A busy Saturday of Premier League action lies in store, with champions Manchester City among those featuring, and the Citizens can be part of an attractive acca.
City are at home to Fulham and can be included in a four-fold with Tottenham, who are away to Burnley, Chelsea, who are at home to Nottingham Forest, and Brighton, who host Newcastle in the last fixture of the day.
Recommended four-fold: Tottenham to win at Burnley, Chelsea to beat Nottingham Forest, Manchester City to beat Fulham, and Brighton to beat Newcastle.
- Tottenham to win at Burnley
- Chelsea to beat Nottingham Forest
- Manchester City to beat Fulham
- Brighton to beat Newcastle
Burnley vs Tottenham
There is a real feelgood factor around Tottenham Hotspur at the moment, with new manager Ange Postecoglou making an instant impact, instilling great optimism among Spurs fans.
There was doom and gloom around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Harry Kane finally departed for Bayern Munich after months of transfer speculation. It was a crippling blow to lose Kane - the team captain and star player - so close to the start of the season. But Postecoglou has shrugged off the setback and got his side purring.
A 2-2 draw at Brentford on the opening day has been followed by two comfortable 2-0 successes over Manchester United and Bournemouth. An EFL Cup penalty-shootout defeat to Fulham has done nothing to dampen the mood around the Tottenham camp. Their upbeat Australian gaffer will not allow any glum faces in the dressing room.
Big Ange, as he is known, rested some key players against Fulham, so they will be champing at the bit for their trip to Burnley. Riding high in the Premier League table, only two points off the pace, Spurs will be desperate for three points from Turf Moor.
Burnley are already in the relegation zone, having opened the season with two defeats, and inexperienced manager Vincent Kompany is likely to be getting anxious. Injuries were sustained against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and Spurs should outclass the Lancastrians on Saturday.
Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest
There have been so many changes of personnel at Chelsea that their supporters are still getting to know certain players. The Blues squad was huge under previous manager Graham Potter - it had become the most expensively assembled mess in football. Finally, some shrewd business appears to have taken place at Stamford Bridge and the six-time league champions look ready to contend again.
Chelsea players and fans will be expecting three points from their meeting with Nottingham Forest, but there have been so many disappointments in recent times that the Blues are unlikely to carry any complacency into the contest.
This is why Chelsea can be trusted at short odds as part of the four-fold. Blues followers have been starved of recent success and the atmosphere should be enthusiastic and expectant when Forest come to the Bridge.
Forest also started the summer with a bloated squad, but have been unable to play the transfer market as aggressively as Chelsea. Moises Caicedo, for example, was a recruit who cost £115m. The quality of this fresh Chelsea line-up should overwhelm Forest.
Luton were easily brushed aside in Chelsea's last home league game and Forest are equally ill equipped to repel the increasingly settled and confident Londoners.
Manchester City vs Fulham
Pundits and fans of other clubs have been trying to come up with reasons why Manchester City will fail to retain their Premier League title this season, but it is a challenging task. Pep Guardiola's side oozes class in every department and another dominant campaign could easily be in store.
Erling Haaland is the most important cog in the City machine, so any fitness issues for the giant Norwegian could unsettle the team. The prolific forward is fighting fit for the Fulham game, though, and it is difficult to imagine anything other than a comfortable home triumph.
The fact that City have been such narrow victors in their last two league games could act as a spur for a more ruthless performance against Fulham. City beat Newcastle 1-0, then left it extremely late to see off Sheffield United 2-1, with Rodri popping up with an 88th-minute winner.
Guardiola will doubtless remind his players of the periods of sloppiness shown against Newcastle and at Bramall Lane, demanding focus from the off against Fulham. Even though the odds are short, there is every motivation to enhance the four-fold with City, given that anything other than a home win would be an astonishing result.
The reaction of Arsenal's players when they edged the Community Shield at Wembley at the start of August spoke volumes for how feared City have become. Arsenal celebrated as if they had won the Champions League - beating City in a low-status competition meant so much to them. Beating City in the league is a different kettle of fish.
Brighton vs Newcastle
Brighton started the season with two 4-1 victories and Albion fans were in raptures, but a home defeat to West Ham stunned the south-coast club last time out. It may pay to back Brighton to bounce back from that shock reverse and put Newcastle to the sword in the tea-time fixture.
The Albion camp has been lifted by the news that Barcelona star Ansu Fati looks set to reject advances from other clubs and sign up on a season-long loan. Tottenham and Chelsea were among the clubs trying to attract Fati, but Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has apparently dazzled the 20-year-old.
Carlos Baleba signed for Brighton earlier in the week in a £23m deal from Lille, plugging the hole left by Moises Caicedo, so everything is looking rosy at the AmEx Stadium. The Seagulls finished sixth in the Premier League last season and there is every reason to believe they can be in the upper reaches of the table again this time.
Newcastle, defeated by ten-man Liverpool last time out, have been looking edgy. Eddie Howe and his team are under great pressure to deliver for their big-spending owners. A trip to free-flowing Brighton comes at a bad time.
