The most high-profile football league in the world kicks off this Friday night as the Premier League gets underway with Arsenal vs Coventry. Here’s the lowdown on the big transfers, the major managerial changes and the latest odds on the main betting markets, plus our usual betting tip.
- Start: Friday, August 21, 20:00
- Venue: Stadiums around England
- Live Coverage: TNT Sports/Sky Sports
- Fun Fact: It’s a sign of globalisation in football that, in the Premier League this season, there will be five Spanish managers, four German ones, and just three English ones, while managers from nine different countries are in the PL this campaign.
Best Bet: Back Manchester United to Finish Top 4
Manchester United are one of the few big clubs to have kept their manager (see below), and continuity is normally a good thing in football. With the exception of Casemiro- whose contract expired - they also kept all of their big-name players, most notably Bruno Fernandes, while the experienced Youri Tielemans and all-action midfielder Andrey Santos provide some good fresh blood; Marcus Rashford, on loan at Barcelona last season, is part of the squad…for now.
It’s true that United will have the ‘distraction’ of being in the Champions League to contend with, but with so many changes among their rivals, their stability can see them finish Top 4 at 1.85 after last year’s excellent third-place finish.
What Happened Last Year?
Arsenal won the Premier League title, their first since 2003/4, after finishing seven points clear of runner-up Manchester City.
Manchester United, under caretaker manager Michael Carrick, now their permanent manager, had their best season in years, finishing third and returning to the Champions League for 2026/7, where they will also be joined by fourth- and fifth-placed finishers Aston Villa and Liverpool.
Bournemouth and Sunderland finished sixth and seventh respectively to secure places in the Europa League, while eighth-place Brighton will be in the Conference League.
At the other end of the table, West Ham, Burnley and Wolves were relegated as Tottenham escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth on the final day of the season. The trio above will be replaced in the Premier League by newly-promoted teams Ipswich, Coventry and Hull.
Who Are the Favourites to Win It?
Arsenal are the team to beat according to the latest odds, available at 2.25. They were already the pre-season favourites, and with some good business in the summer transfer market, the continuation of Mikel Arteta as manager and an impressive 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield last Sunday, their odds shortened further.
Next up it’s City at 4.0, the highest price they’ve been in years- with Liverpool (6.5), Chelsea (9.0) and Manchester United (9.5) completing the list of realistic candidates.
The Usual Three Expected to Struggle to Stay Up
By ‘the usual three’ we mean the three who have just been promoted from The Championship – Hull (1.17), Ipswich (1.62) and Coventry (1.73). Every season the three who have come up are favourites to go straight back down, and this one is no different. After them it’s Sunderland (4.0), Fulham (5.0) and Crystal Palace (6.0).
But last season only Burnley were relegated as a promoted team, while West Ham and Wolves were already in the Premier League when they went down, so expect some surprises in this market.
Managers and Players on the Move
This will be a rare season in that so many top clubs have changed managers over the summer.
Enzo Maresca replaced long-time City manager Pep Guardiola, Xabi Alonso is the new Chelsea boss, and Andoni Iraola left his Bournemouth job to become Liverpool manager.
As we know, Carrick is now full-time manager at Manchester United rather than caretaker boss.
Other managerial changes include Alvaro Arbeloa stepping into the hot seat at Fulham and Marco Rose taking over at Bournemouth.
As ever, it was a summer of huge transfer activity that saw three players being bought for £100 million or more, as playmaker Morgan Rogers was sold by Aston Villa to Chelsea for £117m, Elliot Anderson left Nottingham Forest for Manchester City for £116m, and Sandro Tonali swapped Newcastle for Tottenham for £100m. Bruno Guimaraes also left Newcastle to join Arsenal, and Mateus Fernandes arrived at Spurs to further strengthen their midfield.
One of the most significant sales was the exit of our Ballon d’Or tip, Rodri, from Manchester City to Barcelona.
The Best Opening-Day Fixtures
The ‘computer’ that comes up with the fixture calendar ‘decided’ not to start with a ‘big one’ on Matchday 1, but there are some intriguing games, nonetheless.
An Arsenal home win over Coventry looks a formality at 1.15 in the first game on Friday night, while Manchester United are also a short price at 1.4 to go and beat Hull away the next day in the early kick-off.
Two well-matched teams meet on Saturday afternoon as Everton (2.1) host Crystal Palace (3.3), with the draw at 3.5.
Late on Saturday afternoon, we’ll have a chance to see new-look Tottenham (2.7) in action against Brentford (2.4), where a draw at 3.5 looks a good bet, before the last game of the week on Monday night, when two clubs under new managers meet: Chelsea are 2.0 to beat Fulham (3.4).
Goals are expected in that one, with both teams to score at 1.53 and over 2.5 goals at 1.57.
