Championship
Fixture: Leicester City 2-1 Swansea City
Venue: Walkers Stadium (Leicester home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: So, here we go, and we start with last season's form team again one of the new kids on the Championship block.
Well, I say new, Leicester only spent a year underneath the Championship, and it was hardly a struggle: 96 points and 86 goals with only 39 goals conceded secured the League One title for The Foxes. The conversion of Matty Fryatt from a League One striker to a Championship scorer will be vital for a side that wasn't exactly freescoring last season.
Swansea, meanwhile, were a revelation last season, but this side is little different to the one that brought a lot of joy to the Championship last year. Jason Scotland, their immensely talented striker, has left as has inspirational manager Roberto Martinez. New boss, Paulo Sousa, was hit and miss at QPR last season where he was, to be fair, hampered by an over-controlling ownership. They are not that different a side, so will not be a walkover.
I suspect a cagey start to the season - and as both sides may struggle for goals this year, the 8/11 on offer at a few bookies for under 2.5 goals between them represents good value.
Betting Advice: 3pts less than 2.5 goals in match at 8/11 (1.73 at Skybet and Betfair)
Fixture: Reading 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Venue: Madejski Stadium (Reading home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: Much of the pre-season talk has been about Championship new boys Nottingham Forest who have spent an unprecedented amount of money in improving a squad that struggled to stay up last season. Two of those signings (Dexter Blackstock and Lee Camp) were there last season, while the rest - at close inspection - are not the promotion winners that everyone is suggesting.
Reading are being written off on the back of an appalling run from new year onwards that saw them trickle down the table from the top.
They have since lost the spine of a team that should have been promoted last season. However, their home form was magnificent and they have had a sensational pre-season, highlighting that they still have a very strong squad to play with.
Expect Forest to get a harsh lesson in progress from one of the Championships better sides at home.
Betting Advice: 3pts Reading to win at 19/20 (1.95 at William Hill)
League One
Fixture: Southend 2-2 Huddersfield
Venue: Roots Hall (Leicester home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: The first throws of a new season are tricky at best, so I am straight in with an away win for one of my tips to do well this season.
Huddersfield improved throughout last season and have bought with a promotion push in mind - they should go well.
However, they have been handed a tricky trip to Roots Hall against a Southend side that makes the best use of very, very limited resources.
This game should provide a very useful gauge for the early part of the season in League One - and boy do we need one in a really tough one to call.
Betting Advice: 2pts Huddersfield to win at 2/1 (3.0 at Skybet)
Fixture: Yeovil Town 2-0 Tranmere
Venue: Huish Park (Yeovil home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: John Barnes has the difficult task of managing one of the smaller squads in the league thanks to money constraints, but he does have a fair amount of quality.
However, Tranmere were notoriously diffident travellers last season, and a trip all the way down the M5 to Yeovil is not what the doctor ordered for the start of the season.
The attitude of their new on-loan goalkeeper perhaps suggests a reason for their poor form on the road last year.
21-year-old Luke Daniels said: "It would be nice to start with three points and a win (but) If we do lose its not the end of the world."
Hmm.
Yeovil, meanwhile, are another with limited resources, but they have a canny manager in Terry Skiverton and a notoriously difficult sloping pitch.
Betting Advice: 3pts Yeovil to win at 8/5 (2.6 at bet365 and extrabet)
League Two
Fixture: Torquay 2-0 Chesterfield
Venue: Plainmoor (Torquay home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: Never underestimate non-league teams when they come up to League Two - and Torquay are no exception. By no means are they expected to be the whipping boys this season. They have an incredibly talented manager in Paul Buckle and should more than hold their own. They are value here against Chesterfield because the Spireites have come into some money. That will take a little time to eradicate what has been a losing mentality in Saltergate.
Betting Advice: 2pts Torquay to win at 6/4 (2.5 at Coral)
