The opening weekend of the Premier League is upon us and I for one can’t wait to get started and get my teeth into my research and predicting how this weekend’s games will pan out. Fans are back and all 10 of this weekend’s fixtures are expected to be sell-outs which only adds to the excitement. Newly-promoted Brentford kick things off on Friday night in a London Derby against Arsenal. Elsewhere there are a couple of more local derbies as Chelsea host Crystal Palace and Leicester take on Wolves. Spurs v Man City looks to be the pick of the games this weekend and it remains to be seen whether Harry Kane will be available for Tottenham despite sending much of his summer in transfer talks with the reigning champions. I have put together a few things you should know regarding all 10 of the games this weekend that should help you with your own bets as well as my prediction on how I expect the game to go, hope you enjoy!
Brentford v Arsenal
🏟
Friday 13th August – 8:00PM Kick Off
📺
Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League
Cracker of a fixture to kick us off as we have a London derby under the lights on Friday night where newly-promoted Brentford host Arsenal. The Bees will be chomping at the bit to get their Premier League campaign underway and will be confident of causing an upset against an Arsenal team which looks to have something of a weak underbelly.
- First time playing in the Premier League, sell-out 18,000 crowd expected.
- Kept a core group of important players from last season together including Toney, Mbuemo, Norgaard and Henry.
- Business looks impressive with the captures of Ajer (Celtic), Onyeka (Midtylland), Wissa (Lorient) and Peart-Harris (Chelsea U23’s).
- Full strength squad available for Franks with no reported injury doubts so should be his best XI starting.
- Poor preseason overall with underwhelming performances and defeats against both Chelsea and Spurs recently.
- Partey and Gabriel are two certain starters missing from the starting 11 in this one due to injury.
- Not a particularly exciting window to date with the arrivals of White (Brighton), Lokonga (Anderlecht) and Tavares (Benfica). Sheff Utd keeper Aaron Ramsdale feels like he will be the next to arrive for a laughable reported fee of £30m.
- Arteta under pressure to perform this season after two back to back 8th placed finishes which is deemed unacceptable.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
Feel this will be a very tough game for Arsenal against a talented and tactically astute Brentford side. Arsenal have looked toothless in attack throughout pre-season, something they struggled with a lot last season. Aubameyang could be finished in honesty and Laca is never going to score more than 15-20 goals a season. I do worry for Arsenal unless they strengthen and feel the Bees are capable of giving them a real game this evening. My prediction for this one is a 1-1 draw which in the circumstances probably both teams will be happy with.
Brentford Predicted 11 v Arsenal: Raya; Jansson, Ajer, Pinnock; Roerslev, Janelt, Onyeka, Norgaard, Henry; Mbeumo, Toney
Arsenal Predicted 11 v Brentford: Leno; Chambers, White, Mari, Tierney; Xhaka, Lokonga; Pepe, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang; Lacazette
Manchester United v Leeds
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 12:30PM Kick Off
📺
Live on BT Sport 1
Classic Premier League fixture to kick off our Saturday’s as Man United host bitter rivals Leeds United at Old Trafford. The United and Leeds rivalry can be dated back decades ago with no love lost between the fans and with a sold-out Old Trafford expected I am fully expecting a high-paced and feisty affair. It is the first time since 2004 fans can watch the two sides play each other in the Premier League, as both teams look to start the new campaign with a win. Very, very excited for this one and should be the perfect game to kick off our Premier League weekend!
- Jadon Sancho in line to make first competitive start for his new club. Likely this game will come too soon for Raphael Varane though who had to quarantine on his arrival from Madrid.
- Plenty of players thought to be doubts with as many as nine senior players unlikely to make the squad. He most notable are Edison Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
- Cavani has been allowed an extended break following the Copa America, Lingard has Covid and Rashford is out for the foreseeable future due to a recent shoulder operation.
- Seems likely Leeds will field a familiar XI at Old Trafford for their first game of the new season after a quiet summer in terms of transfers.
- On the brink of the game, it would appear Bielsa has an almost fully fit squad to choose from. Diego Llorente and Firpo both missed Leeds’ previous friendly with Villarreal. They’ve yet to be ruled out of contention, but are still likely to be doubts.
