The start of the Premier League season is now just a few weeks away and preparations for the new campaign are gathering pace.
Top teams are involved in key pre-season friendlies over the next week with highlights including Chelsea taking on Serie A giants Juventus and Aston Villa facing Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Here, we take a look at some of the fixtures taking place this week as teams look to finalise their plans and tactics for the big kick-off.
Leeds vs Liverpool (9pm, Sunday)
Soldier Field, Chicago will be the venue for Leeds taking on Liverpool in their final game of their US tours.
All eyes will be on how the Reds are lining up under their new manager Andoni Iraola and the Spaniard will have been delighted to see his team beat Sunderland 4-2 before gaining a 1-0 success over Championship side Wrexham.
Leeds lost to the Welsh outfit before overcoming the Black Cats, but the Reds look to be on a roll and are expected to come out on top.
Score prediction: Leeds 1-2 Liverpool
Chelsea vs Juventus (12.30pm, Wednesday)
Having played Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham on their visit to Australia, Chelsea head to Hong Kong to take on Juventus.
Striker Joao Pedro scored a hat-trick in the 6-4 win over the Wanderers, but this game promises to be a lot tighter as Juventus have kept three clean sheets in their summer friendlies against Basel, Standard Liege and Nice.
Score prediction: Chelsea 1-0 Juventus
Arsenal vs Real Betis (7.30pm, Wednesday)
After a trip to Spain to take on Girona, Dublin will welcome Premier League champions Arsenal for a clash against LaLiga outfit, Real Betis, on Wednesday.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta looks set to get minutes in the legs of some of his players who were not involved in the later stages of the World Cup, but Betis will be confident they can make their mark after beating Ligue 1 outfit Lyon 4-0.
Score prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Real Betis
Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich (1pm, Friday)
Aston Villa will remain in the Far East after games against an Indonesia All-Stars team and Thailand’s Pathum United, when they take on Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Vincent Kompany’s side will expect a tougher test than they got in their 15-0 win over Rottach-Egern and with a Super Cup game against Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon, Villa could be at the top of their game.
Score prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Bayern Munich
Valencia vs Newcastle (8pm, August 8)
Newcastle are having to get used to life without manager Eddie Howe after he resigned from the St James’ Park hotseat on Thursday.
The Magpies, who have also seen some of their star players head out of the door, are expected to hand the reins to German coach Matthias Jaissle.
It would not be a surprise if Newcastle fail to hit the ground running after such a week of turmoil and with the temptation there to experiment, they may not gain a win when they head to Valencia.
Score prediction: Valencia 2-0 Newcastle
