London derby at Selhurst Park & Klopp wants to extend opening series
The new Premier League season begins! The 31st edition of the league kicks off with the London derby between Crystal Palace and Arsenal next Friday evening.
The runners-up from Liverpool are also guests in the capital for their opener. Here, the Reds face promoted Fulham and will be hoping that their coach Jürgen Klopp keeps his opening whitewash.
So far, the German coach has never lost on matchday 1 in Britain’s top flight! The Manchester champions face a London club on top.
The Citizens take on West Ham and all eyes are naturally on Erling Haaland’s league debut for City. Erik ten Hag also makes his first appearance as a new coach for the Red Devils against Brighton.
A thoroughly enjoyable opponent to start against, as the Seagulls have never won at Old Trafford.
Crystal Palace v Arsenal – 05 August, 21:00
The Eagles are in their tenth season in the British top flight. At the end of last season, they finished in twelfth place, which meant that coach Patrick Vieira’s squad finished in double figures at the final reckoning, as they have always done since promotion in 2013.
The term “grey mouse” thus continues to be carefully cultivated at Crystal Palace. In order to possibly be more successful this season, the hosts are investing above all in the defensive midfield.
Cheick Doucouré, a promising player, was signed for this part of the team. The 22-year-old from Mali previously played for Lens in Ligue 1 and brought the French the biggest transfer income in the club’s history with more than 20 million euros.
Coach Mikel Arteta’s visiting team also spent a lot of money and changed several positions in the squad. Particularly prominent is newcomer Gabriel Jesus in attack, who previously spent six years chasing goals with the champions.
In the preparation for the new season, the ex-Citizens player already showed that he is worth his money: The Brazilian scored in four of his five appearances!
In the test match against Nuremberg, the 25-year-old even scored twice and in the Emirates Cup against Sevilla he delivered no less than a hat-trick in his team’s 6-0 thumping victory!
For the match at Selhurst Park on Matchday 1 in the Premier League, betting on Gabriel Jesus to score again for the visitors is therefore a good idea.
Fulham vs Liverpool – 06 August, 13:30
The Cottagers have secured immediate promotion and the hosts will be hoping their top striker continues to score as well in the Premier League as he did in the Championship last season.
The Serbian recorded no less than 43 goals in 44 appearances, setting a new goalscoring record in the division!
However, he had already been the top scorer in the lower house in 2020, but was subsequently unable to match his achievements in the top flight of British football.
Mitrovic scored only three goals in the Premier League the season before last and was also involved in the team’s relegation at that time. The visitors also made a move for the home side during the summer break.
They signed Fabio Carvalho, a powerful midfielder. The king transfer, however, was of course Darwin Nunez. One of the hottest players on the transfer market was released by Benfica for a whopping 75 million.
The Uruguayan was the top scorer in Liga Portugal last season and was expected to fill the gap left by Sadio Mane’s departure to Bayern.
A verdict that was further supported by the FA Community Shield last weekend: In the match against the champions from Manchester, the 23-year-old immediately scored a goal despite a short playing time of around half an hour.
In preparation, he also showed his enormous attacking skills in the match against RB-Leipzig with no less than four goals!
For the match at Cottage Craven in the Premier League on Matchday 1, tips on an away win, including an interval lead for the visitors, are now recommended.
The visitors are clearly better individually, while the promoted side will also need time to re-acclimatise in the PL.
Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa – 06 August, 16:00
The Cherries were promoted as runners-up in last season’s Championship and have now naturally only declared staying in the division as their goal for the season.
AFC are in the top flight for only the second time in their 123-year history, having previously achieved that feat once in 2015 before returning to the Championship five years later for the Poole Bay footballers.
The red-and-black squad has remained largely the same, so it should be well-rehearsed by the time the season kicks off. However, it can be said that coach Scott Parker’s team is the weakest alongside Nottingham, at least on paper.
The Villans, on the other hand, have a lot more to offer: As in the previous year, Birmingham’s money was very loose. Coach Steven Gerrard can now call on the Brazilian Diego Carlos (Sevilla) in central defence, among others.
On top of that, his compatriot Philippe Coutinho no longer plays on loan from Barcelona at Aston Villa, but has been signed in full.