- Not been a particularly impressive preseason for Leeds who have had seven friendlies this summer both at home and abroad. Record reads: P7, W1, D2, L4 which may be a slight concern for Bielsa.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
This exact fixture last season was a 6-2 Man United victory last season in an absolutely enthralling game. Leeds are more defensively disciplined and pragmatic than they were back then and I am not expecting quite as many goals. However, I still feel given the attacking talent on show and with Sancho expected to make his debut this should be a quality game. 3-1 home win is my prediction for this one!
Manchester United Predicted 11 v Leeds: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes; Sancho, Martial, Greenwood
Leeds United Predicted 11 v Manchester United: Meslier; Ayling, Struijk, Cooper, Dallas; Phillips, Klich, Rodrigo; Raphinha, Bamford, Harrison
Burnley v Brighton
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 3:00PM Kick Off
A long trip up North for the Brighton faithful as they take on the always difficult task of facing Burnley at Turf Moor. These two sides ranked 17th and 16th respectively last season and I expect Burnley to be there or thereabouts for relegation once more this season. Big game for both teams to start and Dyche knows a loss here will set the tone for what I expect to be a long, hard campaign for the Clarets.
- Quiet summer for Burnley in the transfer market with just £12m spent and the squad is looking very similar to the one Dyche had last season.
- The contract situation surrounding the manager is clearly worrying for all at the club. He has just 12 months left on his deal and is struggling to agree terms to extend his near 10 year stay at Turf Moor.
- On a positive note from what I have seen they have no injury issues going into this one and should be at full strength for the visit of Brighton.
- After impressing many last season with their performances, Brighton will be expecting a higher finish than the 16th they achieved last campaign.
- They lost Ben White which is a blow but have done some decent looking business so far with the buys of Mwepu, Scherpen and Mitoma. A centre-back and a striker are still needed prior to the window closing in my opinion.
- Like Burnley, no real injury issues for Brighton who should also be at full strength in this one.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
As I have said many a time, I worry for Burnley this season and I think the uncertainty around Dyche will only make matters worse for the club. They won’t relish playing a fine footballing side in Brighton who are likely to dominate the ball throughout. The Seagulls are still lacking a goalscorer in my opinion but I think will have enough to get a result here, 2-1 Brighton win.
Burnley Predicted 11 v Brighton: Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Cork, Westwood, Brownhill; McNeil, Gudmundsson; Wood
Brighton Predicted 11 v Burnley: Sanchez; Lamptey, Dunk, Webster, Burn; Bissouma, Groß, Mwepu; MacAllister, Trossard, Maupay
Everton v Southampton
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 3:00PM Kick Off
All change at Goodison this summer following the largely unpopular appointment of Rafa Benitez. His ties with Liverpool mean he will have to hit the ground running this season or it could quickly become quite toxic. They host Southampton who themselves haven’t been looking rosy in recent months.
- Fair to say Evertonians aren’t the most optimistic for the season ahead. The appointment of Benitez combined with an underwhelming transfer window has left them feeling pretty negative.
- Just £1.80m spent to date with Leicester reject Demarai Gray the highest profile arrival alongside Andros Townsend on a free.
- The recent 4-0 humbling by Man United at Old Trafford in a friendly hasn’t done much to improve the mood and as things stand I worry a little for Everton.
- Richarlison is surely a doubt having literally just returned from the Olympics having won a gold medal, he will most likely be on the bench. Elsewhere Moise Kean, Andre Gomes and Jean-Phillipe Gbamin are struggling for fitness.
- A shocking second half to the season dragged the Saints down to 15th and now questions are being asked of manager Ralph Hassenhuttl.
The shock departure of Danny Ings could hurt them in the long run but to be fair they reacted quickly with the singings of Adam Armstrong from Blackburn and Armando Broja from Chelsea. - The Saints lost 10 of their last 11 matches on the road in the 2020-21 campaign with away form their real Achilles heel which is something that needs addressing.
