The best league in the world returns this weekend, as Matchday One of the Premier League season is upon us. Liverpool heads to Craven Cottage to kick off their campaign, while Manchester City round out the Matchday as they take on West Ham in the highlight fixture of the weekend.
Be sure to check out Jake Smit’s EPL Season Preview and check out our EPL Tips page for coverage of every Matchday this season.
EPL 2022-23: Matchday 1 Preview & Betting Tips
Fulham vs Liverpool
Craven Cottage, Saturday 6th August 9:30pm (AEST)
After a dominant campaign in the Championship last season, Fulham have a huge clash upon re-entry to the top flight of English football, hosting Liverpool at Craven Cottage. The last two times Fulham have been promoted to the Premier League, they’ve been relegated immediately, so a strong start to the season is crucial in their hopes of survival
Liverpool are coming off a heartbreaking finish to last season, falling one point short of the Premier League title. The Reds have lost Sadio Mane and brought in young star Darwin Nunez, and it will be interesting to see how Nunez impacts Liverpool’s front three which has been so dominant over the last five years. Will a front three of Salah, Jota and Nunez work together?
Liverpool has a 6-1-1 record against Fulham in their last eight Premier League meetings, with an aggregate score 19-6 over those eight games. The Reds were the equal best defence (26 goals conceded) and the second-best attack (96 goals scored) last season. Liverpool put together an excellent performance against Man City in the Community Shield and once again will be City’s biggest threat. The Reds went 5-1-0 with an aggregate score of 19-4 against newly promoted teams last season, and they should pick up a comfortable win on the opening day of the season.
Liverpool -1.5
$1.80 (2 Units)
Everton vs Chelsea
Goodison Park, Sunday 7th August 2:30am (AEST)
Everton survived relegation by the skin of their teeth last season and their transfer activity hasn’t created any optimism of an improved campaign this season. The Toffees sold their best player in Richarlison, and although James Tarkowski’s arrival on a free transfer will help one of the worst defences in the Premier League from last season, Everton have not done enough in the transfer market to make the improvements they desperately need.
Chelsea trailed away in the back end of last season, but once again will have the capability to launch a title challenge in season ‘22/’23. Chelsea have made some quality additions to both ends of the pitch acquiring Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. Given Chelsea’s struggles in attack in recent years, Sterling’s acquisition could be the move that makes them a genuine title contender.
Chelsea have been the number two ranked defence in the Premier League for the past two seasons and with Ben Chilwell returning from injury, they could get even better. There’s a big gap between these teams and with the control they will get in midfield, it’s hard to see Everton being able to create goal scoring opportunities. Chelsea’s last two wins over Everton have been 2-0 and 4-0, and they’ll be far too good for the Toffees this weekend.
Chelsea -1
$2.20 (1.5 Units)
West Ham vs Manchester City
London Stadium, Monday 8th August 1:30am (AEST)
The best fixture of the opening weekend of the Premier League sees West Ham host reigning champions Manchester City at the London Stadium. West Ham’s defeat to Brighton on the final day of the season means they’ll be playing in the Europa Conference League, in what was a disappointing end to a season where they made the semi-finals of the Europa League.
The reigning champions have added a star striker in Erling Haaland and with the likely service he’ll be getting, he could put together a serious season and make City an even better side. A crazy prospect for a side who has won four of the last five Premier League’s. However, City lost only one of their final 28 games last season, and they are rightfully the favourites to complete a three peat.
West Ham competed quite well against City last season, with a 1-2 defeat and a 2-2 draw from their two meetings against the champions. However, it’s hard to go past a City outfit that have been the number one attack and the number one defence for the last two seasons. City are 10-3-0 in their last thirteen Premier League matches against the Hammers, and they haven’t lost to West Ham in the league since 2015.
Manchester City -1.5
$1.95 (2 Units)
More EPL Matchday 1 Tips
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal (Saturday 5am AEST)
The Gunners were unlucky to finish outside the top four last season and made a big improvement to their squad by bringing in Gabriel Jesus. Their youthful line-up now also has another pre-season under their belt, which is another big positive. I see them as a big chance to improve again and finish in the top four this season, which means winning these types of clashes against mid-table sides extremely important.
Arsenal H2H ($1.80 at Ladbrokes)
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa (Sunday 12am AEST)
It’s always tough playing against a newly promoted side on the opening matchday, particularly on the road in front of a raucous crowd. The Cherries lost only three of their 23 home matches in the Championship last season and will be pumped to be playing back in the big time. They could be on for an opening day upset, but ill play them in the double chance market just to be safe.
Bournemouth or Draw ($1.84 at TopSport)
Leeds vs Wolves (Sunday 12am AEST)
Leeds and Wolves will both be looking for better campaigns than they had last time, and both would be happy with the fixture they’ve been given on opening day. With neither side having too much of an advantage, I’m expecting a free-flowing and attacking game here. Both Teams to Score has hit in their last two meetings and a repeat of that wouldn’t surprise.
Both Teams to Score ($1.80 at Ladbrokes)
Newcastle vs Nottingham (Sunday 12am AEST)
Newcastle’s fans will be salivating at the prospects of what’s potentially to come in the next season and beyond. They get a favourable first match of the season against Forrest outfit that had to do it the hard way to get promoted last season. I expect the home side to be too strong first up and absolutely love the value of them in the handicap markets.
Newcastle -1 ($2.80 at Ladbrokes)
Tottenham vs Southampton (Sunday 12am AEST)
Tottenham are a lot more settled coming into this season than they were the last, which is sure to help them make a better fist of it. They get a seemingly soft kill in the Saints at home first up; a team that many predict to be in the relegation battle come season’s end. With that said, the Spurs should be able to negotiate a comfortable win on Saturday night.
Tottenham -1 ($2 at Ladbrokes)
Leicester vs Brentford (Sunday 11pm AEST)
The Bees had a successful return to the top flight last season and get to have another crack in 2022-23. They’ll be pushing for a mid-table finish this campaign but have a tricky first up matchup away at Leicester. The Foxes got the better of the Bees in both fixtures in the EPL last season and should be able to negotiate another win on this occasion.
Leicester H2H ($2 at Ladbrokes)
Manchester United vs Brighton (Sunday 11pm AEST)
Manchester United have been gifted what looks like a soft opening day fixture, although they’ve made a habit of messing up said fixtures in recent seasons. Their defence has been their Achilles heel for quite some time, and I’m still not sold on it heading into this campaign. This has all the makings of being a high-scoring affair in my opinion.
Over 2.5 Goals ($1.90 at Ladbrokes)