In the clash at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League within Matchday 1, predictions for an away win seem fruitful. The visitors have the better squad and have already convinced in the test matches.
None of the five preparation games against well-known opponents such as Stade Rennes from Ligue 1 or the league rivals Manchester United were lost (4-1-0).
Leeds v Wolverhampton – 06 August, 16:00
The kickers from the Steel City managed to stay in the league last season with a lot of effort. Now their hopes are pinned on Marc Roca, among others, who was signed from Bayern ahead of the new season.
The defensive midfielder had once been planned as Thiago’s replacement at the Isar, but could not do justice to this task after his transfer from Espanyol Barcelona, although this was also due to numerous injuries.
At Leeds, the Spaniard wants to take off and above all replace Kalvin Philipps, who left for Manchester, in the defensive midfield.
The visitors also look back on a rather weak last season. In the end, they only managed to finish tenth and their ambitions regarding international business were not fulfilled from Wolves’ point of view.
For the match at Elland Road between two similarly strong teams in the Premier League on Matchday 1, tips on a draw are worth considering.
Newcastle v Nottingham – 06 August, 16:00
The Magpies, as is well known, are now particularly well off financially thanks to their still fairly new main owner in the shape of the Public Investment Fund from Saudi Arabia.
Lille from France, among others, profited from this during the summer break. The “Great Danes” took in about 37 million euros for Sven Botmann. The defender from the Netherlands should give Newcastle’s back line much more stability.
This also applies to the other defensive newcomers Matt Targett and goalkeeper Nick Pope. The visiting newcomers, who are back in the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, will have to cope with a rugged team.
will have to deal with a completely renewed defence.
However, coach Steve Cooper’s Tricky Trees will rely heavily on Taiwo Awoniyi in their quest for goals of their own. The striker was bought from Union Berlin, where he proved his class last season with 15 goals in 31 games.
With Moussa Niakhate, the 1978 champions were also able to sign another player from the Bundesliga. The Frenchman previously played for Mainz and, given his undoubted quality, should also impress in the UK’s top flight.
In the match at Newcastle in the Premier League on Matchday 1, however, predictions of a home victory are worth considering.
The home side already delivered a much stronger second half last term compared to the first half of the season and, against the backdrop of recent further signings, the upward trend should continue in the north-east of England against the two-time winners of the European Champions Cup (1979; 1980).
Tottenham v Southampton – 06 August, 16:00
The Lilywhites snatched the last Champions League spot from city rivals Arsenal with a successful final spurt last season. Now the home side want to build on this successful final phase of last season.
In doing so, the hosts will also rely on the home bonus: Last season, only the champions from Manchester, Liverpool and the aforementioned Gunners scored better on home soil.
In terms of personnel, this summer was also much more relaxed than last year. There was no eternal wrangling over the whereabouts of top striker Harry Kane this time, which is why the preparation was comparatively harmonious.
The striker is currently in a strong early form. He scored five goals in his four appearances in preparation!
The visitors from the south coast, for their part, were a welcome guest last season: Only the relegated Burnley and Norwich, as well as Everton, scored fewer points away from home than Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team.
In view of the points listed, predictions for a home win with the home side already leading at the break seem promising for the opening match of the new season in the Premier League on matchday 1.
Everton v Chelsea – 06 August, 18:30
The Toffees have a lot to live up to with their fans this season. Last season was a complete disappointment by Liverpool’s standards and ended in relegation to the Championship by a whisker.
However, they lost a powerful striker in Richarlison to Tottenham in the summer. Instead, the Blues changed hands a few weeks ago and are hoping that things around the club will calm down again.
This also applies to the climate in the dressing room: With Romelu Lukaku, an attacker who is undoubtedly a strong player was loaned back to Inter, but his time at Chelsea last year was not under a good star.
For this reason, London will probably be happy about his departure for the time being, especially since his relationship with coach Thomas Tuchel must be considered to have broken down.
It remains to be seen, however, how the two departures of Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) and Andreas Christensen (Barcelona) in central defence will be coped with by the visitors.
