The time has come once again where soccer fans all over the globe are ready to kick off another season – Welcome to the beginning of a new English Premier League campaign. On Sunday August 18th as the second Matchday of the EPL will finish off as Pickswise, the home of free EPL Expert Best Bets will dive into each game on Saturday and double your earnings quickly.
Sheffield United vs. Crystal Palace
Best Bet – Over 2.5 Goals +150
Final Score Bet – Sheffield United 2-1 +1000
Sheffield United returned to top flight action for the first time in over a decade last weekend, and Chris Wilder made an early statement that he isn’t going to let his Blades sit back and play a defensive game.
They played on the front foot away to Bournemouth, regularly creating openings and refusing to give up despite Chris Mepham’s goal for the Cherries just after the hour mark. In the end, Sheffield United’s efforts paid off as fan favorite Billy Sharp nicked a late equalizer to earn a very well deserved point for the newcomers.
It was a very promising performance from Sheffield United, and not just for their own fans but for the neutrals as well. We can see that they are willing to go out and attack teams, and the result could be some very entertaining matches at Bramall Lane.
Crystal Palace were less impressive in their opener, although a goalless draw at home to Everton can be considered a decent result for Roy Hodgson’s side. The lack of goals was an obvious downside, but away from home we can possibly expect more this weekend.
Selhurst Park saw fewer league goals than any other top flight stadium last season, but on the road The Eagles were involved in more than a few goalfests. In fact, they scored 32 league goals away from home last season, a massive 13 goals more than they managed at Selhurst Park.
Hopefully, we’ll see a more adventurous Palace side on Sunday as they attack a Sheffield United defense that looks to have weaknesses. The overwhelming consensus is that The Blades don’t have a strong enough squad to put up a fight at this level, and Wilfried Zaha will be itching to truly test the hosts’ back line.
We’re expecting a surprisingly entertaining game at Bramall Lane. Crystal Palace have seen at least 3 goals scored in 8 of their last 12 Premier League away matches, with an average of 3.91 goals per game during this period. Sheffield United, meanwhile, have scored at least 2 goals in 6 of their last 7 home league games, so they definitely have the ability to trouble Palace’s defense.
All things considered, backing Over 2.5 Goals at these very generous odds looks a great bet, and in the end we think the hosts will have enough to take the 3 points. They have won 8 of their last 10 home games in the league and looked raring to go last weekend, so a 2-1 correct score prediction is our choice.
Chelsea vs. Leicester City
Best Bet – Draw 1-1 +600
Last weekend marked the Premier League debut of Frank Lampard as a manager, but it wasn’t exactly the fairytale ending that Chelsea fans were hoping for from their club legend. The Blues boss oversaw a catastrophic 4-0 defeat away to Manchester United, and while the scoreline was harsh on Chelsea it certainly raised some pressing concerns.
The major problem, unsurprisingly given the scoreline, was at the back. Every single time The Red Devils launched a counter-attack the Chelsea back line parted like the Red Sea, and it’s something that will have to be dealt with again when they face the threat of Jamie Vardy.
That being said, Chelsea looked a much improved team in their UEFA Super Cup clash against Liverpool, and while they lost that tie on penalties they can take some heart from the performance in Istanbul. They’ll also take some weary legs from the match though, with 120 minutes of football played and a long round trip to Turkey.
Leicester didn’t show their full attacking credentials in their opener either, playing out a dreary goalless draw at home to Wolves. In fairness to the Foxes, they did press for the win at the King Power Stadium, but ultimately couldn’t find their way past that rock solid Wolves back line.
With Chelsea set to attack from the outset, finding openings shouldn’t be a problem for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and they have a good recent record against Chelsea to draw confidence from. They beat The Blues at Stamford Bridge back in December and are unbeaten in normal time in their last 4 meetings with them. They also haven’t lost at Stamford Bridge since 2016, so the signs are promising for the visitors.
Chelsea might have been improved in midweek, but their performance last week can’t be glossed over and the additional traveling is bound to have an impact. Not to mention the fact that they’ve only won 1 of their last 6 Premier League games, and even at Stamford Bridge they have only won 9 of their last 16 league games.
Meanwhile, Leicester have only lost 2 of their 5 Premier League away days since Rodgers took charge, and one of those came against Manchester City. We think backing a Leicester Double Chance looks a promising bet here, and we’re also opting for a tight 1-1 draw as our correct score prediction.
