European Football Leagues Kick Off With Major Managerial Shifts
Ethan Moore 
Key Takeaways:
- Jose Mourinho returns to manage Real Madrid ahead of the La Liga season.
- Inter Milan and Paris St-Germain enter as strong title favourites in their leagues.
- Mohamed Salah's surprise move to Trabzonspor shakes up Turkish outright markets.
The major European football leagues are set to commence, bringing a wave of significant managerial changes and high-profile transfers that will heavily influence outright betting markets. La Liga kicks off this weekend with Alaves facing Getafe, followed closely by the start of Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Bundesliga.
La Liga and Serie A Title Favourites
In Spain, Hansi Flick's Barcelona enter as favourites to secure a third consecutive league title, bolstered by the arrivals of Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, part of a packed calendar of football betting markets that includes Belgian Pro League betting odds. However, outright markets will be closely watching Real Madrid following the shock return of manager Jose Mourinho 13 years after his first spell. Real have heavily invested in their squad, adding Kylian Mbappe, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, and Bernardo Silva to challenge Barcelona's dominance.
Over in Italy, Inter Milan are heavily fancied to defend their Serie A crown as their main rivals undergo transitional periods. Napoli, Atalanta, Lazio, and AC Milan—now managed by Ruben Amorim—all start the campaign with new managers. Bettors will also track Cesc Fabregas's Como, who are navigating a debut Champions League campaign alongside their domestic duties.
Bayern and PSG Look to Continue Dominance
Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich remain the formidable force in the Bundesliga after cruising to a domestic double last season, a pattern of dominance seen across major betting tournaments like the Austrian Bundesliga betting markets. With 33-year-old Harry Kane leading an attack featuring Michael Olise, Luis Diaz, and new signing Ismael Saibari, Bayern are heavily backed to outscore challengers like Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. In France, Paris St-Germain are targeting their 13th Ligue 1 title in 15 seasons following back-to-back Champions League triumphs under Luis Enrique.
Across Europe, outright markets have been shaken by Mohamed Salah's surprise free transfer to 2021-22 Super Lig champions Trabzonspor, bypassing Turkey's traditional big three. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven are pursuing a fourth successive Eredivisie title, while Porto aim to defend their Primeira Liga crown against a Benfica side now managed by Marco Silva, shaping the outright Primeira Liga betting markets.
