Some 18 of the 24 teams that will make up next year’s Championship have experience in the Premier League, and every one of them will harbour a belief that they are capable of securing a return in the near future.

But some are closer than others, and it is Leicester, who last graced the top level of English football in 2004, that are fancied as the favourites to earn promotion back to the Premier League, priced at 2/1.

The Foxes have assembled a strong squad during the close season and look easily capable of overcoming the disappointment of missing out on the play-offs last term.

Expect former Everton man Jermaine Beckford to be at the forefront of City’s attacking threat, although they do appear short of other strike options at this relatively early stage of transfer window period.

Of the three teams relegated at the end of last season, it’s Bolton who many believe have the best chance of bouncing back at the first attempt.

In Owen Coyle, the Trotters have a manager who already has a Premier League promotion on his CV, and that experience at the top of the club should not be underestimated, to the extent that their 9/4 price seems rather generous.

Wolves endured a torrid time in the Premier League last season and their relegation back to the league they climbed out of three years ago appeared nailed on from an early stage of the campaign.

The club disposed of interim manager Terry Connor at the end of the 2011/12 campaign in favour of recruiting a relative unknown to oversee first team affairs, and what they hope will be a successful campaign in the Championship.

Stalle Solbakken is the man who’s been tasked with leading Wolves’ march back to the Premier League and, at odds of 11/4, they are fancied to be in the mix at the end of the season.

Solbakken made six appearances for Wimbledon in the 1997/98 season, but his lack of experience of the English game beyond that brief spell could hinder the Molineux outfit’s hopes of bouncing back at the first attempt.

Blackburn, meanwhile, have kept their faith in Steve Kean, who will be under great pressure from the club’s Indian owners to bring Premier League football back to Ewood Park.

But at 7/2 they are not fancied to be in the box seat for one of the three promotion places up for grabs, and it is difficult to see the 1994/95 Premier League Champions coasting to success next year.

Outside of those four, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United will head into the new season with renewed hope of sealing what their supporters believe is a long overdue return to one of Europe’s elite competitions.

The two clubs have proud histories at the summit of English football, but those memories of success in major competitions are becoming more and more distant.

Both teams head into the campaign under new managers, and it is Neil Warnock’s Leeds who have a particularly strong chance of defying their 4/1 price and earning promotion.

Warnock has masterminded countless promotions during his managerial career and knows exactly what it takes to turn also-rans into genuine promotion contenders.

Forest, on the other hand, opted to appoint a less well-known name following the departure of Steve Cotterill.

Former Doncaster Rovers supremo Sean O’Driscoll has been plucked from relative obscurity at Crawley and given the opportunity to earn a place in City Ground folklore by leading the team back to the Premier League.

At 7/2, they are expected to at least make the play-offs, but O’Driscoll’s lack of experience at the top end of English football’s second tier could prevent Forest from taking that final step and earning promotion.

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Malaga v Real Madrid 7pm

When you think about Malaga you think about sun, sea, the Costa del Sol and fights over sun loungers. What doesn’t spring to mind is a football club looking to become the biggest in Spain. However, that is exactly what Malaga CF are looking to do following the takeover of Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani last season.

The Andalusian outfit are now one of the richest clubs in the world and flexed their financial muscle in the summer by bringing in the likes of Jeremy Toulalan, Joaquin, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Santi Cazorla. With a star-studded squad at his disposal former Real boss Manuel Pellegrini will now look to overthrow the club his current employers are desperate to emulate.

Malaga are 11/2 to get the win, with Real 4/9 and the draw 7/2 in the match betting. You might expect Real to be shorter given the way they have been playing since a 1-0 defeat to surprise package Levante in September. The longer the season goes the better Jose Mourinho’s men look, scoring over three goals in each of their last five matches.

The ‘Special One’ has got the likes of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema all singing from the same hymn sheet finally and they look capable of challenging Barcelona this season. Both Ronaldo and Higuain have got seven goals in as many games and Real look capable of matching Barcelona’s deadliness in front of goal.

However, the most improved aspect of the team has been the defence. Whereas it use to be a case of outscoring the opposition, Mourinho has instilled into his players the need to keep it tight at the back.

With both of those aspects in mind Real to win at 11/10 with a minus one handicap looks a cracking bet. Malaga will be a force to be reckoned with soon enough but this will be a valuable lesson they’ll need to learn if they are to get to that level.

Barcelona v Sevilla 9pm

What can be said about Barcelona that hasn’t been done so already? The 2-0 win over Viktoria Plzen might not look much on paper but it contained another classic goal scored by Andres Iniesta which is well worth digging out. At the Nou Camp this season they have been unstoppable, winning their four La Liga matches by a combined scoreline of 21-0. Sevilla should be the next victims but they won’t be pushovers.

New manager Marcelino Garcia Toral has hit the ground running with Sevilla and they are just one of three unbeaten sides left in the division. Their water-tight defensive unit has been their strength thus far with Toral’s men letting just one goal in during the past five matches.

That backline is likely to be sorely test on Saturday night but it shouldn’t be the kind of lop-sided result we are used to seeing at Barcelona. Totals goals between 2-3 could be a good bet at 6/5, with Barcelona’s odds of 1/6 to win the match offering no value. Barcelona will win but there could be some money to be made if Sevilla keep the scoreline down.

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Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs qualified for the major European  club competition after they beat Manchester City to fourth spot in the Premier League in the last campaign.

After beating Swiss side Young Boys in a qualifying the North London club find themselves amongst the biggest names in club football.

Redknapp has admitted that the Spanish giants Real and Barca will be difficult to beat after making additions to their squads over the summer.

He said: “If an English team won it this year it would be a real feat because the two Spanish teams look fantastic.

“With the strength of them this year, if you asked me who the favourites for the competition were, I’d have to say them.

“An English team doing it would be a real achievement but look who they have brought in, it’s scary,” he added.

There is an extra incentive for English teams to reach the final of this year’s Champions League, with the final of the competition being played at Wembley this season.

Spurs (9/1 to win the FA Cup) will be competing with Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Rangers as the British clubs in the tournament.

Redknapp is hoping his players will learn plenty from playing the best clubs in the world with the likes of Inter Milan in Tottenham’s group.

He said: “For us it’s great experience, something new and different. It’s great for the club and the players.”

“When they play that music it is fantastic. It’s something you always dream of and to be involved in it is brilliant,” he added.

The former West Ham United manager will be hoping that creative midfielder Luka Modric will be available for selection for Tottenham’s away trip to Werder Bremen.

Modric picked up an injury which forced him from the field during his side’s 1-1 draw with West Brom at the Hawthorns on Saturday.

The Croatian had to watch the rest of the match on crutches from the sidelines and looks like a doubt to playing in the big midweek match in Germany.

Spurs have had their fair share of injury problems despite it being the early stages of the season with Jermaine Defoe, Michael Dawson, Heurelho Gomes and Jonathan Woodgate all out through injury.

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