It may well be only the second week of the English Premier League but there’s plenty to write about. Clubs such as Manchester United and Everton already need a much better result than last week. Let’s look at the top games and the latest odds.
Saturday 13 August
Aston Villa v Everton (12.30pm)
The weekend begins with two clubs that both lost their opening games. Aston Villa lost 2-0 at Bournemouth and will want to avoid making another slow start to the season. They have blown hot and cold under new boss Steven Gerrard. That loss last week means it’s now five Premier League games without a win. Home form certainly needs to be improved with only two wins in the last 11 league games against the might of Southampton and Norwich City. They are 5/6 at Betfair to win this game.
Everton only just stayed up last season and have lost Richarlison. With Calvert-Lewin out injured, another struggle could be on the cards for the Toffees. They began the season with a 1-0 home loss to Chelsea and know they have to play better than last season on their travels.
Their away record was appalling and we need to see them on the road to see if they can do any better this time around. It’s 7/2 at 888sport they can get a win at Villa Park. A bet on both teams to score looks a sensible bet, that’s 4/5 at BetVictor.
Southampton v Leeds United (3pm)
All does not appear to be well at Southampton. The Saints took the lead at Tottenham last weekend but ended up losing 4-1 and are bottom of the table. They had a terrible end to the 2021/22 season and if it had gone on any longer, Southampton could well have ended up in the bottom three.
Mind you, they’ve been playing like a bottom three team for a while now. Their last five league games have all been lost and they have conceded at least twice in their last seven matches.
Ralph Hasanhuttl needs some good results if he’s not to end up being sacked. Home form last season ended with a run of five losses in the last six games. They can be backed at 5/4 at Coral to win their first home league game of the season.
Leeds United only secured their Premier League place on the final day of last season. They kicked off the 2022/23 season with a 2-1 home win over Wolves. Leeds trailed early on but recovered and got the winner through an own goal.
Losing Phillips and Raphina is a big blow for them. Leeds won three of their last five away league games last season and are 2/1 at Ladbrokes to win thIs. A double chance bet on United is 8/13 at Betway and has a good chance of success.
Brentford v Manchester United (5.30pm)
A new dawn is yet to rise at Old Trafford. They began life under Erik ten Hag with a 2-1 home loss to Brighton and Hove Albion. There’s still discontent with Ronaldo and transfer dealings aren’t exciting United fans. To not win at Brentford would only make matters worse for them. Their new boss has to get United playing well on the road. They’ve lost their last six away league matches so do you back them at odds of 19/20 at William Hill?
Brentford did well to come back from 2-0 down at Leicester to earn a point last week. The loss of Eriksen to Manchester United is a blow, perhaps their opponents might fancy signing Ivan Toney too, who’s already off the mark for the season. Brentford were the only one of the three promoted sides last season to survive.
Home form was patchy last season. They ended with four consecutive clean sheets before a final day loss to Leeds. It’s 11/4 at Paddy Power that they can beat United on Saturday. Both teams to score looks good here and that’s 16/25 at Unibet
