The 2023-24 Premier League season kicks off Friday with Manchester City beginning its campaign eyeing a fourth straight title at Turf Moor.
Pep Guardiola will oppose a familiar face in Vincent Kompany, who led Burnley back to the Premier League for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Kompany’s side will have its hands full against a loaded Manchester City, even with the losses of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez.
There also are multiple other exciting fixtures in store for this weekend, so let’s get into the four bets to consider for the opening week of the Premier League season.
Same-game parlay: Manchester City moneyline and under 2.5 goals +260 (DraftKings)
Parlays can be a dangerous game. The high payouts make for enticing marketing for sportsbooks, but the variance makes them tough to win. But we’re starting off with some fun, and we only need two picks to go right. Burnley historically played Manchester City tough at Turf Moor, allowing only two goals in as many Premier League matches at home. Guardiola might use the opening weeks of the season to experiment, so that could help a newly promoted Burnley side from getting blown away in the first match of the season.
Newcastle United-Aston Villa over 3.5 goals +200 (FanDuel)
This arguably will be the most exciting match to watch this weekend. Newcastle smartly spent money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund over the past two seasons. Eddie Howe led The Magpies to a fourth-place finish last season, and they are expected to compete for a top-four position again this season. Aston Villa overperformed to a seventh-place finish, and another season with Unai Emery should keep The Villans competitive. These sides played to a 3-3 draw in the preseason and each earned a clean sheet at home the two times they played last season with a combined seven goals. Fans should expect a lot of goals in an exciting matchup.
More Soccer
Brentford to beat Tottenham and both teams to score +380 (FanDuel)
Tottenham accepted Bayern Munich’s $110 million bid for Harry Kane on Thursday, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein. The English star hadn’t decided on his decision to leave The Lilywhites, as of noon Eastern, but it’s doubtful he plays Sunday. Tottenham still has a strong squad, but Brentford went 2-0 up the last time the sides played at Gtech Community Stadium before Tottenham came back for a 2-2 draw. Brentford is capable of bringing it Tottenham again and this time getting the job done and securing a win in its first game.
Chelsea-Liverpool to score and end in a draw +333 (Caesers)
The last four Premier League matches these sides played against each other ended in a draw. The way these teams are built likely will result in the same in the last match of the opening week of the Premier League season. Liverpool lost Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League and won’t have a traditional No. 6. It still has plenty of attacking talent, but The Reds might be vulnerable to counterattacks. It will be interesting to see how Mauricio Pochettino fares in his Premier League for the first time in four years, but Chelsea should be improved from a disastrous season and take advantage of openings Liverpool might give up.
