Football Predictions | SoccerAss

4/1 Serie A title contenders Juventus are muscling their way into a crowd of European clubs chasing Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko.

Dzeko has been linked with a move to Manchester City, but Juve’s general director Giuseppe Motta remains confident of landing the Serbian marksman who scored 22 Bundesliga goals last season.

“Dzeko is a dream that is not going away,” Marotta said. “He is a target that we will continue to follow until it is possible.”

Fiorentina midfielder Stevan Jovetic, meanwhile, has distanced himself from rumours linking him to Barcelona, who are 3/1 favourites to win the Champions League.

Roma defender Philippe Mexes is another Serie A player in demand, and Zenit St Petersburg have offered €14m for the French centre-back. Roma finished second in last season’s Serie A, and they are 4/1 to win the title this time around.

Elsewhere in Europe, one of the stars of the World Cup, Asamoah Gyan, is highly sought-after, though his French club Rennes will not let him leave without a struggle.

The Ghanaian forward has attracted interest from Galatasaray and Tottenham among others, and his employers at Rennes are unlikely to sell their prized asset for anything less than €10m.

An orderly queue appears to be forming for the signature of Lyon striker Loic Remy, with Liverpool and West Ham pushing their way to the front.

The Hammers have reportedly bid €13.5m for the French forward, which makes them the early favourites to land the much coveted 23-year-old.

Priced at 9/4 to be relegated, West Ham are many people’s tip to drop down to the Championship this season, though if they can snaffle a goalscoring star such as Remy, Upton Park should be hosting Premier League football for a long time yet.

Who will be the top European side this season? AC Milan are 18/1 to win the Champions League. See the full UEFA Champions League market.

Pre-season friendlies are typically more difficult to predict than an Ian Holloway post-match interview.

However, with the right knowledge, they offer a good opportunity to profit before the season proper has even begun.

They are also a way to see your club’s transfer targets in action ahead of any proposed move – and Tuesday evening’s encounter between Steve McClaren’s VfL Wolfsbury and Greek champions Panathinaikos does just that.

The match kicks off at the Volkswagen Arena at 6.05pm, with the German team 11/10 favourites to win the game, while the away side are 2/1 to come out on top. The draw is 11/5.

Wolfsburg snapped up Mario Mandzukic from Dinamo Zagreb on Friday, and the the 24-year-old Croatian striker is likely to play some part in the match, potentially alonsgside Manchester City target Edin Dzeko.

Boss McClaren said: “In our system, it’s important that the strikers are flexible and it’s also important that he can score goals.”

By winning their national league Panathinaikos have qualified for the group stages of the Champions League (which they are 150/1 to win) and will provide a good gauge of where Wolfsburg are.

Having won the Dutch title with FC Twente last year, McClaren is a tempting 5/1 to do the same with Wolfsburg before the end of 2014.

A more short-term aim is the guide Wolfsburg, who won the Bundesliga in 2009, back to the Champions League, an 11/4 chance for next season, after finishing eighth last time out.

Panathinaikos are hit-and-miss on their European travels, having won two and lost two of their previous four such trips.

One win was a notable 3-2 victory over Roma in the Stadio Olimpico and that result is 25/1. With Sidney Govou arriving from Lyon earlier this month, it is not out of the question in a free-flowing friendly.

However, expect McClaren to have drilled his defence well and a clean-sheet win is likely. 1-0 to the German team is 7/1.

Wolfsburg lost 1-0 at home to Fulham last term. A repeat here is 7/1. See the full Wolfsburg v Panathinaikos match betting market.

The extent of Barcelona’s financial problems is becoming more apparent by the day, as Pep Guardiola has admitted that players have left against his wishes.

The Champions League-winning coach has said that he wanted Yaya Toure to stay, and he referred to the midfielder’s move to Manchester City as a “big blow” for the Catalan club.

Barcelona are 4/5 favourites to win La Liga this season, though the loss of players such as Toure could harm the squad’s strength in depth.

“I did everything possible to get him to stay and he’s a popular player in the dressing room,” Guardiola said of Toure. “But he wanted to leave and there’s not much I could do.”

Toure left for Eastlands to secure regular first-team football, which became increasingly scarce for him at Barcelona, despite playing an integral role in their title-winning side.

Another big name player who struggled to force himself into first-team recognition was Ukrainian centre-back Dmytro Chygrynskiy.

Chygrynskiy joined Barca in a €25m deal from Shakhtar Donetsk last year, but he rejoined Shakhtar for €15m earlier this summer, and Guardiola was again sad to see the player go.

“My opinion counts, but the needs of the club go above that and that’s why he was sold,” said Guardiola. “I would like to have kept him.”

Chygrynskiy was a very useful squad player, and his departure could hit Barca’s European hopes. They are 3/1 to win the Champions League.

Of Rafael Marquez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Guardiola said that the players would decide their own futures, hinting that both could be heading for the exit at the Camp Nou.

Who could pip Barcelona to European glory? Arsenal are 16/1 to win the Champions League. See the full UEFA Champions League market.