The Bookie of Eli

The opening weekend of Premier League football did not disappoint. Newly promoted clubs Sunderland and Leeds came out flying while bigger clubs Liverpool, Man City and Tottenham couldn’t be stopped. Arsenal held onto a goal in a match up against Manchester United that will frustrate the fans at Old Trafford. Striker Chris Wood continued his hot form from last season with 2 goals in Nottingham Forest’s win over Brentford. Chelsea and Newcastle were both stifled as they drew to inferior opponents. This week’s games offer a new chance for these teams to achieve Premier League glory.

Manchester City vs Tottenham

The first match of the day features two teams with Premier League title aspirations. Last week they combined for 7 goals in a statement of intent against inferior competition. This match up has been historically exciting with 21 goals in the last 4 games in the series. In each of those games the away side has scored at least twice. Despite Tottenham’s quality, Manchester City will be the favorite in this game. They have picked up more points (26) since April than any Premier League squad. Home crowd support from the Etihad certainly won’t hurt either. Look for the over in this game and Haaland and co. overpowering their London opponent.

Best Bet: Over 2.5 Goals & Man City Win (-110)

Bournemouth vs Wolverhampton

Bournemouth will host Wolves at Vitality Stadium as both squads look to regroup after losing last week. While each side was clearly outmatched with Liverpool and Manchester City as their opening opponents. This week will provide a better test of their capabilities. Neither side has had good form recently with Bournemouth losing 3 of their last 6 matches and Wolves losing in 4. Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo who scored twice last week against Liverpool will create problems for the Wanderers. In the end, Bournemouth will contain this Wolverhampton side at home after being outmatched last week.

Best Bet: Bournemouth ML (-120)

Brentford vs Aston Villa

Brentford hosts Aston Villa after falling victim to Nottingham Forest in their opening game. While Unai Emery’s side held off Newcastle while playing a man down for the final half hour earning a draw. Going back to last season Brentford have been in poor form winning just 2 of their last 11 home matches. Aston Villa on the other hand have won 9 of their last 11 most recent matches. A small setback last week against Newcastle will be redeemed with a win at Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday.

Best Bet: Aston Villa ML (+120)

Burnley vs Sunderland

An intriguing match up as Burnley welcomes a newly promoted side in Sunderland that had a statement win last week. While Burnley were completely outmatched in their game last week against Tottenham and must show more determination this week. A second loss in two weeks would certainly put a dent in the spirits around Turf Moor. Momentum is everything in the Premier League and that will be evident here as Sunderland continues to triumph.

Best Bet: Sunderland (+240)

Arsenal vs Leeds

Another newly promoted squad, this time Leeds, who won last week will travel for their next test. This time the test will be Arsenal at the Emirates and it doesn’t get more difficult than this. Head to head Arsenal have won the last 8 match ups and are unbeaten in their last 14 meetings. Averaging 1.93 goals in their last 30 home matches and conceding less than 1 Mikel Arteta’s side are a force at the Emirates. In their last 5 encounters Arsenal has been up at the half and won the game against Leeds look for that trend to continue on Saturday.

Best Bet: Arsenal HT/FT (-120)