This article is part of our Soccer Picks series.
Leicester City (0-1-2) over Crystal Palace (0-1-2)
Crystal Palace and Leicester City enter this meeting with one point each, earning draws against Chelsea and Tottenham, respectively. There's only been three matches and neither side has started in great form. This was expected from Leicester, who have a new manager in Steve Cooper and were promoted from the Championship, but Palace closed last season as one of the better teams under Oliver Glasner.
The most glaring issue for Palace has been their inability to create and score following the departure of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich. Eberechi Eze has been trying to do it all, taking 15 shots with five on target, while no one else on the team has topped five. Their back line has also had an early-season makeover following the exit of Joachim Anderson and injury to new signing Chadi Riad.
Similar to West Ham a couple weeks ago, Leicester will hope to benefit from these questions in the Palace side. Despite Palace being favored, they're far from the team that ended last season unbeaten in their final six and as long as Leicester can keep Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta from getting going early, a chance for a Jamie Vardy winner is always possible for the away side.
Osasuna (2-1-1) over Rayo Vallecano (1-1-2)
Osasuna and new manager Vincente Moreno are looking for their first away points of the season in a trip to Vallecano. Osasuna are coming off an impressive win against Celta Vigo, while Rayo lost in a disappointing effort against Espanyol last time out. Outside of Barcelona, every team in La Liga has lacked consistency week to week, which means upsets are always in play.
The tactics of Osasuna will be key Monday with a less aggressive approach than Rayo, as they prefer a slow build-up behind stout defending. If that works and they don't allow a first-half goal, that could eventually force Rayo out of position, leaving the counterattack open for Osasuna. Following an ugly result at Girona in their last away match, a trip to Vallecano figures to be a much better chance for points.
Since a surprising win at Real Sociedad in their opener, Rayo have stumbled a bit, scoring just two goals in their last three matches. They battled relegation most of last season and if they can't take points from home matches like this one, a relegation battle could be their fate again. In what's expected to be another tight, low-scoring contest, taking a shot on the underdog is always worth it.
Le Havre (2-0-1) over Toulouse (0-2-1)
Le Havre have started the season incredibly well, already with two wins after just winning seven matches all of last season. A lot of that may be due to schedule, but they could also be more confident in their second straight season in Ligue 1. Meanwhile, Toulouse have been slow out of the gates with two points despite a manageable schedule.
Le Havre used a bit more of an attacking approach in their wins. In addition to scoring six goals, they're top half of the table in shots taken and chances created. A lot of that may be the opponent, but Toulouse are playing like a bottom-half team and are also near the bottom of the table in terms of possession. While Toulouse figure to be in control playing at home, they haven't converted many of their chances in the early season.
Toulouse were stable if unexciting last season en route to an 11th-place finish and negative four goal differential. It appears they're headed for a similar season, which means they'll be ripe for an upset in most instances. The hope for Le Havre in this spot is that they have some confidence and form coming out of the break to continue their surprising goalscoring run.
Player To Pop: Bradley Barcola
Barcola has been on fire to start the campaign, scoring a goal in all three matches, totaling four in just 154 minutes played. He should continue the trend against Brest on Saturday given PSG's roaring start and that they've dominated this matchup over the years (like most in Ligue 1). PSG already have 13 goals through three matches, making the loss of Kylian Mbappe a non-issue.
Brest are fresh off a clean sheet, but that came against newly-promoted St. Etienne. In their first two matches, they gave up seven combined goals to Marseille and Lens, two teams closer to the level of PSG.
Barcola came off the bench in the opener (partly due to a late arrival following Euro 2024) and his minutes have only gone up since, resulting in 74 played against Lille. Despite the somewhat limited minutes, he's second in the league with 19 touches inside the opposing team's box. While he's yet to create a chance compared to his eight shots, that'll likely change at some point after finishing with more assists (seven) than goals (four) last season.
