Will Van Dinter (RotoWire)

It’s a busy weekend across soccer with another international break looming.

Pregame narrative: The Champions League has begun, too, making teams’ schedules even more congested. Here, we’ll look at one upset pick from each of the following leagues: EPL, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1.

Check out the best three soccer upset picks for the upcoming week.

Soccer upset picks

EPL prediction: Brighton (2-3-1) over Tottenham (3-1-2)
When: Oct. 6: 11:30 a.m. ET

Brighton’s adaptive and disciplined style under new manager Fabian Hurzeler has become a problem for teams early in the season, beating the likes of Manchester United and drawing with Arsenal.

It has controlled the ball well in most situations and its average possession per match is at nearly 60 percent. Prior to Saturday’s mistake-heavy game against Chelsea, it often led to minimal chances for opposing teams, ranking near the top of the league in terms of expected goals allowed.

Tottenham has stayed much the same from last campaign, with a high-pressing team and an always-attacking mentality being the building blocks of Ange Postecoglou’s tactics.

The Spurs are producing plenty of opportunities, but that hasn’t shown up in actual goals, which is the most important thing.

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Helping Brighton, Tottenham had trips to Manchester United and Ferencvaros before this match. Brighton is home, rested and in a great spot for three points if Tottenham can’t convert its opportunities, which has been its problem in almost every match in the early season.

Brighton will hope to make the most of what will be limited chances, similar to its win against Manchester United when it bagged a late winner despite having less of the ball.

Also important to winning this game will be to reduce mistakes, something that may have given the Seagulls nightmares after Cole Palmer’s four-goal performance.

Bundesliga upset pick

Prediction: Union Berlin (2-2-1) over Borussia Dortmund (3-1-1)
When: Oct. 5: 9:30 a.m. ET

Union Berlin has been one of the strongest defensive teams in the Bundesliga to begin the campaign, a far cry from its awful defensive form last season.

Already with a clean sheet at RB Leipzig, it seems ready to contend for a European spot again.

Berlin has been mostly comfortable playing without the ball, so against a highly possessive Borussia Dortmund squad, it could succeed if able to keep BVB at bay and not allow many touches around the box.

Dortmund has had an up-and-down start to their season and the recent 5-1 loss to Stuttgart showed it at its worst.

Even last week, BVB went down two goals to lowly Bochum before making a change and ultimately winning 4-2 with three second-half goals. Of course, that game was at home. This one is in Berlin and they won’t have the Yellow Wall to cheer them on in case they go down a goal again.

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Playing on the road, anything can happen, and then you throw in Tuesday’s Champions League match for Dortmund, home against Celtic, which means rotation is always possible.

Union aren’t exactly contending for a top-four spot like they did two seasons ago, but their ability to defend in front of the net should prove key against top teams in the league like Dortmund. Playing at home, three points will be possible, especially against a team that is struggling to keep clean sheets.

Soccer upset picks: Ligue 1

Prediction: Nantes over Lyon
When: Oct. 6: 9:00 a.m. ET

Nantes has been one of the surprise teams to start the Ligue 1 season with the recent loss to St. Etienne being the early blemish on its record.

The team’s success has been fueled by a stout defence that breaks on a quick counter with pace in the attack, conceding less than one goal per match in the early stages. In this spot, it faces a Lyon team that’s struggled on both ends of the pitch, creating the perfect cocktail for an upset on the road.

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Lyon has had maybe the toughest opening schedule which includes games against Marseille, Monaco and Lens, so its struggles can be attributed to that. Still, it is allowing goals in bunches and has already been held scoreless multiple times.

Making matters more difficult, Lyon played at Rangers on Thursday in the Europa League, so it could have some tired legs, something Nantes won’t have to worry about.

If Lyon is a bit slow, that could be the perfect opening for Nantes to steal a point or three.

Player to pop: Vinicius Junior

Vinicius is in a great spot to produce ahead of the international break, home against a defence-optional Villarreal team.

Kylian Mbappe is likely to remain out due to injury, which should mean more opportunities for Vinicius on the left wing. Villarreal has already allowed five goals to Barcelona and three to Celta Vigo, so its backline hasn’t had the most success in opening the campaign.