- Remains to be seen whether both Armstrong and Broja will be ready, having just signed a few days ago. Captain JWP is a doubt which would be a huge miss and Sam McQueen and Will Smallbone are also doubts. Seems unlikely Vestergaard will be involved too with his move to Leicester looking more and more likely.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
In reality I am not expecting too much from either of these sides this season with bottom half finishes my prediction. Richarlison and JWP are doubts which is a shame for the spectacle but fancy the hosts to have just about enough to get the result in this one. 1-0 Everton win is my prediction.
Everton Predicted 11 v Southampton: Pickford; Coleman, Godfrey, Keane, Digne; Allan, Doucoure; Townsend, Rodriguez, Iwobi; Calvert-Lewin
Southampton Predicted 11 v Everton: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Salisu, Perraud; Armstrong, Diallo, Romeu, Djenepo; Adams, Tella
Watford v Aston Villa
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 3:00PM Kick Off
The Hornets are back in the big time and face Aston Villa who will have to learn to deal without Captain, Jack Grealish who made the high-profile move to Man City. They reinvested the cash smartly and I feel look set for a good season.
- The Hornets earned promotion by finishing 2nd in the Champ behind Norwich. Spaniard Xisco has done a fantastic job at the helm but the Premier League will be a huge challenge for him and his side.
- A mixed bag in preseason with wins with expected wins against the likes of Colchester and Millwall but lost fairly convincingly to both Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
- Transfer business looks okay but not sure it is enough to stay in the division in all honesty.
- Near enough full strength for this one with Domingos Quina the only reported doubt. Unlikely that Will Hughes will be involved however having been dropped to the U23’s as he fails to agree a new contract with the club.
- Very busy summer at Villa park with the departure of Grealish for £100m. Credit to Villa for being proactive and reinvesting quickly with the arrival of Buendia, Bailey and Ings.
- Slight doubt over Olly Watkins due to a bruised knee which could see Ings handed his full debut in attack.
- Slight doubt over Emi Buendia due to a hip issue and it isn’t quite known yet whether Bailey will be able to feature due to his self-isolation period.
- Quite a few doubts for Villa who unfortunately for Dean Smith most likely won’t be at complete full strength.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
I would fancy Villa strongly in this one had they not got so many injury doubts and worries going into this one which could harm their chances, as a result, I think Watford could get a score draw here. 1-1 in this one.
Watford Predicted 11 v Aston Villa: Bachmann; Femenia, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Rose; Etebo, Cleverley, Louza; Sarr, Hernandez, Dennis
Aston Villa Predicted 11 v Watford: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Nakamba; Buendia, J. Ramsey, Young; Ings
Chelsea v Crystal Palace
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 3:00PM Kick Off
The second London derby of the weekend as Champions League holders Chelsea host Crystal Palace. Chelsea look a formidable force and will be in a buoyant mood having just won the Supercup in midweek following their penalty shootout win over Villarreal. Palace are a little bit of the unknown following the departure of Roy and the appointment of Patrick Vieira. Impressed with their transfer business though I must say and interested to see how they get on.
- Lukaku is the cherry on what was an already very tasty cake and I am convinced will take Chelsea to another level this season following his £100m arrival from Inter Milan.
- Tuchel has worked wonders in his 8 months in charge and guided them to two trophies and now I expect a strong challenge for the Premier League title this season.
- Hakim Ziyech was injured in the supercup and will likely miss out here but other than that the Blues should be at full strength.
- Experience has been swapped for exciting youngsters at Palace in an all-change approach employed by new manager Vieira.
- Andersen, Olise and Guehi have arrived through the door and Palace have formed a very likeable young team.
- Eze and Nathan Ferguson are out due to their respective Achilles injuries.Slight doubt over Andersen too due to a knock.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
I like the Palace team but I can’t see them troubling a quality Chelsea side here. Lukaku is unlikely to be involved having only just signed but even without him they have more than enough quality to get the job done. 3-1 Chelsea win at the Bridge in this one.
