English Premier League 2023/24 Tips and Predictions: Matchweek 1

Summary

Rejoice, football fans! The Premier League is back!

The long and boring preseason finally comes to an end this weekend as defending champions Manchester City face newly-promoted Burnley to kick off the new season.

What might look like a blowout should actually be an intriguing fixture as Burnley manager Vincent Kompany faces the club where he holds legend status in his PL managerial debut.

That starts us off for what should be another memorable season with plenty of plotlines emerging from the offseason that will be answered in the next nine months.

Will Chelsea bounce back from a disastrous season last term and return to the pointy end of the table?

How far can Newcastle go as the Saudi Arabia revolution fully takes over at St James’ Park?

Can anybody finally knock Manchester City off their perch and end their reign of dominance?

Only time will tell…

But in the meantime let’s focus on matters closer to now and focus on this weekend’s fixtures.

Chelsea v Liverpool - Sunday, August 13

The pick of the action from the opening weekend sees two heavyweights going at it, both desperate for a bright start this time around after disappointing campaigns last term.

For Chelsea, last season was one to forget as they could only record a disappointing 12th place finish, despite splashing the cash on transfers.

They have a new man in the driver's seat this time around with former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino now calling the shots from the dugout.

A trophyless season for Liverpool last year was further compounded by finishing outside the Champions League places in fifth as well as saying goodbye to a host of big names.

Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner and Roberto Firmino have all departed the club with impressive signings Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai coming in.

Plenty of question marks linger over these two teams as we wait and see how they will recover from disappointing seasons last time out.

While both teams are full with attacking options, it’s hard to see them firing on all cylinders so early in the season.

Also the fact that under 2.5 goals have landed in each of the last four encounters between these two, a low-scoring affair looks on the cards in this one.

Betting Strategy: Asian Total Under 2.5 @ 2.22

Newcastle v Aston Villa - Saturday, August 12

The two surprise packets from last season meet on the opening weekend in what promises to be an exciting 90 minutes of action.

Both these sides finished in the European places last term with Newcastle securing Champions League football with a fourth-placed finish while Villa can look forward to a run in the Europa Conference League thanks to finishing in seventh place.

The good times appear to be back in Tyneside with the side back competing against Europe’s elite and look to be a genuine disruptor for the Big 6 in the league.

While we think Newcastle will be too strong for a plucky Aston Villa side, we’re exciting goals in what should be an entertaining afternoon of football.

Betting Strategy: 1x2 & Both Teams to Score - Newcastle and Yes @ 3.30