- West Ham to win away to Bournemouth
- Brighton to beat Luton & Over 2.5 goals
- Fulham draw no bet away to Everton
- Draw in Sheffield United v Crystal Palace
- Draw in Newcastle v Aston Villa
Bournemouth vs West Ham
West Ham may have signed off last season by winning the Europa Conference League but the feelgood factor has definitely vanished over the summer.
The season hasn't even started and head coach David Moyes is under pressure having seen star player Declan Rice sold, others apparently wanting to leave and few new faces coming in through the front door.
Last weekend's 4-0 drubbing at Bayer Leverkusen in their final pre-season friendly was the last straw for many Hammers diehards, who want Moyes gone.
However, against that, West Ham actually have been given a decent opportunity to defy the gloom and kickstart their season with a win away to Bournemouth.
The Cherries finished last season losing four in a row and under new manager Andoni Iraola have fresh problems of their own, notably a mounting injury list headed by £20m new boy Alex Scott and trusted aces like Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier and Lloyd Kelly.
For all the issues at West Ham, if Moyes can send out a forward line featuring some of Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio, Pablo Fornals or Said Benrahma, they have more than enough to win this outing well.
Brighton vs Luton
Luton will become the 51st different side to grace the Premier League when the first whistle blows at the Amex Stadium, although it promises to be a long afternoon for Rob Edwards' newcomers.
Brighton, once upon a time something of a soft touch but certainly not any more, played far better sides than Luton off the pitch last term.
They took care of Chelsea (twice), Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal and gave champions Manchester City an almighty runaround in their final home game of the campaign, a 1-1 draw in which they were outstanding.
Brighton finished sixth in the top flight to qualify for Europe with their games averaging almost 3.3 goals.
Big players have left – among them Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo – but that's a perennial occurrence at Brighton and Roberto de Zerbi would have planned for it.
And Luton boss Edwards will have planned for the fact that his team aren’t going to see an awful lot of the ball at the Amex and are going to be passed into submission.
Brighton are a classy side and Luton, barely strengthened from last term, should expect a difficult 90 minutes.
BRIGHTON TO WIN AND OVER 2.5 GOALS
Everton vs Fulham
Marco Silva's Fulham enjoyed a fantastic season last term and can kick off 2023/24 by avoiding defeat away to Everton.
Fulham's build-up to the game has been plagued by speculation over the future of prized striker Aleksander Mitrovic, who wants out of Craven Cottage. But the London club want the right price for him.
Raul Jimenez, hardly like-for-like but an international frontman with points to prove, has been recruited and makes a perfectly respectable alternative should the Serb make way.
However, the bottom line is that whoever is deployed up front for Fulham at Goodison Park, the London side have little to fear and are well capable of getting a result.
Everton's summer has been a morass of low-scoring friendlies. As they try to get England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin fully fit, they look incredibly light around the box and are definitely without their top goalscorer Dwight McNeil.
Sean Dyche's midfield is as industrious and competitive as any in the division and Everton will be a blue-collar outfit trying to outbox other sides. It wasn't a pretty end to their last two Premier League seasons and this term doubtless will be little different.
Jordan Pickford saved Everton on far too many occasions last term and will earn his corn once more in a match that Fulham are decent value to win.
Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace
A Crystal Palace attack stripped of Wilfried Zaha, who has been sold to Galatasaray, and Michael Olise, who is injured, has to give Sheffield United hope of at least avoiding defeat on their return to the Premier League.
However, United have headaches of their own and this could easily drift into a stalemate.
Paul Heckingbottom, the United chief, has been sluggish in the transfer market to the extent that Vinicius Souza, a new arrival from Espanyol, may be drafted in with John Fleck injured and Sander Berge gone.
United look like a club who could do with the season starting in a couple of weeks' time, and they'll certainly get no mercy from Palace, who may be stretched themselves but are packed with experienced warhorses, none more so than boss Roy Hodgson.
United were excellent at home last season, winning 16 of 23 games, but obviously that was down a level. This season things will be considerably tougher.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa
Big things are expected at St James's Park this season as Newcastle look to build on last term's terrific fourth-placed finish, but there is a buzz about Aston Villa as well.
Villa finished seventh, only ten points behind the Magpies, and few doubt that gap may well have disappeared entirely had Unai Emery been in charge from the off.
Emery, who replaced Steven Gerrard last October, has strengthened again with additions of the quality of Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby, none of whom are guaranteed starts so settled had Villa become at the back end of last term.
They certainly won't fret over a trip to Newcastle, no matter how tidy the Geordies have become. And in Ollie Watkins, scorer of 15 goals last season, they boast a striker who is a threat to any defence.
This promises to be tight with the visitors happy to head back to Birmingham with a point.
