The time has come once again where soccer fans all over the globe are ready to kick off another season – Welcome to the beginning of a new English Premier League campaign. On Saturday August 17th as the second Matchday of the EPL will begin as Pickswise, the home of free EPL Expert Best Bets will dive into each game on Saturday and double your earnings quickly.
Aston Villa vs. AFC Bournemouth
Best Bet – Aston Villa & Both Teams To Score +333
Final Score Bet – Aston Villa 2-1 +900
Even though Aston Villa’s defeat in their first Premier League match since 2016 last weekend would have been greeted with a certain amount of disappointment, the club’s supporters and the players themselves will know that losing away at Tottenham Hotspur was never likely to be a season-defining or trend-setting result.
Last Saturday, Villa actually took the lead in North London before being washed away late on by the wave after wave of relentless Tottenham attacks.
Spurs racked up a whopping 31 attempts on the Villa goal in total however – which was the highest number of shots registered by any Premier League team on the opening weekend.
While the result itself is unlikely to send Dean Smith into a panic, the number of chances his team conceded is certainly a valid cause for concern.
Villa played with an adventurous swagger in the Championship last season and the play-off winners kept a clean sheet in only 26% of their league fixtures in 2018/19.
Unfortunately for Dean Smith, it looks as though his team have brought some of those bad defensive habits with them to the Premier League.
Expecting Villa to keep a clean sheet in any game this season already feels like a waste of time, and Bournemouth will certainly expect to score this weekend.
Keeping things tight at the other end is also not one of the Cherries’ strengths however, and last weekend Eddie Howe’s porous backline picked up where they left off last season, when they failed to keep Sheffield United out at the Vitality Stadium in a 1-1 draw.
The result meant that Bournemouth have kept just 3 clean sheets in their last 15 top flight fixtures, while their away record looks even worse, with only 2 blanks secured in 14 attempts on the road.
When you consider the factors at play, backing both teams to score when Aston Villa entertain Bournemouth is a smart move, though we also recommend coupling that selection with a home win.
Unsurprisingly, the Cherries’ poor defensive numbers away from home have contributed to some equally poor results. In total, Bournemouth were beaten in 11 of their last 14 Premier League away contests, and we expect that dismal record to deteriorate even further this weekend.
In their first home match of the new campaign this weekend, Aston Villa will feel like they are starting their season afresh after having written off their reverse at Spurs, and driven on by what promises to be a carnival atmosphere at Villa Park, we’re backing the Villains to turn adrenaline into points on Saturday.
Villa proved a tough nut to crack at home in 2018/19, losing only 4 of their 23 Championship matches at home last season. The Villains closed out the campaign with 6 wins out of 7 in front of their own fans, and Dean Smith will be banking on that strength at home continuing this season.
Against an injury-stricken Bournemouth, who could be without up to 7 first teamers for Saturday’s game, we’re tipping Dean Smith’s men to put their first Premier League points on the board with a 2-1 win in our correct score prediction.
Brighton vs. West Ham United
Best Bet – Brighton To Win +160
Final Score Bet – Brighton 1-0 +850
New Brighton manager Graham Potter enjoyed a dream start to his Seagulls career last weekend, when he watched his new charges put three goals without reply past Watford at Vicarage Road.
The Hornets, who were one of the Premier League’s most improved teams last season, were left flabbergasted by Potter’s new, slicker-looking Brighton outfit, and already the improvement in Albion’s style of play looks stark.
Having chased shadows and the ball for most of their league fixtures last term, Brighton enjoyed the majority of the possession in their win against Watford, and even though they scored their 3 goals from just 5 attempts during the 90 minutes, the early signs look good.
On Saturday, Brighton take on a West Ham side that were left battered, bruised and humiliated by Manchester City on their own patch last weekend.
The Hammers were nailed 5-0 by the defending champions in a nightmare start to the campaign for Manuel Pellegrini, and the Irons players are certain to be feeling more than a little fragile ahead of their trip to the south coast.
