Free Tips Football podcast - six-game preview for weekend of 5th and 6th September 2026

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Last updated: Fri 04 Sep 2026 18:40

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Arsenal v Chelsea: Both teams likely to score; Arsenal favored to win.
Ajax v PSV: High-scoring encounter expected; Ajax predicted victors.
Juventus v Milan: Third consecutive 0-0 draw possible; defensive match anticipated.

We recorded this weekend's podcast twice. The first version had no sound, which our audience would probably describe as an improvement. So here is the written version, where nobody can hear Ryan attempt to pronounce Eredivisie.

Two minutes each on the recording, slightly longer here because typing is free. Every pick below is one we actually made out loud, including the ones we will regret.

Arsenal v Chelsea - Both Teams to Score Is the Easiest Line on the Card

Chelsea are scoring goals. Chelsea are also conceding goals, to teams you would charitably describe as ordinary. Fulham helped themselves to a couple. We still have no firm opinion on what Brighton are, and we suspect Brighton do not either.

Arsenal arrive with defensive problems of their own. Saliba is out. Timber is out. That is not the back line anyone drew up in July, and it is why we expect Chelsea to get on the scoresheet.

The number that settles it: Chelsea have not kept a clean sheet in 18 straight games. That is their longest run since well before either of us existed, which is a polite way of saying it has been going on longer than some of our listeners have.

Arsenal have the class to score whenever they need to. Chelsea have the defence to make sure they need to.

Picks: Both Teams to Score. Arsenal, Full Time Result.

Inter v Napoli - Napoli's Team Sheet Reads Like a Hospital List

De Bruyne, Lukaku, Anguissa and Gilmour are all unavailable. Take the midfield away, then take away the man who finishes what the midfield starts, and you are left with a Napoli side asked to survive the San Siro on courage alone.

Inter have scored in 16 straight games against Napoli. Sixteen. Napoli could park a bus, then park a second bus behind the first bus, and Inter would still find a way through the windows.

Goals are the play here. Both Teams to Score is the one we hesitated over, because scoring is precisely the department Napoli have left at home.

These two have shared the title between them recently. A three-point swing in September looks harmless now and looks enormous in May.

Picks: Over 2.5 Goals. Inter, Full Time Result.

Juventus v Milan - Going Back for a Third 0-0

The last two meetings between these sides finished 0-0. So naturally we are having a small one on 0-0 again, because all good things come in threes.

For the record, nothing about three consecutive goalless draws is a good thing. That is not a charm, that is a warning. We are backing it anyway.

Juventus are in control of this fixture and Milan are contributing very little going forward. If it does break open, one-nil or two-nil to Juventus covers it. If it does not, we get paid for watching two teams refuse to take a risk in front of 75,000 people.

Expect more incident in the stands than on the pitch. This is a defensive Italian evening you watch purely because of the two badges involved.

Picks: Under 2.5 Goals. 0-0, Correct Score, small stake.

Ajax v PSV - The Antidote to Italian Football

Straight from a game where nothing happens to a game where everything does. Ajax have 13 goals in three matches. PSV have 11 in two. Between them that is a lot of attacking and not a lot of evidence that either side can defend.

Ajax also have a forward in the sort of run that decides matches: four goals in his last three appearances. He is the reason Ajax are the prime suspect, the prime bet and the prime team to follow.

PSV lost 4-0 in the Super Cup, which looks alarming until you notice the early red card and the standard of the fixtures either side of it. We are not calling 5-4. We are calling 3-2 or 3-1, and we are calling it for Ajax.

Picks: Over 3.5 Goals. Both Teams to Score. Ajax, Full Time Result.

Athletic Club v Atletico de Madrid - Tight, Low, and Not Decided by Geometry

One of us tried to build a case here out of a triangle. Athletic lost to Sevilla, Atletico beat Sevilla, therefore Atletico beat Athletic. We are told this is called the circle of truth, upgraded to a triangle because three teams are involved. It is not analysis. It is shapes.

The venue is the stronger argument. San Mames has historically produced tight, low-scoring contests, and both these sides have defended well even when results have gone against them. Athletic have taken two defeats already and picked up a win, which is not the platform you want against this opposition.

Atletico are unbeaten, have a couple of wins and a draw, and have new players who will only get sharper. They can take this one. They will not take it in a shootout.

Picks: Atletico de Madrid, Double Chance. Under 2.5 Goals.

Valencia v Barcelona - One Goal in Three Games Is Not a Plan

Valencia have scored one goal in three games. One. Barcelona have an aggregate score of 20-2 in this fixture since the current manager took charge.

We spent part of our two minutes debating whether Lamine Yamal had a fantastic World Cup or merely a good one, which is an absurd conversation to have about someone this young. He is 18 and has already played roughly 50 La Liga games. At 18 most of us were doing homework badly.

Spain were quiet in front of goal in general, so we will not be too harsh. None of it changes the shape of this match. Barcelona keep a clean sheet, Barcelona win comfortably, and we buy back the time we wasted on that triangle.

Picks: Barcelona, Full Time Result. Barcelona to Win to Nil.

Verdict

The strongest line on the card is Both Teams to Score at the Emirates, backed by an 18-game run without a clean sheet. The most fun is Ajax v PSV, where both defences have already agreed to make it entertaining. The most likely to embarrass us is a third straight 0-0 in Turin, and we accept that.