Spain's two giants finally get their actual campaigns underway this week, having had their original Matchday 1 fixtures — against Real Sociedad and Athletic Club respectively — postponed after Spain's run to World Cup glory left both squads short-handed for the traditional opening weekend. Having played rearranged Matchday 2 fixtures over the weekend instead, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona now circle back to complete their postponed Matchday 1 business.

Real Madrid come into the week off the back of a hard-fought 2-1 win away at Espanyol — Jude Bellingham opened the scoring before the hosts equalised through Álex Calatrava, with Madrid grabbing a stoppage-time winner to seal the points. They now host Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday night, giving José Mourinho his first home league match since returning to the club. Real Sociedad, by contrast, arrive off the back of four straight pre-season defeats and defensive struggles, making Mourinho's side firm favourites to open their home campaign with a win.

Barcelona made an emphatic statement of their own, thrashing Elche 5-0 away from home — Raphinha and Fermín López both scored twice, with new signing Karim Adeyemi also on the scoresheet on his debut. Hansi Flick's side, chasing a third consecutive title, now host Athletic Club at the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday to complete their delayed Matchday 1 fixture. With Lamine Yamal continuing to lead the line as La Liga's reigning Player of the Season, Barça will fancy adding another big scoreline in front of their own supporters.

With both sides in devastating early-season form and at home against opposition that has shown defensive vulnerabilities of its own, expect goals markets to be popular across both fixtures this week.

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad: Wednesday, 26 August at 21:00 CEST · Santiago Bernabéu
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club: Thursday, 27 August at 21:00 CEST · Spotify Camp Nou

The last hurdle before the Champions League's newly expanded 36-team league phase reaches its conclusion this week, with all seven play-off ties finely poised after entertaining first legs. Celtic are firm favourites to progress after a ruthless 3-0 win over LASK in Glasgow, though the Austrians created enough chances at Celtic Park to suggest the tie is not entirely dead — LASK boss's defiant "it's not over yet" carries some weight heading into Tuesday's return in Linz. Bodø/Glimt are similarly well-placed after a 3-1 win away at N.E.C., though a late goal for the Dutch side has given them a sliver of hope travelling to the Arctic Circle.

The standout tie of the round remains locked at 1-1: Fenerbahçe and Lyon shared the points in Istanbul, and with Lyon unbeaten in their last six meetings with the Turkish side, Wednesday's second leg in France is delicately poised for both outright and both-teams-to-score markets. Three further ties are also level after their first legs — AEK Athens vs. Levski Sofia (0-0), Viking vs. GNK Dinamo (2-2, after Viking fought back from two goals down) and Celje vs. Slovan Bratislava (1-1) — making Wednesday's card a genuine coin-flip across multiple ties. Hapoel Beer-Sheva hold a slender 2-1 aggregate advantage over Sabah heading into Tuesday's second leg.

As ever, UEFA's format softens the downside for backers of the smaller clubs — every one of the seven losing sides drops straight into the Europa League's league phase rather than exiting Europe altogether. The Champions League league phase draw follows immediately after on Thursday, 27 August.

Tuesday, 25 August: Sabah vs. Hapoel Beer-Sheva (agg 1-2) · LASK vs. Celtic (agg 0-3) · Bodø/Glimt vs. N.E.C. (agg 3-1)
Wednesday, 26 August: AEK Athens vs. Levski Sofia (agg 0-0) · Viking vs. GNK Dinamo (agg 2-2) · Celje vs. Slovan Bratislava (agg 1-1) · Lyon vs. Fenerbahçe (agg 1-1)

Before the biggest names in tennis take over Flushing Meadows, this week belongs to the players still fighting for a place in the draw. US Open qualifying runs across four days at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with 128 men and 128 women each competing for just 16 coveted spots per gender in the main draw — a brutal three-round gauntlet with a Grand Slam berth as the prize.

Arthur Gea of France enters as the top seed on the men's side, while Polina Kudermetova, ranked No. 97, tops the women's seedings. Every player in the draw is chasing the same long-shot dream that has defined some of the tournament's most memorable storylines — Botic van de Zandschulp famously qualified into the 2021 US Open and reached the quarter-finals, while Emma Raducanu's fairytale run from qualifier to Grand Slam champion in 2021 remains the gold standard for what a good week here can produce.

With three rounds needed to reach the main draw, and every match effectively a knockout, qualifying week is notoriously unpredictable — packed with live-underdog markets and players desperate to seize a career-defining opportunity. The stakes only grow as the week progresses, with the final round on Thursday deciding who joins the household names when the main draw begins the following Sunday.

Qualifying Rounds 1–3: Monday, 24 August – Thursday, 27 August · USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York
Main Draw Begins: Sunday, 30 August