We head into Week 5 of the Premier League with only one side still boasting a perfect record, and there’s no prizes for guessing who.
The action gets underway in the Capital, as West Ham and Chelsea duke it out in a London Derby.
Elsewhere Liverpool host Bournemouth, Man United travels to Selhurst Park, before match of the season sees reigning Champs Man City take on title challengers Arsenal.
The Offside Oracle has previewed all 10 EPL fixtures and provided his best betting plays below!
Gameweek 5 kicks off with a London Derby between West Ham and Chelsea.
The Hammers enter this fixture off the back of two league fixtures without a win (1D,1L), leaving them in 14th position on the table, with four competition points.
Meanwhile, the Blues are unbeaten across their last three league fixtures (2W,1D), sitting two points adrift of the top four in eight position.
The home side has dominated this derby in recent years, winning nine of the last 14 matchups (3D,2L).
Chelsea’s last win against West Ham at London Stadium came in 2021 (0-1), interestingly from that starting 11, only Ben Chilwell remains at the club, and barely so.
The last two games between this pair have both seen at least four goals scored and I am leaning towards another high scoring affair here.
Everton travel to King Power stadium looking to lift themselves off the foot of the table.
They’ll be taking on a Leicester side that is searching for their first win of the season (2D,2L).
The Foxes have come close to winning in all four of their league fixtures this season, managing to find the back of the net in each game, unfortunately they are yet to hold out an opponent.
That being said, no side has conceded more goals this season than Everton’s 13, only two other sides have lost their first four games and conceded more time in the history of the EPL.
I’m backing both teams to score here, combined with over 2.5 total goals.
Liverpool’s perfect run came to an end last weekend when they suffered a shock defeat to Notts Forest, not only losing to the minnows, but being shutout as well.
The Reds well be confident of avoiding their first back-to-back defeats since 2021, when they face a Cherries outfit they’ve bettered in 10 of the last 11 meetings, with an incredible aggregate of 37-3.
Bournemouth have played attractive football this season, without reaping the results, with their only victory coming in spectacular fashion against the Toffees.
The Reds looked outstanding in the midweek UCL victory on the road to Milan, and I believe they’ll carry that momentum into the weekend, making short work of the Cherries.
Newcastle look to continue their hot start to the season when they travel to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham.
The Toon are unbeaten across all competitions this season (4W,1D) and are enjoying their best start to the top flight since 1995/96.
Alternatively, Fulham have won just one game this campaign (2D,1L), although the results haven’t quite reflected their dominance.
Newcastle hold the wood over the Cottagers, winning the pairs last six meetings, more impressively winning the previous five games at the Cottage.
I’m backing the Toon to take home the choccies again.
Aston Villa have goal contributors all across the park, and should have too much fire power for the Wolves to quell.
Two newly promoted sides in Southampton and Ipswich will put their winless records on the line the they face off at St. Mary’s Stadium.
The Saints have lost all four league fixtures this season, with only Everton sitting below them on the table.
Meanwhile, Ipswich have scraped together two draws against worthy opponents in Brighton and Fulham, while suffering defeat to both Man City and Liverpool.
The Tractor boys bettered the Saints both Home and Away in the Championship last season, and I like them to pick up their first win of the season at a handy $3.
The pressure continues to pile onto Ange Postecoglou, as the Spurs endure their worst start to the season since 2015/16.
Tottenham will have to start winning fixtures if Aussie Ange intends to deliver on his promise of second year silverware.
They’ll be taking on the Brentford outfit who have won four of their last six games across all comps (2L), with their two losses coming against Liverpool and Man City.
The last four meetings between this pair have each seen over 3.5 total goals scored, with both sides claiming a win to go along with two draws.
I’m avoiding the H2H market in this one, instead backing 4+ goals to be scored at just over even money.
The Eagles are yet to take flight in the 2024/25 EPL season, claiming just two points from their opening four fixtures and failing to keep a clean sheet thus far.
Meanwhile, Man United hope to build on recent form, after winning their last two fixtures in all comps with an aggregate of 10-0.
Those results need to taken with a pinch of salt, with the league win coming against the pointless Saints, while their 7-0 victory in the EFL Cup was against League One minnows Barnsley.
The Red Devils carry momentum and confidence into this contest, with all their forwards finding the back of the net recently, as such I have them winning on the road.
Notts Forest enter this clash off the back of a famous victory against the Reds last weekend, while Brighton failed to get past newly promoted Ipswich Town.
Surprisingly, both the Seagulls and Forest are undefeated this season, Brighton the only team to take points away from Arsenal, while Forest ruined Liverpool’s perfect record.
Brighton completed the double over Notts Forest last season, and have kept a clean sheet in the four previous meetings at Amex Stadium.
I’m giving the Seagulls the edge at home, taking them to win combined with over 1.5 total goals.
Gameweek 5 comes to a close with the biggest match of the season to date.
The four-time reigning champions Man City host the side that pushed them to the brink in the 2023/24 season, Arsenal.
The Gunners took four points from the Citizens (1W,1D) last season, holding Pep’s side to nil on both occasions!
Arsenal boast the best defence four weeks into the season, conceding just one goal, that of which came when they were a man down against Brighton.
Meanwhile, no side has scored more goals than City’s 11, and no side has bettered Haaland’s personal tally of nine goals across four league starts!
Without the creative services of Martin Odegaard, I can see Arteta setting up super defensively here, sucking the life out of this contest and playing for the draw.
I’m backing defence to play a prominent part in this contest, taking the unders to salute.