot on their heels and the Guardians have to contend with the Twins and Royals. Put simply, the pressure is on in Cleveland.
The FCS is often overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. It’s one of the best ways to make money if you know these teams well, because Vegas just doesn’t care about these games.
The Sun Belt is the most balanced G5 conference, as there’s no truly dominant teams and only one doormat. That makes this a wide-open race with plenty of value.
In a world where almost everything changes, the MAC has been the picture of stability. The conference retains the same 12 teams it has had for years, as well as its original mindset.
What’s most likely is that Boise State will flirt with the College Football Playoff’s Group of 5 bid and New Mexico will flirt with a winless season. Anything between that is up for grabs.
The best thing you can say about C-USA is that it avoided the fate of the Pac-12, as it still exists. But this is a really bad league with one good team and a collection of castoffs.