Top games to stream this week

• Premier League:

Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal – Friday, August 5, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Everton vs. Chelsea – Saturday, August 6, 12:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. BST

Manchester United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion – Sunday, August 7, 9 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. BST

• Bundesliga:

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich – Friday, August 5, 2:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. BST

Union Berlin vs. Hertha Berlin – Saturday, August 6, 9:30 a.m. ET / 2:20 p.m. BST

Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Leverkusen – Saturday, August 6, 12:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. BST

• Ligue 1:

Lyon vs. Ajaccio – Friday, August 5, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

Clermont vs. Paris Saint-Germain – Saturday, August 6, 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST

• Brasileirão Serie A:

Juventude vs. América MG – Saturday, August 6, 3:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. BST

Avaí vs. Corinthians – Saturday, August 6, 6 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. BST

São Paulo vs. Flamengo – Saturday, August 6, 7:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. BST

Stream football games online with a VPN

Football. Soccer. The Beautiful Game. Whatever you call it, it’s in full swing—and just as exciting as ever! Find out how to watch Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Manchester United, Lionel Messi lining up alongside Neymar at PSG, plus every Premier League game, El Classico, and Champions League showdown. Don’t miss a minute as you securely stream with ExpressVPN!

For die-hard fans, the weekends just aren’t the same without the thrills and spills of watching your favorite team, heated local derbies, and showdowns between the best players. So let’s take a look at the biggest storylines shaping up in the major football leagues around Europe and the world. 

England

Premier League

Current champion: Manchester City

The fierce competition of the Premier League is what makes it one of the world’s most exciting leagues. This season’s title race looks wide open—Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool all have a decent shot at dethroning the current champion, Manchester City. With Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United and Romelu Lukaku back to Chelsea, two prodigal sons have returned and wasted no time banging in the goals. 

FA Cup

Current champion: Leicester City

England’s top knockout competition never fails to entertain, with several underdogs beating the more prominent teams at various stages. Given their rough start to the season, current champion Leicester doesn’t seem likely to repeat, especially given Manchester City’s depth, and that this is supposedly Pep Guardiola’s final season at City. 

France

Ligue 1

Current champion: Lille

Lille’s 2-1 victory over Angers on the final day to lift the Ligue 1 trophy ended years of dominance by Paris Saint-Germain. However, PSG reloaded in the summer, adding Lionel Messi to a lethal forward line of Kylian Mbappé and Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Neymar—and it’s now hard to look past the Parisians for the title this season.

Coupe de France

Current champion: PSG

PSG truly looks like France’s dominant team again this season, so we expect to see the Parisians in the final of the domestic cup. However, don’t discount wild cards like Monaco, Marseille, or Nice to snatch the cup. 

Germany

Bundesliga

Current champion: Bayern Munich

Can anyone beat Bayern Munich to lift the Meisterschale? One team might be Borussia Dortmund, which possesses one of the league’s top finishers, Erling Haaland. Bayern’s new manager, Julian Nagelsmann, guided RB Leipzig to second place last season, so it will be interesting to see how both teams fare this time around. 

DFB-Pokal

Current champion: Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich is naturally the favorite for the German domestic knockout cup. Still, Bayern Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and Eintracht Frankfurt have reached the finals in recent years—and Borussia Dortmund is the current champion. 

Italy

Serie A

Current champions: Inter Milan

The Italians are known for their flair and passion, and Serie A is no different this season. Inter Milan needs to remain focused to defend its title, with Massimiliano Allegri back in the manager’s seat at Juventus and Jose Mourinho hoping to revitalize AS Roma’s title ambitions. But don’t count out Napoli or AC Milan from sneaking into the title race. 

Coppa Italia

Current champions: Juventus

Allegri guided Juventus to four Coppa Italia trophies between 2014 and 2019, and the defending champions have to be the favorite again this year.

Spain

La Liga

Current champions: Atlético Madrid

Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid shed no tears at Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona after 21 trophy-laden years. Can new Barcelona manager and hometown hero Xavi rebuild the team in time to challenge for La Liga? Will Karim Benzema continue his fine form in front of goal for Real? Or will Diego Simeone, reunited with forward Antoine Griezmann (who played his best football under Simeone at Atlético), capitalize to defend the title? 

Follow all the La Liga storylines and top games by securely streaming the games with a VPN.

Copa del Rey

Current champions: Barcelona

Barcelona routed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in last season’s Copa del Rey final, disappointing fans of the Basque team. But there’s always a chance for a plucky underdog in Spain’s hotly contested domestic cup to create an upset.

