Andy Schooler previews the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Premier League Best Bets: Hull v Manchester United (Sat, 1230)
Hull have already been relegated by many pundits with their odds to finish bottom having tumbled in the past couple of weeks.
A look back to last season shows why. They conceded 66 goals in their 46 games as they scraped into the play-offs, while the expected-points data actually had them getting relegated, not promoted.
Obviously, they’ve tried to strengthen in the summer but those efforts have been undermined by financial issues and, frankly, this doesn’t look a squad likely to survive.
They are going off at 7.0 here and while backing away teams at 1.3 isn’t something I’d be getting involved with, I can see the argument that backing their opponents now might well be the way to go before the prices only go one way.
My way of siding with United here is to back them to score in both halves at even money.
I’ve already highlighted the issues Hull had at the back last season, while United have scored 11 times in their last five pre-season friendlies.
Having finished third last season after turning things around under Michael Carrick, they will be out to hit the ground running and looking capable of scoring multiple goals here.
Premier League Best Bets: Fulham v Chelsea (Mon, 2000)
I wrote in my outright season preview how I’m expecting Chelsea to go well and that Fulham could struggle, so this looks a good game to test those theories.
Fulham have lost manager Marco Silva and last season’s star man Harry Wilson, and that’s before we get onto the departures of Raul Jimenez, Sasa Lukic and Issa Diop.
New boss Alvaro Arbeloa, who struggled at Real Madrid, and the Cottagers’ signings don’t inspire either.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have Xabi Alonso at the helm now and I’m intrigued to see how Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer perform as a pair of 10s – Alonso used this system during his highly successful spell at Bayer Leverkusen.
You can certainly see the potential for them creating chances for striker Joao Pedro, who netted 20 goals in all competitions last season despite the near-permanent chaos at Stamford Bridge.
He’s continued where he left off, netting seven times in pre-season, and so I think he’s worth siding with.
Like Palmer, the Brazilian missed out on the World Cup so should be fresh and raring to go. That’s what we’ve seen in the recent friendlies so he gets the nod as a goalscorer pick this weekend.
Premier League Best Bets: Brighton v Aston Villa (Sun, 1400)
A player I mentioned with goalscorer potential in my season preview was Brighton’s Luka Vuskovic.
The teenage centre-back has been one of Europe’s best defenders for goals over the past two seasons, netting 13 across league campaigns in Belgium and Germany.
The 6ft 4in star is going to be a threat from set plays, while he showed in Thursday’s Conference League game that he’s not afraid to get a strike from distance either.
I thought we might get more than 7.0 in the anytime scorer market, though, so perhaps the best way to side with the Croatian is via the shots markets.
He’s 2.5 to have shot on target, which he managed against Tromso the other day, but preference is for the 3.15 about him hitting 2+ shots.
This is a bet he landed in eight of his last 14 appearances for Hamburg in the Bundesliga last season.
Villa have lost Ezri Konsa from their defence just days before this season-opener and he adds to a list of major departures which includes Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans from the midfield.
Unai Emery is a fine coach who will find ways of coping but it’s not hard to see them being a bit disjointed in this one and if that’s the case at set pieces, Vuskovic can certainly take advantage.
Premier League Best Bets 2026/27: Matchday 1
Man Utd to score in both halves @ 2.0 with kwiff
Joao Pedro anytime scorer @ 2.25 with kwiff
Vuskovic 2+ shots @ 3.15 with kwiff
Please note that the information provided in this article is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