Only relegated duo Fulham and Huddersfield (5 each) kept fewer clean sheets than West Ham (7) in the Premier League last season, and having failed to sign any significant defensive reinforcements over the summer, it looks as though the Hammers’ calamitous displays at the back will continue this term.
To make matters worse for the ailing Irons, their recent record against Brighton borders on appalling. The Seagulls emerged victorious in 3 of the last 4 meetings between Albion and West Ham since Brighton were promoted in 2017/18.
Brighton took 4 points from 6 against West Ham in 2018/19, beating them 1-0 at the Amex Stadium in October and holding the Irons to a 2-2 draw in London in January.
The narrow margin of Brighton’s October triumph was in keeping with the general lack of cutting edge they showed at home last season – in fact, Brighton scored 1 goal or less in an incredible 16 of their 19 Premier League fixtures at the Amex Stadium in 2018/19.
Despite their early 3 goal flutter at Watford, we expect Brighton’s goalscoring output to return to the mean against West Ham, though we also expect the Seagulls to take advantage of their visitor’s eroded confidence.
Buoyed by that fine win at Vicarage Road, and armed with a combination of the powerful new manager effect and an excellent record against the Irons, we think there is excellent value in backing Brighton to win in the full-time result market this week, with a correct score prediction of 1-0.
Everton vs. Watford
Best Bet – Under 2.5 Goals +110
Final Score Bet – Watford 1-0 +1600
Having finished the 2018/19 Premier League campaign in such impressive fashion, optimism at Goodison Park was high heading into the summer, however, there are already early indicators this season that their strong run-in might have been a false dawn.
Toffees boss Marco Silva had been one of the favorites to lose his job in the Premier League sack race near the turn of the year, but fine home wins over Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, and draws against Tottenham and Liverpool after March 1st earned him a stay of execution on Merseyside.
Everton were held to a dour 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, though their inability to carve the Eagles open won’t have come as a surprise to their already agitated supporters.
All the warning signs to suggest that Everton would struggle for goals were there in pre-season. The Blues scored just 2 goals in their 5 summer warm-up matches, and Everton finished their preparations for the season by drawing 0-0 in 3 of their last 4 fixtures.
Everton’s 0-0 draw with Palace last week was in keeping with the trend then, and we don’t expect things to improve in front of goal for the Toffees against Watford.
Marco Silva’s old employers were left aghast and embarrassed after a 0-3 home reverse to Brighton last weekend, and there will be a determination in the Hornets ranks to restore some pride at Everton.
Watford beat Everton 1-0 the last time the clubs met in February, and the Hornets were denied a win at Goodison Park 3 months earlier by a last-gasp 95th minute Lucas Digne equalizer in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
That was in fact, the second year running that Watford were denied a result at Everton by an injury time goal. In 2017/18, a 91st minute Leighton Baines spot kick earned the Toffees 3 points and a 3-2 win.
We expect the team’s latest clash on Saturday to be far less exciting however. Under 2.5 goals were scored in 2 of the last 3 meetings between Everton and Watford, and with the home side’s struggles at the top end of the pitch established, chances should be thin on the ground again this weekend.
With that considered, we’re tipping under 2.5 goals to be scored again at Goodison Park, though we also think the door is open for Watford to get a positive result.
Having lost Idrissa Geuye in the summer, Everton’s midfield was already looking a little porous, however, the Toffees will also be without the suspended Morgan Schneiderlin and the injured Andre Gomes against Watford, and that should ensure the Hornets hold a certain amount of superiority in the middle of the park.
Our correct score prediction is tipping Javi Gracia’s men to sneak a 1-0 win.
Norwich vs. Newcastle
Best Bet – Norwich to Win +137
Final Score Bet – Norwich 2-1 +900
Prop Bet – Teemu Pukki To Score +140
Norwich may have suffered a baptism of fire last Friday when they marked their return to the top flight with a 4-1 thrashing at Anfield, but there are plenty of positives to take from the performance despite the heavy defeat.
Daniel Farke’s side were completely destroyed at the back in the first half, and a 4-0 halftime scoreline looked very ominous indeed. However, The Canaries came out a transformed team after the break, netting a consolation goal through Teemu Pukki and limiting any further damage from Liverpool well.
