After a decent international break for most of the British and Irish sides, the attention turns back to the domestic game this weekend. England have booked their place at France 2016, whilst Wales and Northern Ireland may be within touching distance of the European Championships, but that needs to be put to the back of those players’ minds, with plenty of Premier League football to get through first.
The top flight isn’t returning lightly, there’s a packed schedule ready for the first round of games in September. Manchester United hosting Liverpool is obviously the highlight, but Chelsea’s game at Everton will be another interesting watch. Here we have previews for both those games and the rest of the live action this weekend, including a betting tip for each.
Saturday 12th September 2015
Everton v Chelsea (12:45) – Both teams to score (10/11 with Coral)
Chelsea’s rough start to the season got worse as they lost at home to Crystal Palace in their last game, and they’ll be desperate to get things back on track here. Goodison Park is hardly an easy place to go, and the Blues will know they’ll need to be at their very best to get a result. The problem is, we’ve yet to see them play at their best all season. Has the two week international break given them a chance to catch up, or will it affect their clearly jaded players?
Everton will be boosted by seeing two of their young stars, John Stones and Ross Barkley, playing for England last week. Of course, the John Stones saga will add extra spice to this game. Chelsea’s chase of the young defender angered the Toffees. The outcome here is a very tight one to call, the visitors have been too hit and miss so far to make you want to go near the winner market. The best way to go on this game seems to be both teams to score. Neither side have been great at the back so far, and it’s well priced at 10/11 with Coral.
Manchester United v Liverpool (17:30) – Over 2.5 goals (11/10 with Coral)
The Saturday night game is a huge one, as Manchester United host old rivals Liverpool. After being thumped 3-0 at home to West Ham two weeks ago, can Brendan Rodgers’ men bounce back with a win over the Red Devils? It would certainly get their season back on track, especially since these two sides are expected to be fighting each other for fourth place. Can either side take an advantage in that race here, or is it too early for this game to matter in the Champions League chase?
It probably comes a little too early, but that won’t dampen the atmosphere at Old Trafford. It’s always a tense game when these two meet, and Liverpool will be looking for revenge after they lost home and away to United last year. Louis van Gaal’s side do look stronger here, and they’ve certainly had a better start to the season. They come in to this game as favourites, but there are still some question marks hanging over them. A better way to go on this one is over 2.5 goals, given how both sides were found out at the back last weekend.
Sunday 13th September 2015
Sunderland v Tottenham (13:30) – Over 2.5 goals (19/20 with Coral)
There’s no doubt that Sunday’s action is a step down from Saturday’s two live games, but we’re expecting to see goals in the Super Sunday double header. Tottenham are still on the hunt for their first win of the season, and the Stadium of Light looks like the perfect place to get it. The Black Cats have only two points from their opening four games, and they’re already odds on to be relegated, so this is a sure-fire victory for the visitors, right? Well, it doesn’t seem quite that straightforward, with Spurs it rarely is.
Sunderland may not have had the best start, but that’s mainly down to their defence. They’ve been torn apart by attackers, and by Neville and Carragher on Monday Night Football. Up front, things are going much better for them. They’ve scored in every game so far and not many teams can say that. Tottenham are in the same boat, good going forward, awful at the back. Usually that points to both teams to score, but given the odds, we’re tipping another over 2.5 here. It’s hard to imagine either one of these two keeping a clean sheet this weekend, and that makes three or more goals look like a smart bet at just short of evens.
Leicester v Aston Villa (16:00) – Leicester to win and both teams to score (11/4 with BetVictor)
The final game of the weekend sees Aston Villa traveling to an in-form Leicester side, with the Foxes still unbeaten so far this season. They’ve made a fantastic start under Claudio Ranieri, much better than anyone expected. The big question will be how much longer can this go on? Tim Sherwood and Villa will be out to end that run at the King Power, but do they have what it takes to get a result here? Villa have been a bit hit and miss this season, so what should we actually expect?
Well, the Villains tend to do better away from home. They came close to a result at Palace and won at Bournemouth, while they’ve gotten just one point from six at home. They should be able to give the hosts a scare at the very least here. But, given how well Leicester have started, their confidence should be sky high going in to this game. Their good run has to end eventually, but it doesn’t look like that’ll happen here. They have enough goals in their side to win this one, while we’re backing Villa to get themselves on the scoresheet as well in what should be a decent derby clash.