The new Premier League season starts on Friday, with the confrontation between Brentford and Arsenal. On Saturday, Manchester United hosts Leeds at Old Trafford in the most intense game of the day, while champions Manchester City travel to London on Sunday to play Tottenham Hotspur.
City won all of their last 10 season openers, with no one even close to their record. Liverpool and Manchester United come second with seven wins in 10 matches, while Chelsea stands at six. None of the other Premier League clubs have more than five wins on an opening day in the previous 10 seasons.
Newcastle, Southampton, and two of the three newly promoted teams had the slowest starts, winning just two out of 10 matches. West Ham holds the highest number of defeats — seven — while also holding the worst goal difference at -15.
The Hammers play Newcastle away on Sunday, hoping to improve their opening day stats. If West Ham is bottom for the number of wins and goal differential, Newcastle is last when it comes to the number of points won at only 8. Bookies have West Ham at +120 for a win at St. James’ Park.
For Manchester City, the inaugural day kings, a trip to London to face Tottenham is nowhere near easy. The reigning champions are at -167 to win in North London. Tottenham will be without captain and top goal-scorer Harry Kane, who only returned to training a few days ago. For manager Nuno Espirito Santo, the clash against Pep Guardiola’s City will be the first official game since taking charge.
Chelsea is looking to challenge for the league title this season after winning the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup. The fans want to see newly-bought Romelu Lukaku in action, but the chances of him being involved against Crystal Palace are small. Chelsea is now at -400 to win in front of Palace.
A new manager is taking over at Selhurst Park as well, with Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira replacing Roy Hodgson this summer. At -111, Arsenal is the favorite to win against Brentford, while Manchester United is at -200 to beat Leeds in their tough battle on Saturday afternoon.
At +110, Brentford is seen by the bookies with the best chance of surviving relegation from the three newly-promoted sides. Norwich is at +200, while Watford is at +230.
Despite his lack of training and his complicated transfer situation, Harry Kane is still regarded as the favorite to top the scorers’ list at the end of the season. Tottenham’s striker is at +275, with Liverpool’s Salah at +350 and Chelsea’s Lukaku at +400. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus (both from Man City) are far behind, at +1600.
At -150, City is given high chances of retaining the Premier League title. Chelsea is at +450 and Liverpool at +500. Manchester United closes the top four at +750. These clubs are favorites to compose the top four when the campaign concludes, at +164. Leicester replacing Man United in the previous selection is at +850. Chelsea not making it into the Big Four is at +1400.
Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend 😌 pic.twitter.com/FFEZ9qyRSC
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 13, 2021
