Soccer Betting News This Month | European Football Season Kicks Off, Market Watch & Analysis | September 2026
The European Football season has officially kicked off, and as ever, we bring you all the latest from around the leagues.
Arsenal began their Premier League title defence with a commanding 3–0 victory over Coventry, strengthening their -110 favouritism as major rivals stumbled.
Mourinho’s Real Madrid also started impressively, winning twice as Mbappé starred. Champions Barcelona picked up where they left off, putting five past Elche.
Whilst, over in North America, Liga MX dominated the Leagues Cup quarterfinals, beating all four MLS opponents.
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Latest news
Can anyone stop Arsenal?
Mourinho 2.0
Liga MX sweeps the MLS away
Champions League draw
UEFA lift boycott
Next up, Arsenal face London rivals Chelsea in an early test of their title credentials, with the Blues expected to pose a much tougher challenge than Coventry.
Anyone missing their fix of football this summer would surely have tuned into the three part Mourinho special on Netflix. The little Napoleon is still box office, whether you like him or not.
Fans and haters alike, as well as the producers of said show, were no doubt jumping for joy when it was announced that Mourinho would return to the Bernabeu for a second spell.
How would the conspiratorial mastermind, broadly regarded as past his prime, manage this uber talented, uber egotistical incarnation of Real Madrid?
Well, so far, so good. Two games, two wins, including a very impressive 4-1 defeat of Real Sociedad, Mbappe scoring a hat-trick. Mourinho's Madrid are currently priced at +138 to win the La Liga.
It was a statement night for Liga MX teams in the League Cup, with all four sides beating MLS opposition. Club León recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Real Salt Lake, with Díber Cambindo scoring twice.
Chicago briefly recovered against Monterrey when Philip Zinckernagel cancelled out Víctor Guzmán’s opener, but were eventually beaten 2-1.
Austin’s discipline proved costly in its 2–0 defeat by Toluca. Whilst Columbus also lost 2–0, despite creating opportunities against América.
The Champions League group stage draw has thrown up some exciting fixtures as ever.
Holders PSG will face Barcelona and Manchester City, whilst Arsenal will be visited by Mourinho's Real Madrid alongside an away fixture at Bayern Munich.
PSG (+500) will go into the tournament as favourites, followed by Arsenal (+600), Barcelona (+600), Bayern Munich (+650) and Real Madrid (+700).
In a similar fashion to the failure of the Super League, Gianni Infantino’s plan has fallen at the first hurdle, his career as president of the football governing body now hanging by a thread.
Football fans across the globe will be hoping that we have finally seen the last of Infanito and his nefarious plans for football.
🚨📸| José Mourinho in tears as Real Madrid fans chant his name on his first game back at the Bernabéu! 🥹🤍 pic.twitter.com/RmtP2raWU6
— Kalshi EPL (@KalshiEPL) August 26, 2026
Outright future markets
Let's take a look at how the early season future markets are shaking up:
Premier League
Arsenal (-110)
Defending champions Arsenal are clear favourites to retain the title. They have the most experienced manager in the league, and the squad with the strongest depth.
Manchester City (+425)
Haaland guarantees goals, while Bouaddi and Anderson refresh the midfield. Maresca may be a transition risk, but the squad is still world class.
Chelsea (+650)
Xabi Alonso inherits enormous depth and expensive upgrades across midfield and attack. If he can get Cole Palmer firing, and sort out the defense, then this price looks great.
MLS Cup
Inter Miami (+420)
The Messi factor, playoff experience and home advantage put Miami as slight favourites for MLS. Ageing legs and schedule congestion may be their downfall.
Vancouver Whitecaps (+500)
The Western leaders combine structure, depth and Brian White’s finishing. Their consistency sees them as second favorites.
Nashville SC (+550)
The shield leaders are in exceptional home form. If they can sustain this, then there is no reason they can’t go all the way.
La Liga
Barcelona (-138)
The holders have added arguably the world's best midfielder, Rodri, to their squad, whilst retaining all key players. There is no reason why they can’t win three on the bounce.
Real Madrid (+138)
Mourinho returns to the Bernabeu with an elite squad at his disposal. Much will depend on whether he can find the right balance.
UCL
Paris Saint-Germain (+500)
The back-to-back champions retain tournament experience, elite coaching and extraordinary depth. Barcola’s likely departure hurts, but PSG remain Europe’s standard for knockout football.
Arsenal (+600)
Arsenal have improved their squad since last year with a view to competing on all fronts. Arteta will no doubt have his sights firmly fixed on finally winning the Champions League.
Barcelona (+600)
Flick’s iteration of Barcelona have never got past the Semi-finals. They will be hoping that new signing Rodri can take them one step further this year.
Games to watch
A quick look at the games to watch out for in the coming weeks:
Arsenal vs Chelsea - Sun 6 Sep, 16:30 BST
Title favourites Arsenal take on London rivals Chelsea, in what looks set to be an early season title decider.
