The Premier League weekend kicks off at 12:30pm this Saturday, as the champions from the last 2 seasons square up at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea hosting Leicester. Chelsea have already beaten the Foxes this season, triumphing 4-2 after extra time in the EFL Cup Third Round. That was one of three fixtures already this season in which Leicester have conceded four goals, and they’ve conceded at least one in each of the last 12 meetings with Saturday’s opponents. For these reasons it’s hard to see Chelsea not scoring in this one, and as such are 7/4 to score over 2.5 goals alone. Diego Costa has started this season in superb form, bagging 6 goals from the opening 7 league games, and he also scored Spain’s opener in Albania during the international break so is likely to make an appearance on the scoresheet at some point this weekend and as a result is 10/3 to score first.
At 3pm new Swansea manager Bob Bradley has a tough assignment in his first fixture, with his team away at Arsenal. The contrast in form could hardly be bigger – Swansea have picked up a solitary point from their last 6 in the league and sit 2 points off the bottom in 17th, while Arsenal have won 5 consecutive league games to move up to third and within 2 points of top spot. The Gunners have actually won their last 4 games in all competitions without conceding a goal, and with Swansea’s attack hardly firing on all cylinders a clean sheet could be on the cards for the home side.
Man City will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat under Pep Guardiola’s leadership when they face Everton at the Etihad Stadium. That defeat to Tottenham is City’s only loss from their 7 league games so far, while Everton have also only tasted defeat once in the league this season, at Bournemouth in their last away fixture. Both teams should find the back of the net in this one – City have conceded in 6 of their 7 league matches so far and Everton have conceded in 5 of their 7, while both sides have only failed to score once making BTTS likely at 8/13.
The final game of the weekend is an absolute must-watch, with Liverpool and Manchester United, the two most successful sides in English football history, renewing their rivalry on Monday night. Liverpool have the better form going into this one, having won their last 4 league games while United have won just 1 of their last 4. However it’s United who have the upper hand in recent battles between the 2 sides, winning 5 league meetings in a row. This encounter should be close, with neither side wanting to lose early ground in the race for a top 4 finish therefore a double chance Liverpool or Man Utd would be a safe bet at 3/10. A cagey affair could therefore be on the cards, but there’s too much firepower in both teams to expect clean sheets as a result.