Find out how to securely stream the best Copa del Rey games.

Brazil

Brasileirão Série A

Current champions: Atlético Mineiro

Joga bonito—“the beautiful game”—is at the heart of Brazilian football, where style, flair, and individual brilliance are almost as important as the final result. Going into the 2022 season, Atlético Mineiro and Flamengo—the two most recent champions—were the betting favorites for the Série A title, but Palmeiras have so far been riding their luck up the table to make a title challenge. 

Find out how to securely stream Brasileirão Série A games.

Major European competitions 

UEFA Champions League

Current champions: Chelsea

Europe’s premier mid-week competition has produced truly unforgettable games and moments as the best teams across the continent go head to head. Cristiano Ronaldo will back himself to take Manchester United deep in the competition, as will Robert Lewandowski’s Bayern Munich. Neither Paris Saint-Germain (now boasting Lionel Messi in its ranks) nor Manchester City has ever won the coveted trophy—and both teams are set up for an almighty push this season.

Never miss a crucial Champions League fixture—find out the best ways to stream the games.  

UEFA Europa League

Current holders: Villareal

After the Champions League, the Europa League is the continent’s next-best mid-week fix of top teams competing for silverware. Manager Unai Emery won his fourth Europa League title last season, guiding Villareal to victory over Manchester United. Top teams in the competition this season include Marseille, Lazio, Napoli, and Bayern Leverkusen.

Can Lazio go all the way to the final of this season’s Europa League? Find out how to stream all the games.

UEFA Europa Conference League

The Europa Conference League is the continent’s third-tier competition and its inaugural champion will be crowned on May 25 when José Mourinho’s AS Roma takes on Rotterdam club Feyenoord at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania. Both sides have a chance to make history as Roma chases its first piece of European silverware (and a fifth European title for Mourinho), while Feyenoord could become the first club to win all three UEFA competitions, having won the Champions League in 1970 and the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 1974 and 2002. 

Our favorite way to watch: The game is free to stream on the BT Sport YouTube channel for viewers in the UK and Ireland. 

UEFA Nations League

Current champion: Portugal

Europe’s newest cup competition is a chance to see new national rivalries emerge, so make sure you know how to securely stream all the best games. Who else but Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines last season, firing Portugal into the finals where they edged out the Netherlands, becoming the inaugural Nations League champions.

See all the best streaming options for Nations League games so you can see who becomes its second-ever champion.

Africa 

Africa Cup of Nations

Current champions: Algeria

Africa’s premier competition takes place every two years, pitting the best talent from across the continent against each other. Egypt is the tournament’s most successful team with seven African Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles and has Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah among its ranks. However, neighboring Algeria is the reigning champion and looks in lethal form. Nigeria and Ghana are always teams to watch, with several players plying their trade for Europe’s top clubs. The beauty of tournament football is that any underdog can have its day: Cape Verde has a history of upsetting the bigger teams, while AFCON newcomers Comoros could produce some David vs. Goliath-style headlines.

Don’t forget to use your VPN to securely stream the games from broadcasters including beIN Sports and fuboTV.

Women’s football

England

FA Women’s Super League

Current champions: Chelsea

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, women’s soccer has plenty of excitement for fans of the Beautiful Game. In England’s Women’s Super League, Chelsea won its fourth title last season, in a close race with Manchester City, but expect Arsenal, and Manchester United to push them this time around.

Watch Women’s Super League games live through UK broadcaster Sky Sports Football, Premier League, and Main Event. 

United States

National Women’s Soccer League

Current champions: North Carolina Courage

The success of the US women’s national soccer team (four Women’s World Cups, four Olympic gold medals) is predicated on the talent nurtured in its national competition, where past stars like Mia Hamm inspired a generation of players like OL Reign captain Megan Rapinoe and Orlando Pride’s Alex Morgan. Analysts predict a close race this season between OL Reign and the Portland Thorns—and big things from up-and-coming players like Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman (daughter of NBA star Dennis Rodman). 

Paramount Plus lets you stream the National Women’s Soccer League—including the Challenge Cup—and offers a seven-day free trial.

Major European competitions

UEFA Women’s Euro 2022

Current champions: Netherlands

Five years on from the last edition of the tournament, the UEFA Women’s Euro is back to live stream this summer. The Netherlands are the defending champions but England’s Lionesses will be looking to claim their first major trophy on home soil. Germany holds the record with eight titles, but expect stiff competition from Spain and France, who both have strong squads. Catch all the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 action with live streams of all of the tournament’s 31 matches, taking place in 10 stadiums across England.

2022-23 football seasons