After a fantastic opening week of tipping, GG editor Tom Aldridge had another solid weekend, with plenty of winning selections, including:
- 7/10 results correct
- 5/10 Best Bet tips winning
- Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth correct score
He’s on hand to give us his predictions for this weekends action.
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Odds correct at time of posting – 10am Thursday 24th August
Chelsea vs Luton (8pm Friday)
Chelsea may have had a bit of a poor start to the season, with just one point after two games, but surely they will get three points against Luton. It has to be only a matter of time before their talented squad clicks and they get back to the Chelsea who have consistently been in the top four, and if they’re going to start soon, they couldn’t hope for a better game than home to Luton.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have scored in both games this season, and have had a higher xG (expected goals) than their opponents in both games too, yet have walked away with just one point from a possible six. They’ve created plenty of chances to score, but have been failing to convert those chances into goals. I expect that to change on Friday evening when they face Luton, who haven’t strengthened sufficiently for a serious chance of staying in the league longer than a season.
Luton may have had an extra week to prepare for this game after their game was postponed last weekend, but this should be a fairly straightforward game for the home side. Backing Chelsea to win to nil looks a fairly safe option to me, and at 10/11 it looks a good bet to kick off this weekends accas.
Prediction – Chelsea 3-0 Luton
Best Bet – Chelsea To Win To Nil (10/11)
Bournemouth vs Tottenham (12.30pm Saturday)
The Saturday lunchtime kick off is always a dodgy game to be confident on, but I’ve been really impressed in the way Tottenham have played in their two games under new manager Ange Postecoglou, and I’m confident they’ll be leaving Bournemouth with three points. I was confident they’d beat Man Utd last week and they duly obliged, putting in a solid performance and they looked good value for the victory.
Bournemouth had the dream start away at Liverpool but that was as good as it got, where even when Liverpool went down to 10 men they were still outplayed. They are scoring goals however, so it could be worth backing them to net again on Saturday.
Spurs did give Man Utd a few good opportunities to net last weekend and if they do so again on Saturday I’d fancy Bournemouth to score. With that in mind, backing the 9/4 of Tottenham to win and both teams to score looks excellent value.
Prediction – Bournemouth 1-2 Tottenham
Best Bet – Tottenham To Win + BTTS (9/4)
Arsenal vs Fulham (3pm Saturday)
Fulham have never beaten Arsenal away from home and I highly doubt that will change this weekend. Arsenal are looking the biggest threat to Man City again this season and there doesn’t look to be much chance of them slipping up this weekend.
Fulham were comfortably beaten at home to Brentford last weekend, managing just two shots on goal in the process, and they won’t be fancying their chances of a better result here. They’ve lost their best goalscoring threat in Aleksander Mitrovic and they arguably look weaker this season than they did last season, so they’ll need to be busy in the final week of the transfer window if they want to change their fortunes this season.
Arsenal won both the home and away H2H last season, with Martin Odegaard scoring in both games. After his match-winning penalty last week, it could be worth siding with him to net again in an Arsenal win, especially if he’s going to be their designated penalty taker this season.
Prediction – Arsenal 2-0 Fulham
Best Bet – Odegaard To Score + Arsenal To Win (15/8)
Brentford vs Crystal Palace (3pm Saturday)
I have to admit, I did think Brentford might struggle a bit early doors this season with no Ivan Toney, but Thomas Frank’s side have really impressed me and I’ll be backing them to win again this weekend.
After an opening day draw against Spurs, they brushed Fulham aside last week, with Wissa and Mbeumo netting for the second successive week. Both have really stepped up in Toney’s absence and I don’t see the Palace defence keeping both of them quiet on Saturday. Palace edged past Sheffield Utd on the opening weekend, before a lacklustre display in defeat at home to 10-man Arsenal has showed some weaknesses in Roy Hodgson’s side. I’m a huge Eberechi Eze fan, but he needs someone to supply up front and I’d be shocked if Palace didn’t try to bring in a striker before the transfer window closes, as their attacking options just aren’t good enough for the Premier League in my opinion.
The last four H2H’s have seen the sides share the points, but I’m fairly confident Brentford will come out on top this weekend. The even money on offer for a Brentford win looks good enough to me, so there’s no need to add anything else in.
Prediction – Brentford 2-0 Crystal Palace
Best Bet – Brentford To Win (1/1)
Everton vs Wolves (3pm Saturday)
This has to be the worst game of the weekend, both sides failing to impress and neither of them with a point on the board after two games. Everton were comfortably dispatched of at home to Aston Villa last week, and the same happened with Wolves at home to Brighton, so it’s difficult to be confident in either of them here.
I do think Gary O’Neil will eventually get Wolves playing well, as they do have some good players at their disposal, but I struggle to see where their goals will come from. Everton are in the same boat in regards to struggling to see who scores for them, especially with Calvert-Lewin a doubt for this after his head injury last week.
Neither team has an out and out goalscorer, and both sides will be keen to get at least a point on the board here, so will be desperate not to concede. I’m going to play it safe and back the ‘both teams to score – NO’ option, as I just can’t see both of these sides finding a goal, it’s as simple as that!