Chelsea Predicted 11 v Crystal Palace: Mendy; Azpilcueta, Rudiger, Zouma, Hudson-Odoi, Alonso; Kante, Kovacic; Havertz, Werner, Mount
Crystal Palace Predicted 11 v Chelsea: Guaita; Ward, Tomkins, Guehi, Mitchell; Kouyate, Riedewald, Schlupp; Ayew, Benteke, Zaha
Leicester v Wolves
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 3:00PM Kick Off
Midlands Derby at the King Power as Leicester begin their Premier League campaign on a high after their Community win over Man City last weekend. They host Wolves who will be without Nuno in the dugout for the first time in 4 years as he decided to move onto Spurs. Interesting game in which Leicester will be the favourites as they look to challenge for a top 4 place once again this season.
- Injuries to Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans mean Leicester are a little light at the back. Amartey may well be asked to fill in as was the case last weekend.
- The additions of Daka, Soumare and Bertrand will surely strengthen the squad and the Foxes look all set for another strong season under Brendan Rodgers- a man I rate massively.
- A mixed preseason with a couple of dodgy results including defeats to both Wycombe and Burton (one pens) but they look well set and I was very impressed with their display against City last weekend.
- Wolves begin life without Nuno Espirito Santo but are sticking with the tried-and-tested Portuguese route under Lage, how it works out we will just have to wait and see.
- The return of Raul Jiminez from a fractured skull is absolutely massive for Wolves and I expect the Mexican to comfortably be the clubs top scorer once again this season.
- Wolves certainly have plenty of injuries to contend with going in to the opening day with Boly, Podence, Neto and Mosquera all major doubts for this one.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
I was mightily impressed by Leicester and the way they outplayed Man City in the community shield last weekend. Brendan Rodgers is a genius for me and has taken the club to a new level in which you expect them to be competing for a top 4 finish season in, season out. First game in charge for new Wolves boss Lage and you couldn’t have asked for a much harder one. Expect the Foxes to register a fairly routine win in this one; 3-1.
Leicester Predicted 11 v Wolves: Schmeichel; Pereira, Soyuncu, Amartey, Bertrand; Tielemans, Ndidi, Maddison; Barnes, Vardy, Perez
Wolves Predicted 11 v Leicester: Sa; Coady, Kilman, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Ait-Nouri; Traore, Jimenez, Trincao
Norwich v Liverpool
🏟
Saturday 14th August – 5:30PM Kick Off
📺
Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League
If you had asked Norwich and their fans what team they would have wanted to avoid on the opening day of the Premier League season it would probably have been Liverpool. Over the years they have given them plenty of hidings and the Canaries will be hoping times have changed this time around. No doubt Carrow Road will be buzzing for the late KO and I do fancy it to be an entertaining one.
- The departures of Oliver Skipp and in particular Emi Buendia over the summer window will have hurt them and now up to the new signings that Farke has made over the summer to prove their worth.
- Preseason has been reasonable with wins over King’s Lynn Town, Lincoln City, Huddersfield Town and Gillingham but most recently they were well beaten 3-0 Newcastle United.
- Covid has also disrupted their preseason somewhat with cancelled fixtures against Coventry City and Sheffiled United hampering their preparations.
- A few doubts surrounding key players won’t help Farke ahead of this one. Todd Cantwell is struggling with an ankle problem as is Lukas Rupp. Remains to be seen whether Grant Hanley and Milot Rashica will be available following a bout of covid.
- Defensive issues haunted Liverpool for almost the entirety of last season following season-ending injuries to both Joe Gomez and Virgil Van Dijk.
- They are now both fit again and the signing of Ibrahim Konate means they really shouldn’t be short in the centre of defence any longer.
- They do have problems at left back though with super Andy Robertson confirmed as missing following ankle ligament damage picked up in preseason. He will be replaced by Kostas Tsimikas who has impressed in the friendlies this summer.
- Curtis Jones is likely to be the other notable player after picking up concussion against Osasuna on Monday night.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
Must be honest in saying I only see this going one way The return of VVD is massive in the way Liverpool like to play and although he will take a while to get back up to speed, he really is a top class defender. Liverpool tend to do well against Norwich and I expect much of the same in this one as the reds romp to a 3-0 victory.
