Everything you need to know about the return of the European leagues from the World Cup break

The unique timing of the World Cup means there is not much pause between the end of the tournament and the resumption of league football around the world.

Some leagues even started playing before the World Cup was over. The English League Championship resumed last week and the Carabao Cup quarter-finals began on Tuesday.

With the Premier League being the first of Europe’s five major leagues to resume play on Monday, we felt a refresher course was needed on the state of affairs in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain after each a month of international football had seen. Here’s a quick refresher ahead of club football’s return.

All odds via BetMGM.

The English Premier League

The league resumes on December 26th

Premier League table

1. Arsenal, 37 points

2.Manchester City, 32

3. Newcastle, 30

4. Tottenham, 29

5. Manchester United, 26

chances of winning the championship

chances of relegation

• Bournemouth (-175)

• Nottingham Forest (-175)

• Wolves (-110)

• Everton (+165)

• Southampton (+175)

what you need to know

Leaders Arsenal will be without star striker Gabriel Jesus for a while with a knee injury in Brazil’s game against Cameroon. Jesus underwent surgery earlier this month. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will be rested as Norway was absent from the World Cup. Newcastle could be active after their hot start in the January transfer market as they chase Champions League football. Manchester United ranked second only to Manchester City in the number of minutes their players played at the World Cup. Both teams could rotate their teams heavily in the coming weeks.

French League 1

The league resumes on December 28th

league table

1. PSG, 41 points

2nd lens, 36

3. Stade Rennais, 31

4.Marseille, 30

5.Lorient, 28

chances of winning the championship

• PSG (-10000)

• Lens (+2500)

• Rennais Stadium (+3300)

• Marseilles (+4000)

• Monaco (+10000)

chances of relegation

• Trouble (-400)

• Auxerre (-250)

• AC Ajaccio (-135)

• Brest (+135)

• Montpellier (+160)

The story goes on

what you need to know

It seems likely that PSG will play a game or two without Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi after their epic World Cup runs. That would give Neymar the keys to attack. Only Mbappe (12) has scored more than Neymar’s 11 league goals in 14 games. Lens have not lost a single home game this season in their bid to keep up with PSG and the two teams drew 1-1 earlier this season. Stade Rennais has the second best goal difference in the league behind PSG.

Spanish league

League resumes on December 30th

league table

1.Barcelona, ​​37 points

2.Real Madrid, 35

3.Real Sociedad, 26

4. Athletics Club, 24

5. Atlético Madrid, 24

chances of winning the championship

• Barcelona (-190)

• Real Madrid (+150)

• Atlético Madrid (+10000)

• Athletic Bilbao (+15000)

• Real Sociedad (+15000)

chances of relegation

• Moose (-2000)

• Cadiz (-200)

• Getafe (+165)

• Almeria (+200)

• Espanol (+250)

what you need to know

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid have only lost once in their first 14 games. The only difference between them is that Real Madrid have two ties with Barcelona. Karim Benzema was set to return to Real Madrid soon after missing the entire World Cup and manager Carlo Ancelotti said this week he will remain at Real Madrid until his contract expires in June 2024 after being linked with the Brazilian job . Robert Lewandowski has scored 13 goals in Barcelona’s 14 games while Ousmane Dembélé is trying to maintain his strong World Cup form.

Italian Serie A

The league resumes on January 4th

league table

1. Napoli, 41 points

2. AC Milan, 33

3.Juve, 31

4. Lazio, 30

5. Inter Milan, 30

chances of winning the championship

• Naples (-250)

• AC Milan (+550)

• Inter Milan (+650)

• Juventus (+650)

• Lazio (+2500)

chances of relegation

• Cremonese (-400)

• Hella Verona (-250)

• Samdoria (-250)

• Spezia Calcio (+150)

• Lecce (+200)

what you need to know

Napoli are eight points ahead of second thanks to 13 wins and two draws in 15 games. Victor Osimhen has scored nine goals in 11 games while 21-year-old Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Georgia has recorded six goals and five assists in 12 appearances. Juventus have conceded a league-low seven goals in 15 games but are 10 points adrift as they have scored just 24 goals – 13 fewer than Napoli and the fewest of any team in the top five. Only 6 points separate AC Milan from seventh-placed Roma. With the top four teams progressing to the Champions League, it could be an intriguing 2023 even if Napoli walks away with the title.

German Bundesliga

The league resumes on January 20th

league table

1. Bayern Munich, 34 points

2 SC Freiburg, 30

3. RB Leipzig, 28

4. Eintracht Frankfurt, 27

5. Union Berlin, 27

chances of winning the championship

chances of relegation

• Schalke (-500)

• VfL Bochum (-165)

• Augsburg (+135)

• Hertha BSC (+250)

• VfB Stuttgart (+350)

what you need to know

As you can see, the odds makers are bullish on another Bayern Munich league title. If FC Bayern wins again, then without GK Manuel Neuer. He broke his leg while skiing after the World Cup and will be out for the rest of the season. Bayern’s goal difference is +36. Freiburg’s is +8. Dortmund have the third-best chance of winning the league despite being in seventh place and five points adrift of second place. Dortmund could be tempted to sell Jude Bellingham in January after his strong World Cup performance, or they could try to wait for a strong offer during the summer transfer window.