Blackburn begin the new season with a new manager, but with a solid core of players from last season. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images
guardian.co.uk writers’ prediction: 14th Odds: 1,000-1
This summer Blackburn became not just the first top-level club to appoint a black British manager, but also the first in the short history of the Premier League [...]

Guus Hiddink will rue the loss of playmaker Andrei Arshavin for the first two games. Photograph: Epsilon/Getty Images
If there’s one country more burdened by under-achievement (from a football perspective) than England, it’s Russia. The Soviet Union won the inaugural European Championship in 1960, but after that one World Cup semi-final and one European Championship final [...]

How best to deploy Thierry Henry will be Raymond Domenech’s toughest decision. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA
France remains the greatest talent generator in Europe. The regular rearing of excellent players means there is no chasm between generations. And so, two years after reaching the World Cup final, Raymond Domenech will travel to the Euros with a squad [...]

Polish Man of the Year ‘07 Leo Beenhakker has seen his side struggle since qualifying for Euro 2008. Photograph: Thomas Kienzle/AP
Poland have qualified impressively for the last two World Cups, only to flop badly having got there and the fear is that, having reached the finals of the European Championship for the first time, the [...]

Can this winking, walking hair-gel ad inspire Portugal to Euro glory? Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images
The challenge is to get as far into this piece as possible without mentioning his name. It’s not easy: Portugal’s hopes of completing their European Championship odyssey (quarter-final in 1996, semi-final in 2000, final in 2004, winners in 2008) depend on [...]