Leicester Predicted 11 v Wolves: Schmeichel; Pereira, Soyuncu, Amartey, Bertrand; Tielemans, Ndidi, Maddison; Barnes, Vardy, Perez
Norwich Predicted 11 v Liverpool: Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis; Rupp, Gilmour, Lees-Melou; Rashica, Pukki, Cantwell
Newcastle United v West Ham United
🏟
Sunday 15th August – 2:00PM Kick Off
📺
Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League
Going to be some atmosphere at St James Park as the Toon faithful return to their temple for the first time in over 18 months. Newcastle will aim to steer clear of danger for the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign, while West Ham must balance domestic and European commitments.
- Joe Willock signed on Friday afternoon from Arsenal for a fee of £25. The club are thrilled with his capture after excelling last season but unsure as of yet whether he will be registered in time to be involved.
- They are expected to be without their first two choice goalkeepers with both Martin Dubravka (foot) and Karl Darlow (coronavirus) both expected to miss out. Third choice keeper Freddie Woodman is expected to fill in
- Paul Dummet is also expected to miss out with a calf issue otherwise Bruce has a fully fit squad with the likes of Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin tipped to start.
- Like Newcastle, West Ham have had a very quiet transfer window with Alphonso Areola the only new player from last season as he joins on loan from PSG.
- Surprised how little business the club have done in all honesty, especially when you consider how well they did last season and they will have the added stress of European football to deal with this campaign.
- Some important players missing for the Hammers too with Angelo Ogbonna out because of the hamstring problem he sustained in a friendly against Celtic. Lanzini and Masuaku are also thought to be doubts.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
The return of the Toon army could be a blessing or a curse depending on how the fans take to Steve Bruce who remains largely unpopular at the club. You would hope spirits would be high on opening day and the atmosphere will be bouncing as you often expect in Newcastle. West Ham were fantastic last season but are yet to replace Jesse Lingard who has returned to parent club Manchester United over the summer. He was massive for them in the second half of last season and will need replacing. Will be a close one in my opinion and I quite fancy a score-draw to open the season. 1-1.
Newcastle Predicted 11 v West Ham: Woodman; Fernandez, Lascelles, Schar; Murphy, Hayden, S. Longstaff, Almiron, Ritchie; Wilson, Saint-Maximin
West Ham Predicted 11 v Newcastle: Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma; Antonio
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
🏟
Sunday 15th August – 4:30PM Kick Off
📺
Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League
Probably the highest profile game of the Premier League weekend as Spurs host Manchester City with the main talking point still surrounding the future of Harry Kane. The Spurs striker is still yet to feature for his club following his involvement with England at the Euros. On his return there were reports he refused to train as he tried to force a move to tomorrow’s opponents, Manchester City. If involved, no doubt all eyes will be on him with his future at the club still very much uncertain.
- Tottenham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo says a decision will be made on Saturday as to whether Manchester City target Harry Kane will feature.
- Elsewhere other new signings Cristian Romero and Bryan Gil have trained in full this week and are set to be involved. Tanguy Ndombele isn’t expected to make the squad with his future at the club still up in the air.
- Spurs will be keen to make a strong start here under the new manager and show Kane that North London is the place to be to match his lofty ambitions.
- City didn’t make the ideal start to the season as they deservedly lost to Leicester City at Wembley last weekend. Pep Guardiola won’t be too disappointed though as had many first-team stars missing and in honesty the game is little more than a glorified friendly.
- Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne are a couple of key absentees for City in this one. Foden remains on the sidelines due to a foot injury while KDB is still yet to return to full training.
- The likes of Sterling, Walker and John Stones have all returned to full training following the Euros and are available to play in what will otherwise be a near full strength 11.
👉
Verdict & Prediction
The future surrounding Kane is sure to have unsettled many at Spurs including Nuno who has already voiced his annoyance at having to constantly answer questions about the striker. With City back to near enough full strength and looking to make the perfect start as they attempt to retain their Premier League crown I can only really see this going one way. Expect City to get the win here with a 2-1 victory.
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted 11 v Manchester City: Lloris; Tanganga; Sanchez, Dier, Reguilon; Lo Celso, Hojbjerg; Lucas, Dele, Bergwijn; Son
Manchester City Predicted 11 v Tottenham Hotspur: Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Mendy; Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo; Grealish, Ferran, Mahrez
18+ please gamble responsibly. All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
