The World Cup in Brazil made the summer more than bearable but after the Championship and Community Shield last weekend, the Premier League is now finally back and the waiting for regular, top quality domestic action is over. We’ve got three football accumulators as usual with varied odds to suit every type of bettor, so if you fancy a bet on the football check out our accas now and maybe, just maybe, you could turn a few quid into a small fortune this weekend!
Easy Winner – 6/4 (Betfred)
- Man United to beat Swansea (4/11) – United beat Swansea 4-1 in Wales in the opening game of last season and so with confidence sky high after a brilliant preparation for this campaign we expect an easy win for the Red Devils here. They may be without Robin van Persie but should still have far too much firepower for a Swansea side that have lost some of their best players over the summer.
- Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace Tip (3/10) – Arsenal will also be full of confidence having ended their silverware drought by winning the FA Cup, added another genuine world class player in Alexis Sanchez and then thumped Man City 3-0 in the Community Shield. Having lost to Villa on the opening day of the last campaign they will be well aware of the dangers of complacency and so a home win looks a fine shout here.
- Liverpool to beat Southampton (2/5) – Given Liverpool bought three of Southampton’s best players – Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert – in the summer, it is hard to make a case for the Saints here. They won the corresponding fixture last term 1-0 but since then they have seen their manager go to Spurs and two of their best young defenders leave for Manchester United and Arsenal too and so morale is sure to be at rock bottom in the camp. Whilst Liverpool have lost Luis Suarez they still have some fine attacking talent and the home win looks a banker.
Medium Risk – 11/1 (Sky Bet)
- Liverpool/Liverpool ht/ft (10/11) – Liverpool had a good habit of starting games very quickly last season and often scoring early on, allowing them to counter attack later in the game. We think they can come out of the blocks quickly again against a depleted and demoralised Southampton side and taking them to lead at both half time and full time looks a brilliant bet at odds of around evens.
- Newcastle v Manchester City both teams to score (8/11) – Man City will hope to bounce back from a 3-0 Community Shield defeat against Arsenal but a trip to St James’, where Liverpool drew and Chelsea lost last season, is never easy. The Magpies are an unpredictable outfit and they will miss Loic Remy’s goals this term but with City struggling defensively on the road backing both teams to score looks a solid addition to our acca.
- West Brom v Sunderland draw (23/10) – Both sides struggled last year but whilst Sunderland will be optimistic, the Baggies may well be fearful given the inexperience as a manager of boss Alan Irvine. A draw would suit both sides here and in a close game it looks nice at odds of 23/10.
Long Shot – 131/1 (Bet365)
- Leicester v Everton to draw 1-1 (11/2) – This is a tough test for both sides and we think a close game is likely. Everton may be without some of their World Cup stars who are being rested, whilst Leicester are yet to make any major additions in the transfer window. A draw would not be viewed as a bad result by either side and with Everton drawing three times on the road by a score of 1-1 last season we think this is worth a punt.
- Burnley +0.5 in the Asian handicap (21/10) – Opening days can produce some unusual results and we think there could be an upset at Turf Moor as Burnley prove the doubters wrong by taking something from their game against Chelsea. The Blues struggled against the lesser sides last term and if they are at all complacent then they will struggle against a side that is highly organised, motivated and united.
- West Ham v Tottenham both teams to score and West Ham to win (11/2) – West Ham beat Spurs to nil home and away last term and whilst we think Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be out for revenge we don’t expect them to get it in what could be a surprisingly open contest. We think the home side can win this 2-1 or perhaps even 3-1 and if they do our acca could well deliver the goods at huge odds of 131/1!