Plymouth Hosts The Devon Derby To Open A New League Cup

Both clubs open the new Primeira Liga season looking to move past disappointing finishes: Santa Clara ended 13th a year ago, Nacional 14th. Santa Clara enters in the better shape, unbeaten through a five-game preseason with four wins, 12 goals scored and only two conceded, momentum that carried over from a late-season rescue under manager Petit, who collected 19 points from his first 14 games after arriving in February.

Nacional's preseason was choppier, one win in four completed fixtures, and the club now has to replace Jesus Ramirez, who scored 18 league goals last season before signing with newly promoted Turkish side Corum FK. Losing an 18-goal scorer in the same summer as a mixed preseason is a difficult combination for a road opener.

Santa Clara has also won the head-to-head recently, taking a 2-0 decision at this same venue the last time the two clubs met. The Azores have been a tough trip for Nacional, and nothing about this offseason suggests that changes on round one.

Three matches into the new Russian Premier League season, neither club has found a win. Akhmat Grozny sits 12th of 16 with two draws and a loss, two goals scored and three conceded. Fakel Voronezh is even further back at 15th, one draw and two losses, three goals scored against five allowed.

Fakel is the more porous of the two defensively, having already conceded five in three matches, and hosting a club that has at least avoided a loss in two of its three outings puts real early pressure on a Fakel side that needs a result at home to avoid an early gap to the pack.

Neither team has shown the finishing touch so far, combining for just five goals across six total matches this season. A tight, low-event match is the likeliest shape for two sides still searching for their first win of the campaign.

Three games into the Danish Superliga season, Silkeborg sits seventh of twelve with a 1-1-1 record, three goals scored and four allowed. Odense is right behind in eighth, 1-0-2 with just one goal scored and two conceded, the lowest scoring output of the two clubs so far.

Silkeborg's extra point from a second draw gives it a slight cushion in a league where the top six splits off for a championship round later in the season, and every early point carries weight in that race. Odense's single goal across three matches is the number that stands out here. A club averaging a third of a goal a game needs its finishing to improve quickly to keep pace with a Silkeborg side that has scored in every match so far.

Home advantage sits with Silkeborg, which has the better goal difference and the more balanced record of the two clubs three weeks into the season.