Vinicius has had a decent start to the season playing alongside Mbappe and will be first up if Real Madrid gets another penalty kick on Saturday.

And even without Mbappe, Real Madrid isn’t lacking talent, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team rack up goals in this spot. If that’s the case, Vinicius seems most likely to score or assist coming in off his favoured left wing.

The Champions League has finally returned.

Pregame narrative: Matchday 1 begins on Tuesday, September 17 and runs through Thursday, with all 36 teams getting in on the action. Gone is the group stage, replaced with a re-vamped “league stage” where every team plays eight times before being seeded for the knockout round.

Check out the best Champions League picks for the upcoming week.

Champions League picks

Prediction: Leverkusen vs. Feyenoord: Over 3.5 total goals
When: Sept. 19: 12:45 p.m.

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Leverkusen has had no trouble scoring in its opening three matches, similar to how it closed last season.

All nine goals scored have come against sturdy opposition in Leipzig, Monchengladbach and Hoffenheim. Despite the scoring, it had some defensive lapses themselves which could lead to another high-scoring game in the midweek.

Feyenoord has scored nine goals in its four league matches and maybe most importantly, held onto striker Santiago Gimenez, who was on the radar of Nottingham Forest during the transfer window.

It has largely the same side that came up short in the Champions League group stages last season when it scored in all but one of six matches, bagging nine in total.

Both teams have plenty of attacking talent and this has the makings of an up-and-down Champions League contest between two sides that have never played each other.

Leverkusen may control possession, but Feyenoord has the speedsters to score once or twice on the counter, which could lead to a high-scoring UEFA match.

Champions League picks: Back BVB

Prediction: Dortmund over Club Brugge
When: Sept. 18: 3:00 p.m.

This isn’t a shock on paper with Dortmund clearly the stronger team coming off last season’s run to the Champions League final.

It has started the season with two wins and a draw, producing 42 shots in those three matches while controlling more than 60 percent of possession. With a seemingly deeper team following the additions of Serhou Guirassy at forward and Waldemar Anton on the back line, Dortmund seems primed for another Champions League run.

Club Brugge had a shaky start to their campaign, but it’s stabilized and won its last four in league play, including back-to-back 3-0 victories.

Brugge’s biggest issue Wednesday will be defending against the quick attack of Dortmund with speedsters like Donyell Malen, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Karim Adeyemi all able to score off the counter in a matter of seconds.

Keeping clean sheets in the Belgian league is nice, but the Dortmund attacking line is another level and is plenty in form, scoring three goals in the first half last Friday against Heidenheim.

While this match is in Bruges, the away team will be well represented with Dortmund only a four-hour drive away.

It’s a step up in competition for Brugge and after missing out on the Champions League last season, this will be a tough spot to overcome. At close to even odds, Dortmund is a solid play as a road favourite.

Matchday 1 SGP

Prediction: Liverpool to beat AC Milan and Liverpool over 1.5 goals
When: Sept. 17: 3:00 p.m.

Liverpool opened the season well under new boss Arne Slot, highlighted by a massive 3-0 win at Manchester United before the international break.

The transition from former manager Jurgen Klopp has been seamless at times, as Slot adopted similar tactics on both ends of the pitch, though some issues brewed up in Saturday’s home loss to Nottingham Forest.

On the bright side, this is a bounce-back spot for Liverpool coming off a disheartening loss in which it controlled the match.

It hasn’t been as pretty for Milan, but it had no trouble dispatching Venezia over the weekend. It secured its first clean sheet in eight Serie A matches, something that’ll be a bit more difficult in this spot, as Liverpool is a bit more threatening than Venezia.

Playing in Milan in the Champions League is never an easy task, but Liverpool has an endless array of talent and will be looking to pounce on a struggling defensive unit.

Liverpool is favoured for a reason and unless something changes defensively, the likes of Mohamed Salah and Co. could be headed for numerous goals and an important three points to open the Champions League.

