It is the busiest Saturday of the Premier League season so far, with Aston Villa’s home clash against Brighton followed by six 3pm kick-offs in the English top-flight, including leaders Manchester City visiting Wolves.
We have come up with options for an accumulator to see you through the feast of action.
- Aston Villa to beat Brighton (draw no bet)
- Arsenal to win at Bournemouth
- Everton to beat Luton
- Newcastle to beat Burnley
- Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Under 2.5 goals
- West Ham to beat Sheffield United
- Manchester City to win at Wolves & Over 2.5 goals
Aston Villa vs Brighton
Brighton have claimed five victories from their opening six matches of the Premier League season, but Aston Villa’s start cannot be sniffed at either and the home side could come out on top at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s side have recovered well from the 5-1 drubbing they suffered at Newcastle United on the opening weekend, winning four of their next five, including their morale-boosting 1-0 success at Chelsea last week.
Their abilities have been best displayed at Villa Park, where they have won their last nine league outings and, while Albion have grabbed plenty of headlines, they were slightly fortunate to claim three points against Bournemouth last time out.
The Seagulls are the Premier League’s top goalscorers with 18, but Villa could hold firm and look a decent shout to win what could prove to be a tight encounter between two evenly matched teams.
De Zerbi magic continues at Brighton
Bournemouth vs Arsenal
Bournemouth have earned three points from six tough Premier League games this season and there is little let-up for them as Arsenal head to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
The Cherries have scored just one goal in home matches against West Ham, Tottenham and Chelsea, while they have lost at Liverpool and Brighton, although they were unfortunate at the Amex.
This is all bad news when entertaining Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who look set to be at least as good as they were last season when they were Manchester City’s closest challengers.
Arsenal have already gained victories at Crystal Palace and Everton and their class looks likely to tell again.
Everton vs Luton
Everton were fancied by many to have another season of struggle after staying up on the final day last term, but Sean Dyche’s side should be buoyed by their 3-1 win at Brentford last week.
The Toffees need to get their home form in gear if they are to drag themselves away from trouble and, consequently, three points against promoted Luton is a must.
Midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure can drive them forward again and the sight of Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring against the Bees will have gladdened every Toffees fan's heart.
He also notched in the League Cup win over Aston Villa on Wednesday and they should have too much for the Hatters, who collected their sole point of the season against ten-man Wolves last week and suffered the humiliation of a cup exit to League One Exeter on Tuesday.
Doucoure crucial for Everton's form
Newcastle vs Burnley
It has been a great week for Newcastle who followed their 8-0 massacre of Sheffield United with a 1-0 League Cup victory over Manchester City, and that spells bad news for a Burnley side who have struggled since earning promotion.
Big things were expected of Vincent Kompany’s Clarets after they romped to Championship glory last season, but the transition has been a tough one with home defeats to City, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester United.
The Magpies have their tails up and manager Eddie Howe is benefitting from having a strong squad, which is illustrated by his option of selecting either England’s Callum Wilson or Sweden’s Alexander Isak up front.
His team should have far too much for their visitors from Lancashire, so bank on a home win.
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
These two met in the League Cup in midweek, a game that United won 3-0 but both line-ups were much changed and the more regular players could be involved in a game that is low in goalmouth action on Saturday.
United gained a valuable 1-0 win at Burnley last week, which would have lifted the gloom after successive defeats to Arsenal and Brighton, but one of the most pressing problems for manager Erik ten Hag is that his team have scored more than once in just one of their six league matches.
That was against Nottingham Forest when they won 3-2 after conceding two early goals and it is difficult to see Palace making much of an impression.
Five of their last seven away league matches have featured fewer than three goals and they have won just three of their last 14 Premier League games on the road. Two of those successes were last season against relegated Leeds and Southampton, while this term’s was against struggling Sheffield United.
Fernades and Casemiro need to fire
West Ham vs Sheffield United
It is difficult to see where Sheffield United go after their 8-0 home thumping by Newcastle last week as they had at least been competitive in their previous games, including a visit to Tottenham where they were undone by a couple of goals in injury time.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom will of course be looking for a strong reaction, but West Ham need to lift themselves too after consecutive 3-1 defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool and there will be a feeling that their season has not quite caught fire yet.
The Hammers have been galvanised by their Europa Conference League success last season and the fact they have already beaten Chelsea and Brighton this term should give them confidence that they can worsen the Blades’ predicament.
Take David Moyes’s side to claim their fourth Premier League win of the campaign.
Wolves vs Manchester City
Wolves had to scrap a player short for 50 minutes to claim a point at Luton last week and their only other positive result was a 1-0 win at Everton, so that does not bode well for a visit from the champions, who should be smarting from their League Cup exit at Newcastle.
The home side have already been humbled by Liverpool and Brighton at Molineux, beaten comprehensively on both occasions and it is understandable if their followers are fearing the worst.
City did not quite have enough in reserve to win at St James’ Park on Wednesday, but they have scored eight goals in their three Premier League matches this season.
All three of those games featured at least three goals and it looks likely that their trip to the Midlands will follow the same pattern.
MANCHESTER CITY TO WIN & OVER 2.5 GOALS
