The new Premier League season started at an incredible pace, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The second round of fixtures are promising a massive weekend with big debuts and huge clashes coming. With five live games to look forward to, each one has something big going on. Things get started with Sky Sports’ new Friday Night Football, when Manchester United host Southampton.
Pep Guardiola takes City to Stoke on Saturday, before last season’s top two meet at the King Power. Sunday sees a North East derby of sorts while West Ham have a pretty big housewarming party. We’ve looked at each of the five games and we’ve picked out a betting tip on each.
Friday 19th August 2016
Manchester United v Southampton (20:00) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score any time (23/20 with Betfair)
Friday nights are now being filled with Premier League action, with Sky unveiling a brand new show. While it’s unlikely to hit the heights of their Monday night offerings, plenty will be interested in Jose Mourinho’s first home game as United manager. The Portuguese boss made the perfect start last week, but can his side make it two wins from two here? Southampton are in for a tough night, judging by the Red Devils’ performance at Bournemouth.
They’ve shown there are enough goals in this side to kick on and win the title, and that’s without their new £89million man. He may feature here, but he’ll have a tough task taking the focus from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker announced his arrival with a goal last week, and he looks like he could run riot this season. We’ve backed him to score any time here at 23/20 with Betfair, which seems like too big a price on his home debut.
Saturday 20th August 2016
Stoke v Manchester City (12:30) – Draw (29/10 with SkyBet)
Stoke is a place where many people have wanted to see Pep Guardiola test himself. While he may not be facing the Tony Pulis team of old and this may not be a wet Wednesday night, his side face a very stiff test here. With City in midweek Champions League action in Romania, they’re unlikely to be at their best when they head to the Bet365 Stadium. They didn’t look like they’d grasped Guardiola’s style fully in their opening day win, and their busy schedule isn’t going to help here.
Stoke had a pretty average start at Middlesbrough, but they look set for another solid year. They’ve made some steady signings, and Mark Hughes seems to have established them in midtable. Their home ground is still a tough place to go for many teams and we think City won’t have the best of times here. Given how the Citizens seemed to be missing their edge against Sunderland, we’re backing them to take just a point back from the early kick off. The draw here is priced at 29/10 with SkyBet.
Leicester v Arsenal (17:30) – Leicester to win (9/5 with Coral)
Last season’s top two sides clash at the King Power and neither yet have any points on the board. They’ve both came off the back of poor defeats last weekend. Who will get their season up and running here? The Gunners looked defensively awful in their 4-3 to Liverpool, a game which had shades of Arsenal’s 5-3 win in their match at Leicester last term. Things have really changed for the Foxes since then, but the same can’t really be said for the Gunners. Does that give Claudio Ranieri’s men an advantage?
You’d have to say that Leicester’s defeat wasn’t quite as bad as Arsenal’s. While the Foxes did lose to relegation favourites Hull, they weren’t that bad overall. Against an Arsenal defence which concedes far too many chances, you’d say Ranieri’s men should do quite well. They also have more defensive solidity to them than they did last year. That should help them see out this game. We’re backing the champions to pile on Wenger’s misery this weekend, with the Foxes a huge 9/5 with Coral. You’d rarely see the defending champions at that price at home against anyone.
Sunday 21st August 2016
Sunderland v Middlesbrough (13:30) – Both teams to score (21/20 with Betfair)
Newcastle may no longer be in the top flight, but Sunderland aren’t alone in the North East. Middlesbrough are back in the Premier League, and they’ve been making some smart signings. The Black Cats have long struggled to attract quality to that part of the world, but Boro are showing them up this summer. You’d still imagine both sides will be somewhat involved in the relegation battle, adding even more to this derby clash.
The fans themselves don’t really see this as a derby, but it’s the closest they’ve got right now. Sunderland could use some derby spirit, because they’ve failed to win any of their opening five games of the season since 2012. That record looks in danger here, as Boro are team who are packing goals. We can see this being a pretty high scoring affair, and we’re backing both sides to score at 21/20 with Betfair.
West Ham v Bournemouth (16:00) – West Ham to win and both teams to score (11/4 with Bet365)
You may not have heard, but West Ham have moved out of Upton Park over the summer. They’ve made the small switch to the imaginatively named London Stadium, which is set to propel them forward. To celebrate this the Hammers have been busy making signings, and now they’re looking to kick off life in their new home. While they’ve already had a Europa League match here, this will be the proper unveiling of their stadium.
There are few sides you’d rather face than Bournemouth on such an occasion. The Cherries are looking a little short ahead of their second top flight campaign. They may play some good football, but they looked awful at the back against Manchester United. The Hammers should have no problem putting on a show for their fans here, but we do see the visitors getting a goal. Slaven Bilic’s men aren’t that great at the back, and they are pretty open in these big occasions. We’re backing a home and both teams to score, which is just short of 3/1 with Bet365.