Nobody expected the Premier League newcomers to get a result in that game, but with a home fixture against Newcastle coming up there will be plenty of fans at Carrow Road expecting their first 3 point haul of the season.
Newcastle came into the new season under a veil of despair, with fans already boycotting St James’ Park before the first ball had even been kicked. It was a suitably lacklustre showing against Arsenal too, with a 1-0 defeat illustrating the drab Sunday afternoon showing of football.
Now, a 1-0 defeat against a Big 6 side is hardly something to worry about, but the nature of their performance is. They were completely toothless going forward, an opinion made evident by the fact they generated an opening weekend low of just 0.37 expected goals. The next lowest figure in this metric came at the King Power Stadium as Leicester and Wolves played out their goalless draw.
In all fairness, the Magpies should get plenty more chances against a Norwich side who seem intent on continuing to use an attack-minded strategy. In fact, Norwich haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 7 competitive fixtures and have conceded in 12 of their last 15 games at Carrow Road. With Newcastle scoring in 7 of their last 10 Premier League away games, they could well nab their first goal of the season here.
However, The Canaries’ attacking forces should have plenty of opportunities against Newcastle. The visitors haven’t won away to Norwich in the Premier League since 1994 and the hosts were excellent at home last season.
They won 7 of their final 10 Championship home games last season, and judging by the performances of both teams last weekend we think backing a Norwich win looks the best value bet here. However, their dodgy defense makes a Newcastle goal likely, so we’re going for a 2-1 correct score prediction too.
Teemu Pukki became Norwich’s first goalscorer of the season against Liverpool, and it’s no surprise considering his Championship Golden Boot winning season last year. The Finnish forward should continue his goalscoring form here as well, with 15 of his league goals last term coming in 21 Carrow Road appearances. He looks a fantastic price for our anytime goalscorer prediction.
Southampton vs. Liverpool
Best Bet – Both Teams To Score -115
Final Score Bet – Liverpool 3-1 +1100
Any optimism surrounding Southampton’s chances of a good season took a heavy blow last weekend as they opened their Premier League campaign with a crushing 3-0 defeat away to Burnley.
That trip to Turf Moor may have ended in disaster for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men, but the performance wasn’t quite as bad as the scoreline suggests. In fact, The Saints actually outperformed Burnley on expected goals, but were eventually undone by poor defensive work and an excellent performance from Ashley Barnes.
Saturday marks a much tougher test of Southampton’s abilities as they host a Liverpool side that have beaten them 7 times in the last 11 Premier League meetings. Stopping last season’s runners up will be a huge test, and not many are favouring the hosts here.
Liverpool raised the curtain on a brand new top flight season last Friday when they dismantled Norwich in a blistering first half performance. They went into the break 4-0 up at Anfield, and while their performance did slip away in the second half it was still a convincing 4-1 victory for Anfield team. However, a 5-0 win for Manchester City and a 4-0 win for Manchester United put them an unlikely 3rd after the opening weekend.
They followed that with a trip to Istanbul to face Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup, with that game going all the way to penalties thanks to a 2-2 draw after extra time. It was a long trip to play a long 120 minutes against a vastly improved Chelsea side, so Jurgen Klopp’s men could be tired coming into this match.
However, Liverpool have still won 10 Premier League matches on the bounce and haven’t lost away from home since January. Their last 4 trips away in the league have all ended in victory, as have their last 4 league meetings with Southampton. It’s not looking overly promising for the hosts here.
That being said, The Saints have scored in each of their last 14 home matches in the Premier League, and Liverpool have actually conceded 4 goals in their last 4 away games. They have actually scored a very impressive 21 goals in their 12 home matches since Hasenhuttl took charge in December, including netting 7 in their 4 hostings of Big 6 sides.
We think they have a very good chance of getting on the scoresheet here, but with 13 of their last 14 home games also seeing them concede, a clean sheet looks incredibly unlikely. We’re backing Both Teams to Score here, and with Liverpool netting 3 times in 3 of their last 4 meetings with the Saints we also like the look of a 3-1 correct score prediction.