For the clash at Goodison Park in the Premier League within Matchday 1, tips on goals on both sides represent the first choice of the betting base.
The Londoners’ attack continues to be well-stocked, even without Lukaku, thanks in part to the signing of Raheem Sterling from Manchester, and the changed central defence, which has yet to find its new form, also suggests a goal for the home side.
On top of that, coach Frank Lampard’s home side will certainly be going all out to give their coach another win against his former club after the 1-0 victory last May.
So far, however, only Jose Mourinho has managed to win twice in a row against his former employers.
Leicester v Brentford – 07 August, 15:00
The Foxes, who finished eighth last season, narrowly missed out on a place in the Europa Conference League play-off round and can therefore concentrate on their admittedly varied domestic duties.
In attack, the home side will continue to rely on Jamie Vardy, who returned to his old strength towards the end of last season with five goals in the final four rounds of matches, after having been used only as a bench player by coach Brendan Rodgers.
The home side’s squad has hardly changed. The same is true for the visitors, who will be looking to build on their good performance from last season, when they were promoted and managed to stay in the league.
For the clash in Leicester in the first round of the 2022/23 Premier League, the odds on more than 2.5 goals can be located in the eyes of the betting base Value.
The home games of the hosts were comparatively high-scoring last season, with an average of three goals, and this can also be said for the Londoners’ visiting games, which were equally stingy with an average of 3.2 goals.
Vardy in particular should strike again: In his career, he has already scored seven goals on a first matchday in the Premier League – only the British icons Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney have so far topped that tally with eight goals each.
Manchester United v Brighton – 07 August, 15:00
The Red Devils failed to book even a Champions League sixth last time out after finishing runners-up in 2021. Under new coach Erik ten Hag, however, things are now set to get better again at the record champions.
United are of course also aiming for the title, which they have not won for nine seasons now. With regard to this endeavour, the squad has been shaken up.
Prominent names such as Paul Pogba (Juventus) and Jesse Lingard (Nottingham) were dropped.
The Seagulls, on the other hand, have strengthened their forward line. German Deniz Undav, the top scorer of the Belgian Jupiler League, was signed.
The attacker had actually been under contract since the last winter break, but was initially sent out on loan to St. Gilles.
The switch was made mainly thanks to a short service route resulting from the fact that Brighton and Brussels have the same owner with Tony Bloom. However, the overall quality of the squad has diminished somewhat.
This judgement can be made with the departure of Yves Bissouma in midfield. The Mali international has been a fixture in the south coast side’s switch-hitting centre for the past four seasons and his move to Spurs has unquestionably left a void in that part of the team.
For the match at Old Trafford in the PL on Matchday 1, predictions on a Jadon Sancho goal on the home side are a good idea.
The former BVB player has been particularly convincing during the preparation and you can tell that he has his sights set very high for this season after a rather disappointing last season.
In the test matches, the 22-year-old England international has already scored in three of his four appearances!
West Ham v Manchester City – 07 August, 17:30
The Irons confirmed their upward trend from last year, when they finished sixth at the time, by finishing seventh to close out last season. The squad was also strengthened in the transfer phase, especially in defence.
Nayef Aguerd was signed from Stade Rennes in Ligue 1. Thanks to his high individual quality, the Moroccan international is a real update for the Londoners’ back line.
For their part, the champions spent most of their money on the signing of Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker is now expected to score goals to help Pep Guardiola’s side win their third title in a row.
For the clash at London’s Olympic Stadium in the PL on Matchday 1, tips on an away win, including an interval lead for the visitors, are worth recommending.
The Citizens once again boast an excellent squad after the departure of Gabriel Jesus and delivered the best away record last season.
They lost only one of their 19 away games and won no less than 14 of them. Furthermore, ten of those victories came with a lead at the break – again the highest number in the league-wide rankings.
Furthermore, Haaland will be very motivated on his debut for Manchester in the league, as he will want to make it clear immediately with a goal that he is still capable of scoring in the Premier League, just as he was in the Bundesliga at his previous station in Dortmund.
Should he score, he would become the third Norwegian after Tore Andre Flo (1997) and Adama Diomande (2016) in the history of the division to strike on his matchday debut.
