Weekend Premiership Betting Preview

Finally the English Premiership is back! Soccer fans have endured the summer are now ready for the first matches of the season. We have looked at potential winners and relegation contenders of the league and now we will cast our eye over the various matches taking place to see if we can spot some of the good value bets on offer. We will using prices from bwin.com to help us analyse the market.

Blackburn Rovers against Manchester City sees City being offered as the away team at 2.00. There will be much speculation this season just which first team will be selected by manager Mark Hughes. If you look at the players brought in and those sold or released the squad is much stronger this season. I think this bet of 2.00 is a good value bet. Rovers under Allardyce have sold Roque Santa-Cruz to City and have therefore lost some firepower and can hardly be considered anything better than top ten finishers. They should struggle against the quality of City.

Bolton and Sunderland square off this weekend. Both teams are an enigma, both teams could easily have a great season and they could under perform and struggle. The bets I would consider here is the 3.15 on the draw or look at Sunderland to start well with a victory away from home at 3.15 also. If Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent quickly form a partnership, that could signal an excellent season for the Black Cats. Sunderland have a lot of money behind them now and acquiring some better players in the summer than Bolton did may be the difference in this match.

A potential bottom of the table clash takes place with Stoke City hosting Burnley. Burnley must start well or they will be permanently stuck in the relegation battle from the start, but their odds of 4.00 suggest that bwin expect them to be heavy underdogs in almost all of their away games this season. Stoke have strengthened their squad and can be backed at 1.85. The draw is priced attractively at 3.20 and this game may turn out to be a war of attrition between two weaker sides so early in the season.

Everton host Arsenal in another intriguing opening day match with Everton priced at 2.95, the draw at 3.15 and Arsenal at 2.25 for the away win. Arsenal have lost Toure and Adebayor and it looks at though young players Djourdou and Bendter may be promoted to regular first team players to fill the gaps either permanently or until new signings are made. All three bets could be considered attractive and I expect that Everton will be backed in the belief they have a legitimate chance at a high league finish this season under the balanced management of David Moyes. Everton’s main problem is that they have rejected a transfer request from star defender Joleon Lescott and this may cause unrest in the dressing room.

The matches on Sunday feature Manchester United against Birmingham City at home with the champions looking to stamp their authority on the league early. Expect a rousing performance from them at 1.20. The indication from the charity shield match against Chelsea was that Rooney is ready to become the superstar of the team and any doubts over Giggs status in the squad were dispelled with his beautiful pass from midfield allowing Rooney to score to late equaliser. You simply cannot consider any other result than a home win here.

Tottenham and Liverpool meet this weekend with home team Tottenham at 3.25, the draw at 3.15 and Liverpool at 2.10. I think Tottenham present a little bit of value here as they have spent big over the summer bringing in Crouch and Bassong. Liverpool are considered to be title contenders, but I think the largest improvement this season could be from Tottenham. It is a tough match for Liverpool for the first game of the season and I think the home win and draw odds are where the value lies. However few could argue if you do back Liverpool as certainly they could win. It would be a great win for them against tough opposition.

The opening weekend of the Premiership is always exciting and for the next nine months we will enjoy dissecting the betting markets to find the best bets of the season. Happy betting this weekend!

/ Malcolm Clarke