Prediction – Everton 0-0 Wolves
Best Bet – Both Teams To Score – NO (1/1)
Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest (3pm Saturday)
This one should be fairly straightforward – Man Utd are excellent at home and Forest have a woeful away record! Add in the fact that Man Utd have won all four recent H2H’s and the home win looks a sure thing, but at 2/7 I’ll be looking elsewhere for a betting tip in the match.
Erik ten Hag’s side have hardly set the world alight with their start to the season, with a fortunate 1-0 win against Wolves followed by a 2-0 loss to Tottenham, but they are a much better side at Old Trafford – they’re currently on an impressive 30 match unbeaten run at home. It’s difficult to see Forest being the team to break that record, especially when you factor in that no side has beaten Forest more than Man Utd in Premier League history.
Man Utd won all four games against Forest last season to nil (two in the EFL Cup), so although Taiwo Awoniyi is on an impressive run of consecutive goals, I think the Man Utd win to nil bet looks to be the way to play this.
Prediction – Man United 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Best Bet – Man United To Win To Nil (5/4)
Brighton vs West Ham (5.30pm Saturday)
Brighton just seem to get better and better each season, even when they sell their best players, so they deserve a lot of credit for that. They’ve won both games this season in dominant fashion, and I don’t see West Ham leaving the Amex Stadium with any points on Saturday evening.
What I love about Brighton is their goals aren’t down to one or two players – there have been six different goalscorers in the eight goals they’ve scored this season. Their style of play is a joy to watch and their attacking play is second to none, as evident in the fact they’ve had more shots on target than any other PL side this season.
West Ham did well to win against Chelsea last weekend, but the result makes it sound more comfortable than it was. James Ward-Prowse looks to be an excellent signing for them on the back of his two assists on debut last week, and they’ll be dangerous from any set pieces they get here. Because of that, I think the Brighton win + both teams to score bet could be the best way to play this one.
Prediction – Brighton 3-1 West Ham
Best Bet – Brighton To Win + Both Teams To Score (7/4)
Burnley vs Aston Villa (2pm Sunday)
Turf Moor will be bouncing on Sunday, with the home crowd sure to give the players a boost on their first home game of the season, but they face a buoyant Villa side who have some serious talent in their squad now.
Burnley have had an extra week to prepare for this game, after their match against Luton was postponed last weekend, but this will be a real test for them and should give a good early indication to their chances of survival this season. Aston Villa look to be a side on the up and ran out easy 4-0 winners against Everton last weekend.
In Ollie Watkins, they possess one of the top strikers in the league and I think Burnley will struggle to keep him quiet here. He netted a hat-trick in their 5-0 win against Hibernian in the Conference League game on Thursday and has scored on his last two visits to Turf Moor, so I’m backing him to score again here in a Villa victory.
Prediction – Burnley 1-2 Aston Villa
Best Bet – Watkins To Score + Aston Villa To Win (3/1)
Sheffield Utd vs Man City (2pm Sunday)
There’s no doubting Man City should be winning this fairly comfortably, but it’s difficult to find a betting angle for it. For them to win to nil it’s only 8/11, and for the Haaland to score + City to win it’s only 8/15! I think the goalscorer market will have to be the way to play it, and I think I’ve found just the player for it.
Phil Foden looks to be finally getting a serious run in this City side, and he’s looked dangerous in each game this season. It’s surely a matter of time before he scores, and it’s worth noting that if he continues to play on that right wing that last season Riyad Mahrez netted a hat-trick from that position when these sides met in the FA Cup Semi-Final.
The win to nil market would’ve been the play here if it was better odds, as I don’t see Sheffield Utd troubling the City backline, but I can’t back that at 8/11. The 2/1 on Foden to score in a City win looks much better value, so I have to go with that.
Prediction – Sheffield Utd 0-3 Man City
Best Bet – Foden To Score + Man City To Win (2/1)
Newcastle vs Liverpool (4.30pm Sunday)
What a cracking game to finish off the weekend action! I can’t wait to watch this and it has the potential to be an early contender for game of the season if both sides play to their full potential.
I think there will be plenty of goals in this, as although Newcastle are fairly solid defensively, Liverpool tend to always find the back of the net and have done so in the last five H2H’s. As good as Liverpool are going forward, they are dodgy at the back and Newcastle put five past Aston Villa in their last home game.
Mo Salah has had an excellent start to the season and looks dangerous whenever he’s on the ball, so I’ll be backing him to score + both teams to score in a build-a-bet on SkyBet at 21/10, which looks a cracking price!
Prediction – Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool
Best Bet – Salah To Score + Both Teams To Score *Build-A-Bet* (21/10)
WEEK THREE PREDICTIONS
- Chelsea 3-0 Luton
- Bournemouth 1-2 Tottenham
- Arsenal 2-0 Fulham
- Brentford 2-0 Crystal Palace
- Everton 0-0 Wolves
- Man United 2-0 Nottingham Forest
- Brighton 3-1 West Ham
- Burnley 1-2 Aston Villa
- Sheffield Utd 0-3 Man City
- Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool
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