Premier League Betting Preview & Tips

The Premier League in England gets under way this weekend. It should be a very interesting season ahead, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool looking to challenge at the top along with big-spending Manchester City who will be looking to push into the Champions League qualification places too.

Chelsea may struggle defensively without Ricardo Carvalho who has left Stamford Bridge to join Real Madrid. Arsenal have strengthened their squad with two canny additions in the form of Laurent Koscielny and Maraoune Chamakh.

Manchester United look to have signed another gem in Mexican striker Javier Hernandez while Roy Hodgson’s arrival at Liverpool, and the signing of Joe Cole should help them stake a place in the elite of English football once more.

Manchester City will surely be pushing those four teams, and the likes of Tottenham and Everton, for Champions League qualification, if not the league title. They have spent big yet again and the signings of Yaya Toure and David Silva is a signal of their intent. They are available at 61/100 (SkyBet) to make the top four in 2010/11.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Arsenal could be the champions come May. If they can keep the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie fit for the whole season, they have real quality throughout their side. The goals of Chamakh will also help their cause, and at 7/1 (Ladbrokes), they could be a very good value bet to have a successful campaign.

On to the weekend of fixtures now, and there are three stand out games. Unsurprisingly, Sky Sports have chosen to show all of these.

Tottenham and Manchester City kick off the season with the lunchtime game on Saturday. Both sides possess an array of talent and it’s bound to be a closely fought game. A draw can be backed at 12/5 (Stan James, Boylesports).

There will be a number of high-quality forwards on show, making it difficult to select a first goalscorer. Jermain Defoe, Carlos Tevez, Peter Crouch, Emmanuel Adebayor are all top-class, but after a good pre-season, Robbie Keane’s return to White Hart Lane (after his loan spell at Celtic last season) could be rewarded with the opening goal. At 7/1 (Bet365, SkyBet, Paddy Power), he’s good value and could well be worth a punt.

On Sunday, Liverpool host Arsenal at Anfield. It’s a difficult start to Roy Hodgson’s reign with the Reds.

Despite their comfortable progress in the Europa League qualifier, they haven’t enjoyed a great pre-season. With their key players coming back late from World Cup duties, that is perhaps the reason behind that. Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard are all now back in the squad and they should give the Gunners a good game.

The home side are slight favourites for the game, but with Maraoune Chamakh set for his competitive debut, the Gunners could well prove difficult to beat. Arsenal at 2/1 (Paddy Power, Coral) look the best value, and Theo Walcott appears great value at 12/1 (Victor Chandler) to open the scoring at Anfield.

On Monday night, newly promoted Newcastle travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. The Toon couldn’t have picked a trickier opening fixture back in the top flight. But if you recall, two years ago this same fixture was played on the opening weekend and the Magpies managed a draw.

Manchester United are always slow starters, and with many of their squad having only just returned to training after their World Cup exertions, now could be as good a time as any to face them.

Newcastle haven’t really made a mark in the transfer market this summer, and appear to have a lack of punch up front. They will make life hard for the Red Devils, but you can only see one outcome. Don’t expect a thrashing, but a 1-0 Manchester United victory could be the best bet of the game at 7/1 (Victor Chandler, Stan James).

Premier League tips of the weekend:

• Theo Walcott to score first goal (Liverpool v Arsenal) @ 12/1 (Victor Chandler)
• West Ham to beat Aston Villa @ 10/3 (SkyBet, Blue Sq, 888 Sport, Ladbrokes)
• Martin Petrov to score first goal (Bolton v Fulham) @ 10/1 (Paddy Power, Victor Chandler)

Premier League Fixtures

Saturday 14 August

• 12:45 [TV] Tottenham (7/5)            v (12/5) Manchester City (21/10)
• 15:00 Aston Villa (20/19) v (12/5) West Ham (10/3)
• 15:00 Blackburn (21/10) v (12/5) Everton (6/4)
• 15:00 Bolton (13/10) v (12/5) Fulham (5/2)
• 15:00 Sunderland (5/4) v (12/5) Birmingham (13/5)
• 15:00 Wigan (5/6) v (13/5) Blackpool (4/1)
• 15:00 Wolverhampton (7/5) v (23/10) Stoke (23/10)
• 17:30 [TV] Chelsea (2/11) v (13/2) West Brom (20/1)

Sunday 15 August

• 16:00 [TV] Liverpool (6/4) v (23/10) Arsenal (2/1)

Monday 16 August

• 20:00 [TV] Manchester United (1/4) v (5/1) Newcastle (14/1)

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