Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen should provide the most attacking fireworks in the first weekend of play in three of Europe's top-five leagues.
Dortmund and Leverkusen played two of the most exciting games in the Bundesliga last season. Dortmund won a 4-3 shootout in September and Leverkusen picked up a 5-2 victory in February.
The previous nine Bundesliga meetings between the clubs have had at least three goals, which is why the Over 2.5 has a monumentally high value at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Instead of paying up for the over, we should look at goal scorer props for both teams since every player sits above even money.
Dortmund no longer has Erling Haaland up top and Sebastian Haller is sidelined for a few months, but there are some newer pieces in the attack that could break out against Leverkusen, who possess one of the league's top scorers in Patrik Schick.
Dortmund-Leverkusen is the marquee match from the Premier League and Bundesliga's returns, but two other matches should have the attention of American soccer fans and there is value to be found in those contests.
Soccer Selections
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Same Game Parlay
Patrik Schick & Donyell Malen To Score (+425)
Patrik Schick To Score (+140)
Donyell Malen To Score (+200)
Dortmund and Leverkusen come into Saturday's Bundesliga opener in two very different veins of form.
Dortmund cruised to a 3-0 win over 1860 Munich in the DFB Pokal, while Leverkusen lost 4-3 to Elversberg in a match that delivered zero confidence about the team's early-season hopes in the Bundesliga.
We are sure of one thing about Leverkusen and that is that Patrik Schick will score a ton of goals, as long as he is healthy, and he could contend for the Golden Boot with Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland out of the Bundesliga.
Dortmund's back line is expected to be better this season, but it may take some time to gel since Niklas Sule suffered an injury last weekend. Nico Schlotterbeck will be an upgrade in the back, but Schick should still trouble him and Mats Hummels in the final third.
Dortmund has a nice collection of attacking talent, even without Haller, with Donyell Malen, Marco Reus and new signing Karim Adeyimi. I was torn between the two experienced options in Malen and Reus to score, but I went with Malen because he found the back of the net last weekend.
Reus may be forced into more of a creator role with Malen, Adeyimi and potentially Youssofa Moukoko on the pitch. Reus could score, but I'm banking on Malen leading the forward line in a game that should have plenty of chances.
Adding the Over 2.5 goals, or betting that on its own, does not make sense this week because of its mercurial price, so I'm comfortable with taking the two goal scorers together and on their own.
Dortmund probably has the edge in the game because Leverkusen's defense looked horrible in the DFB Pokal, but I'm not comfortable with trusting an improved Dortmund defense until I see it firsthand.
Leeds United (+130) vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, Peacock)
All eyes on this side of the Atlantic Ocean will be on Leeds United on Saturday.
Leeds had plenty of roster turnover in the summer. Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha were moved on to bigger clubs and Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson were brought in to morph Leeds into more of a Jesse Marsch-style club.
The one thing that did not change is the attacking force with Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison patrolling the final third.
The presences of Bamford and Harrison up top, and the addition of Aaronson, will be the key to Leeds unlocking the Wolverhampton Wanderers defense at Elland Road on Saturday.
Leeds has the clear advantage at forward. Wolves are dealing with the injury absence of Raul Jimenez and they are still in the process of filling out their squad.
Leeds' roster is more complete at this point of the summer and the club should use Saturday as a chance to flex what it is capable of at home against a squad still under construction.
Union Berlin (-140) vs. Hertha Berlin (Saturday, 9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+)
American soccer fans will need two screens on at once on Saturday morning.
While most of the attention is on the Leeds project, there is buzz around Union Berlin because of the arrival of Jordan Pefok from Young Boys in Switzerland.
Pefok, who is listed as Jordan Siebatcheu on the Union roster and for sportsbook props, scored in Union Berlin's DFB Pokal win over lower-league Chemnitzer FC and he was part of a handful of other scoring chances.
Union Berlin looked like a team hitting its mid-season stride in the DFB Pokal. That could be because of the level of its opponent, or because of the chemistry already developing in the final third.
On the other hand, Hertha Berlin was knocked out of the DFB Pokal on penalties last week and gave up four goals before the match went to spot kicks.
Union Berlin has the better team going into the season and it had some of the best home defense in Germany last season. Union was tied for the third-fewest goals conceded at home, while Hertha gave up the second-most goals on the road.