After last weekend’s drama, the upcoming slate of Premier League football has a lot to live up to.
However there are no shortage of storylines to dig into starting with Liverpool trying to back up their remarkable 7-0 win over Manchester United with a trip to Bournemouth.
The relegation battle continues with Leeds, Everton and Southampton all facing tough tasks while Leicester takes on a Chelsea side fresh off Champions League progression.
We’ve got our Premier League previews and best bets below so read on and see who we are backing.
Both of these sides were involved in memorable clashes last weekend, although for very different reasons.
Bournemouth went deep into the bag of tricks to try and upset Arsenal, only to go down on a 97th minute winner for the Gunners to keep them stuck on the foot of the table.
As for Liverpool, you can come up with whatever “seven” related puns you want, but it was a flashback to past seasons with an absolutely ruthless display in their resounding win.
When these sides met earlier in the season, the Reds recorded another historic win, belting Bournemouth 9-0 at Anfield.
Over 2.5 Goals has hit in the last 10 head to head meetings between these sides, with Liverpool recording a win in nine of those matches so we’re going to back that trend to continue.
Back Liverpool to Win and Over 2.5 Goals @ $2.05
Considering the contrasting fortunes of these sides, it’s a bit of a surprise to see the market having their win odds at the same price in the head to head market.
Everton continues to improve under Sean Dyche, however Brentford are one of the form teams in the Premier League and head into the weekend only three points out of sixth spot.
Their away form has been very impressive all season as well, going unbeaten in their last five road games, winning at Manchester City and West Ham while also drawing at Forest, Leeds and Arsenal.
This price seems off for the Bees and it’s one well worth taking a punt on, even against a desperate Toffees team battling relegation.
Back Brentford to Win @ $2.70
New manager, same old Leeds as the results have not changed since the appointment of Javi Gracia.
What was once one of the most entertaining attacks in football has managed a single goal in their last five matches.
It is not a great setup for their clash with Brighton, who have won back to back matches and still have one of the competition’s most resolute defences.
The Seagulls have kept three clean sheets from their last five and should have no problems keeping Leeds at bay.
Back Brighton to Win @ $1.95
Things just go from bad to worse for Leicester who have now lost four in a row and are only two points off the relegation zone heading into this weekend.
Admittedly losing to Manchester United and Arsenal should not be seen as a red flag, but their two most recent defeats to Blackburn and Southampton have to be seen as massive warning sign.
Those are far more worrying than Chelsea’s struggles all season, especially with the Blues getting some ugly but necessary wins to boost their confidence.
In both victories, the Blues looked good but well below the level many expected them to play at but against Leicester, they should find a way to take care of business.
Back Chelsea to Win @ $2.00
The good news for Tottenham is that with their midweek Champions League elimination confirmed, they can now turn all of their attention towards fighting for fourth spot.
However this is a club in all sorts with a manager headed for the exit door and lacking motivation.
The bottom line however is even in spit of all of those problems, they simply have to beat a Forest side in even worse disarray.
Just four points above the drop zone and with two draws from their last four outings, Forest’s big spending spree to ensure safety has not worked so far.
Goals might be at a premium at this rate with each of Spurs last six matches in all competitions going under 2.5 goals and both teams to score failing to hit.
It’s going to be ugly and the first goal either way is probably going to get all three points.
Back Both Teams to Score (No) @ $1.75
City’s last trip to Selhurst Park 12 months ago produced a shock scoreless draw, however we will not be backing a similar outcome here.
Plenty has been written about the fact Palace has not won a match in 2023 and against a City side that is fighting to keep its treble hopes alive and will be expecting nothing less than perfection from here on out.
City has won its last three matches all by multiple goal margins and should have no problems taking care of a stumbling opponent here.
Back Manchester City to Win -1 Goal @ $2.00
Thanks to the Gunners’ Europa League tie on Friday morning (AEDT), they will have the opportunity to see what City will serve up in the title race before they kick off.
Best case scenario they will have a chance to extend their lead to eight points but more realistically, they can restore a five point gap as they begin the toughest part of their schedule.
At the time of writing, it’s fair to assume based on Mikel Arteta’s comments on squad rotation that he will be rotating for the trip to Portugal and putting out a full strength side here.
Defensively the Gunners have had their struggles from time to time and Fulham have the attack to turn this game into a shootout if Arsenal are a bit slow out of the blocks.
However with the recent mental fortitude demonstrated by Arteta’s side, you might just have to start believing they are going to go on with the job.
Back Arsenal to Win and Over 2.5 Goals @ $2.40
United are not as bad as they looked in their capitulation at Anfield, granted, few teams are actually that poor.
On the balance of the season, Southampton has been an incredibly disappointing and it would be a big shock if they were to turn things around and survive relegation.
United has not had a problem beating bad teams and as they return to Old Trafford, they should be able to give their fans something to cheer for.
Back Manchester United to Win -1 Goal @ $1.95
This version of the Premier League’s claret and blue rivalry has been one way traffic for the last eight years with West Ham dominating the head to head record.
Since Villa’s last win in May 2015, we have seen three draws and six victories for the Irons including five on the trot dating back to December 2020.
However on recent form, there is not a lot between these teams with both sides winning two and losing three of their last five matches in all competitions.
Just one point above Everton heading into the weekend, West Ham will be the far more desperate side but there’s not a lot of reason to hope either side has the nous to find the breakthrough.
Both teams to score looks like the way to go for this match with both sides having some questionable defensive performances in recent games.
Back Both Teams to Score $1.75
Newcastle’s bubble might have burst in the last few weeks when taking on some of the Premier League’s traditional powers of the last decade.
A pair of 2-0 Premier League defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City bookended a Carabao Cup loss to Manchester United by the same scoreline.
Realisitically they should be able to bounce back against a Wolves side that has been the dictionary definition of inconsistency of late,
Neither team has been lighting up the scoreboard and in an arm wrestle where goals are at a premium, anything is possible.
Backing the under has hit in 16 of Wolves 26 Premier League matches this season as well as 10 of Newcastle’s last 12 fixtures in all competitions.
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ $1.70