Player to pop: Harry Kane

Bayern Munich has a fairly easy matchup in their Champions League opener against Dinamo Zagreb and is one of the biggest favourites on the slate.

Kane should have plenty of chances to impose his mark, especially as the top scorer in Europe after winning the European Golden Shoe last season with 36 goals.

Through the opening three Bundesliga matches, he has four goals from 14 shots and two assists on eight chances created. In last season’s Champions League, he had 12 goal contributions in 12 appearances, posting only three games without a contribution.

Zagreb is running through the Croatian league, but this is an extreme step up in competition for its first match, especially playing in Munich.

In the Champions League two seasons ago, Zagreb managed four points from six matches, allowing 11 goals in those contests. Kane figures to be the prime benefactor in a great matchup for Bayern with multiple goal contributions a good bet.

It’s a busy weekend with the international break ending.

Pregame narrative: The Premier League, La Liga and Ligue 1 are all back with players returning from international duty. We’ve got one upset pick from each of those leagues.

Check out the best three soccer upset picks for the upcoming week.

Soccer upset picks

EPL prediction: Leicester City (0-1-2) over Crystal Palace (0-1-2)
When: Sept. 14: 10 a.m. ET

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, which has a new manager in Steve Cooper. 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.

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Their back line has also had an early-season makeover following the exit of Joachim Andersen and the injury to new signing Chadi Riad.

Similar to West Ham a couple of weeks ago, Leicester will hope to benefit from a vulnerable Palace side. Despite Palace being favoured, they’re far from the team that ended last season unbeaten in their final six.

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.

La Liga upset pick

Prediction: Osasuna (2-1-1) over Rayo Vallecano (1-1-2)
When: Sept. 16: 3 p.m. ET

Osasuna and new manager Vicente Moreno are looking for their first away points of the season in a trip to Vallecano. Osasuna is 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 with a less aggressive approach than Rayo. Osasuna prefers a slow build-up behind stout defending. If that works and it doesn’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 its last away match, a trip to Vallecano figures to be a much better chance for points.

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Since a surprising win at Real Sociedad in its opener, Rayo has stumbled a bit, scoring just two goals in its last three matches. Rayo battled relegation most of last season and if it can’t take points from home matches like this one, a relegation battle could be on the horizon again.

In what’s expected to be another tight, low-scoring contest, taking a shot on the underdog is always worth it.

Soccer upset picks: Ligue 1

Prediction: Le Havre (2-0-1) over Toulouse (0-2-1)
When: Sept. 15: 11 a.m. ET

Le Havre has started the season incredibly well, already with two wins after winning just seven matches last season. A lot of that may be due to schedule, but it could also be more confident in its second straight season in Ligue 1.

Meanwhile, Toulouse has been slow out of the gates with two points despite a manageable schedule.

Le Havre used a bit more of an attacking approach in its wins. In addition to scoring six goals, it’s in the top half of the table in shots taken and chances created.

A lot of that may be the opponent, but Toulouse is playing like a bottom-half team and is also near the bottom of the table in possession.

While Toulouse figures to be in control playing at home, it hasn’t converted many of its chances in the early season.

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Toulouse was stable, if unexciting, last season en route to an 11th-place finish and -4 goal differential. It appears to be headed for a similar season, which means it’ll be ripe for an upset in most instances.

The hope for Le Havre in this spot is that it has some confidence and form coming out of the break to continue its surprising goalscoring run.

Player to pop: Bradley Barcola

Barcola has been on fire to start the campaign, scoring a goal in all three matches and totalling four in just 154 minutes.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward should continue the trend against Brest on Saturday given his club’s roaring start, scoring 13 goals through three matches. The loss of Kylian Mbappe has been a non-issue so far.

Brest is fresh off a clean sheet, but that came against newly-promoted St. Etienne, and PSG has dominated this matchup over the years (like most in Ligue 1).

In its first two matches, Brest 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) but his minutes have gone up since, resulting in 74 played against Lille.

Despite the somewhat limited minutes, Barcola second in the league with 19 touches inside the opposing team’s box.

While Barcola has yet to create a chance, that’ll likely change at some point after finishing with more assists (seven) than goals (four) last season.