Before then we have eight weeks to weigh up whether our teams will win their opening matches, what will happen when they face the top sides and whether that last game will matter. With that in mind we look at all four professional leagues in England and give our early season predictions.

Premier League

It is tough to look beyond Manchester United after they managed to win the title last season without really breaking a sweat. While all other the sides around them stuttered Sir Alex Ferguson’s men kept their cool and broke Liverpool’s league record. With United looking to improve their options during the summer they should come back stronger than last season. United are the 13/8 favourites and might be worth backing now before the price comes in. The fixtures computer has been kind to Ferguson’s team as well, as they end the season with games against Swansea and Sunderland.

The usual contenders will be there or there abouts and the title fight could come down to the two Manchester clubs if City can continue to bring in the best players the world has to offer. Roberto Mancini’s men are 10/3, while last season’s runners up Chelsea are 5/2. Look beyond that and you get to Arsenal, who look to be a club in turmoil and without too much hope at this stage of the summer. They are priced at 7/1.

Championship

As always with the second tier of English football you could put a pin in a board and come up with a case for why the team you picked at random could go up. Your best bet here might to stay away from the outright market and look towards the promotion odds. West Ham lead the way in the promotion betting at 13/8 and it’s tough to see how Sam Allardyce won’t get them back up if he is allowed to do his job. They may not fly out of the blocks with all the changes that have taken place, but should come good given enough time and support. As for the other promoted clubs, Birmingham have big financial problems and it is unlikely lightening will strike twice at Blackpool.

Hull City might not be a bad outside bet to go up at 7/1. Nigel Pearson has been trying to put together his squad quickly and, having ended the season strongly, the Tigers could be the dark horses to shock the Championship again.

League One

Yorkshire should be the place to be for winners when it comes to League One, with Huddersfield Town the 5/1 outright favourites, Sheffield Wednesday 6/1 and Sheffield United 8/1. Most people would be surprised if at least one of those teams didn’t win the division given their history, although the Blades might find it tough given that this is the first time in a while they have been in the third tier. The Owls should get off to a flyer given their first three games are against Rochdale, Bournemouth and Bury, three clubs who shouldn’t do as well as last season. For an outside bet how about Exeter City – Paul Tisdale has been working his magic down in Devon for some time and they only just missed out on the play-offs by a point last season. The Grecians are 33/1.

League Two

As usual this division should be very close and again a pin in the board would probably pick you out a team you could make a case for.  Newly-promoted Crawley Town are the 10/3 favourites to win the league outright given the large amount of money they have to spend on new players. They might find the going a bit tougher than people are predicting though and Bristol Rovers (12/1) and Swindon Town (10/1) are two clubs who cannot be discounted. Based on their new recruits Oxford United (12/1) could also be ones to watch out for, Chris Wilder having acquitted himself and the club very well since their promotion in 2010.

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However, the league leaders Rangers can extend their two point lead at the top of the table as they travel to the chilly Highlands to take on Inverness CT.

The Old Firm side already have a game in hand over their arch rivals Celtic and could leave the Hoops trailing by five points come the end of the weekend.

Kenny Miller has been untouchable in Scotland’s top flight, scoring 18 goals in 14 games and is at 9/2 to bag two or more goals on Saturday.

However, Inverness have been a tough prospect at home and are the surprise package of the SPL so far this season.

They boast the second highest goalscorer in the league with the one and only Adam Rooney hitting the back of the net 11 times this term.

With the chance of pulling away from their foes before Christmas it’s hard to see Rangers letting this one slip and they should come out on top at the Caledonian Stadium.

Aberdeen could have a new man at the helm when they travel to the capital to face Hearts.

Craig Brown looks set to join the Dons having left his post at Motherwell on Thursday.

Things can only get better for the club under the former Scotland boss as they currently sit joint bottom on points with Hamilton.

Aberdeen have won two of their last 11 competitive games which have proven not be that competitive especially the 9-0 trouncing by Celtic at the start of November.

Hearts on the other hand had a great month as they beat city rivals Hibernian, Celtic, St Johnstone and Hamilton to have a perfect record for November.

The Edinburgh club should be comfortable at home even if the Dons have the Brown factor (Hearts 6/5 to be winning at half-time and full-time).

In the last of Saturday’s games, if the weather has not taken its toll, it’s the battle of the saints as St Mirren take on St Johnstone.

This is an important clash in the bottom half of the SPL table as only two points separate these sides as they sit just above the relegation zone.

St Mirren have struggled for goals in recent weeks as they have only managed to put the ball in the back of the net once in their last three outings.

St Johnstone came out on top in the last encounter between these two sides 2-1 but like their opponents have been on a poor run of form having only picked up one win in their last seven games.

This game is too close to call with neither side wanting to lose this one and neither team confident in front of goal (8/13 for there to be less than 2.5 goals in the game), this has got draw written all over it.

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Peter Crouch

The Tottenham marksman has edged out club colleague Jermain Defoe and Aston Villa forward Emile Heskey for the famous shirt, worn by England legends Nat Lofthouse and Sir Bobby Charlton at previous World Cup finals.

Crouch, 13/2 to be Top England Goalscorer, has got a better than one-in-two goal ratio for England – finding the net 21 times in 38 appearances, not all of them starts, and will be tough to dislodge from the starting line-up if he dovetails well with Wayne Rooney in the opening match.

Aaron Lennon (11/1) and Joe Cole (9/1 to be First Goalscorer v USA) could be in line to fill the wide berths in the opening match, with Lennon inheriting David Beckham’s number seven shirt and Cole taking the number eleven jersey.

Further clues to Capello’s starting line-up can be drawn from David James taking the number one shirt over rival goalkeepers Joe Hart and Robert Green while fitness doubt Gareth Barry has to make do with the number fourteen shirt.

Frank Lampard, who boasts 20 international goals from 78 matches, keeps the number eight he wears for Chelsea and could be a big price in the Top Premiership Scorer in World Cup 2010 market after his sensational season with the Blues.

Lampard (16/1) hit 22 goals from midfield last term, the same number as Argentina’s Carlos Tevez (14/1) and more than both Nicolas Anelka (11/1) and Fernando Torres (4/1).

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