Chelsea are currently ranked third favourites for the title, priced at +650 on BetNow, however many analysts see them as the only genuine contender to Arsenal’s crown.
Chelsea have long had a talented squad, but have suffered from mismanagement from the board, and a lack of experience in the team.
Under new manager Xabi Alonso, there is a feeling that the team has found some coherence, and with Cole Palmer back to full fitness, they look a real threat.
Arsenal have by far the deepest squad in the league, have started strongly, and are heavily tipped to retain the championship. The Chelsea fixture will be their first real test.
Tottenham vs Newcastle — Sat 29 Aug, 17:30 BST
Two sides who have gone through wholesale change this summer, Tottenham and Newcastle will be hoping their reinforced squads can compete for the Champions League places as a minimum.
Newcastle are under new management after the departure of Eddie Howe, with relatively unknown Matthias Jaissle now in the driving seat. To add to the turbulence, they’ve also been forced to sell key players - Bruno, Tonali, Gordon - to balance the books.
That said, there is a lot of optimism around St James' Park, with much to admire in the opening day draw with Liverpool. Yan Wissa, a flop under Howe, had a strong World Cup, and will be hoping his new number 10 role will bear fruit this term.
It’s much the same over in North London, with De Zerbi, who joined late last season, making wholesale changes to the playing squad. The noises were positive before a ball had been kicked, but a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Brentford has already piled the pressure on Spurs.
Expect a game full of chances and chaos, with both teams struggling to find coherence under new leadership.
Valencia vs Barcelona — Sun 6 Sep, 16:15 CEST
Barcelona opened the title defense with a confident 5-0 demolition of Elche, with new signing Anthony Gordon recording two assists.
Things couldn't be more different down at the Mestalla, with Valencia having recorded a single point in two games.
However, this fixture has an added level of spice, in that this is last season Valencia will be playing at their famous Mestalla ground. Expect a hostile atmosphere from the home crowd, and the potential for an upset.
Transfer news
With the Premier League transfer window closing next Tuesday, we take a look at the biggest deals on the horizon:
Liverpool agree framework for Bradley Barcola
Liverpool and PSG have reached an outline agreement worth approximately £120 million for the French winger. The highly rated French international was originally linked with Arsenal, but now looks to be heading to Anfield. If personal terms can be agreed, he will become their second most expensive signing of all time.
Kesly to leave Timbers
Kevin Kelsy has agreed a package with Glasgow Rangers believed to be in the region of £9.5 million plus bonuses. The 22 year old has scored 16 times in 43 appearances for the Portland Timbers.
Jackson to Villa
Nicolas Jackson is in line to sign for Aston Villa, with Chelsea reportedly willing to let him go for £65 million. He will replace Ollie Watkins who is expected to reject a new contract and will leave this summer.
Martínez to Chelsea
With Villa having signed Zion Suzuki, everything looks set for Martinez to leave, with Chelsea being touted as his preferred option.
The signing makes total sense, as Chelsea’s current number 1, Robert Sanchez, continues to be a weak point for the side.
City Swoop For World Cup Star
Bouaddi a Citizen
Manchester City have completed the signing of Moroccan international Ayyoub Bouaddi in a deal worth a staggering €95 million plus add-ons.
It will be interesting to see how much game time the 18 year-old gets this season, with City desperately needing midfield reinforcements after the loss of star man Rodri this summer.
Previous market updates
- [August, 2026]: Arsenal favourites for the Champions League final.
- [July, 2026]: England bow out to the holders, who face a final vs Spain.
- [July, 2026]: England through to the semi finals of the World Cup.
- [July, 2026]: England through to quarter finals of the World Cup.
- [July, 2026]: Spain through to last 16 of the World Cup.
- [June, 2026]: Ecuador qualify for the knockout phase of the World Cup.
- [June, 2026]: USMNT qualify for the knockout phase of the World Cup.
- [June, 2026]: USMNT kicked off the World Cup with a 4-1 win against Paraguay.
- [June, 2026]: Spain are favourites to win the World Cup.
- [May 28, 2026]: PSG edged into slight favouritism for the Champions League final in Budapest, with Arsenal still close behind.
- [May 27, 2026]: England's World Cup squad announcement caused a stir after several big-name omissions, while they remained among the main contenders.
- [May 25, 2026]: Spain stayed near the top of the World Cup outright market despite injury concerns around key players.
- [May 22, 2026]: Norway gained traction as a popular dark horse ahead of the World Cup, led by Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard.
- [April 15, 2026]: Arsenal entered the Champions League quarter-final market as +225 favourites.
- [Early February 2026]: Arsenal moved to -500 favourites to win the Premier League following a dominant winter run.
- [December 2025]: Arsenal slipped to -145 in the title market after a rash of injuries disrupted their momentum.
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