The Premier League provided plenty of drama across the opening weekend of fixtures, as Liverpool dropped points to the newly promoted Fulham and Man U consolidated their position as the competitions meme club.
Game Week Two promises to up the ante, with Chelsea hosting the Spurs in the Conte Derby, Man U facing Brentford in the Eriksen Derby, and Man City looks to send Bournemouth all the way back to league 2!
We’ve previewed all 10 Premier League fixtures across the weekend and provided our best betting plays below!
Both Aston Villa and Everton are looking to secure their first competition points of the season following game week one defeats.
Despite losing, Villa dominated most of their match against Bournemouth, coming undone in the final third, with only 2 of their 15 strikes finding the target.
Meanwhile, the Toffees went down 1-0 to PL giants Chelsea, though the London side had an off day at the office.
Aston Villa had a far better preseason than Everton, bringing in several key players and having success on the pitch during their tour of Australia.
I’m backing the home side to claim all three points here, leaving Frank Lampard on tenterhooks with his current employers.
Leeds travel to Southampton looking to go 2 & 0 to start the 2022/23 season.
The Whites kicked off their campaign with a victory over the Wolves, in a contest where both sides created plenty of chances.
I’m expecting more of the same in this fixture, Jesse Marsch has topped his side up with creative-minded players, who will no doubt pick their way through Southampton’s loose defensive line.
Bournemouth stunned the whole footballing community when they put the Villans to the sword in game week one.
Though the newcomers’ celebrations are set to be cut short, as they prepare to be inevitably humbled by the current PL champions.
It comes as no surprise that City is paying a buck-nothing here, Pep’s side got their title defense off to a comfortable 2-0 start against the Hammers, with new signing Erling Haaland bagging in a double on debut!
This City side has proven goalscorers in just about every position across the pitch, and I’m backing they’ll all be lining up to get their name on the scoresheet in this one.
Brighton vs Newcastle is a contender for the game of the round.
Both sides enter this fixture off the back of a victory, and both sides are eyeing a top 8 finish this season.
Brighton’s tactical nuance and style of play are second to only Man City in the PL, though they have always struggled to translate that dominance to goals scored.
Meanwhile, the Toons have committed to a slow build under their new owners, despite many expecting them to empty their wallets over the summer.
I’m expecting both these outfits to enjoy breakout seasons, though they’re set to cancel out each other brilliance this weekend and settle for a draw.
Fulham did the footballing world a huge favour last weekend by bullying the Reds on the way to a historic 2-2 draw.
Aleksandar Mitrovic was by far the best player on the pitch last weekend, not only scoring both goals for the newly promoted side but proving that Virgil van Dijk is in fact a human and can be outmuscled in the contest.
Mitrovic has had his fair share of critics in the past, with the Serb often labeled as a Championship specialist.
Though unlike previous stints in the PL, new Fulham manager Marco Silva is building his entire squad to revolve around the talents of Mitrovic, and I am backing his dominance to extend into game week 2 against the Wolves.
It took Arsenal just 90 minutes to better their points and goals tally across the first three games last season.
Arteta’s side played a beautiful free-flowing style of football across the first half of their fixture against the Eagles, with both Jesus and Zincenko impressing on debut.
Alternatively, the Foxes let a two-goal advantage slip against Brentford, eventually settling for a draw following a poor defensive display.
If the same Leicester outfit shows up at the Emirates Stadium, I can easily see the Gunners piling on 3+ goals, with Jesus opening his account under Arteta.
It didn’t take long for Manchester United to squash all hope that their fans had foolishly acquired during a promising ten Hag preseason!
There wasn’t much to like in the Red Devils’ first hit out under Erik ten Hag, though glimpses of progression were visible during the second half when Christian Eriksen dropped back into a deeper ball-playing role.
All eyes will be on whether ten Hag starts CR7 in the vacant number 9 role this weekend, but with a real lack of alternatives, it seems almost inevitable.
United is a team who always seems to burn me in the betting market, though it’s impossible to see how they fumble the ball against a side who they just relieved of their best-attacking assets in Eriksen.
$2 is just too enticing for me to stay away here, though I recommend proceeding with extreme caution.
Unlike the other two newly promoted sides, Notts Forest re-entered the top flight with a defeat.
The historic club was outgunned by a well-coached Toons unit, and it was clear to see that the huge contingency of fleshly signed Forest players were a touch off the pace.
Similarly, West Ham looked a shadow of their usually aggressive self against the silk of Manchester City in GW1, though still managed to keep the scoreline respectable against the current title holders.
I’m backing David Moyse to put a rocket up his side’s arse, with the Irons to put Forest to the Hammer.
Chelsea plays host to the Spurs in the first meeting between two sides from the “Big Six” this season.
Both clubs got off to a winning start last week, though Tottenham’s performance was far more convincing.
Conte has to be considered one of the best four managers in the world right now, and with a full preseason with the Spurs now under his belt, it’s going to be scary to see how far they can go this season!
The North London club scored four goals past Southampton last week, with neither Son nor Kane contributing to the feat!
Alternatively, Chelsea was largely disappointing against the Toffees in GW1 and I’m expecting them to offer nothing in the top third against the Spurs.
The Reds are already playing catchup to Man City following their surprise/embarrassing draw to Fulham during the opening round.
Thankfully for Klopp’s side, they’ll be taking on a team that they have dominated across the last five years.
Liverpool has won their last ten Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace, outscoring their bunnies 30 goals to 6!
Bobby Firmino’s poor display in GW1 will surely see him make way for summer acquisition Darwin Nunez, whose goal and assist off the bench rescued a point for the Reds.
I’m backing the new boy to score in consecutive games, with Liverpool claiming their first win of the campaign.