The Premier League has undergone a rebrand and it returns on Saturday for another season of highs, lows, shocks, thrills and spills and it does so with seven matches on the first day across the regular three Saturday kick off times.
Champions Leicester get the campaign underway and the pre-season favourites Man City are also in action while all three promoted sides also set off on their latest Premier League advantage on what should be an intriguing first day back.
Lunchtime Game
Championship playoff winners Hull City host the champions Leicester in their first game back in the top flight. Hull go into the season without a permanent manager in place with Mike Phelan performing the role of caretaker manager but all eyes will be on Claudio Ranieri’s men to see how they kick off their title defence.
3pm kick offs
There are five matches which begin at 3pm with the pick of those the one at Goodison Park where Ronald Koeman takes charge of his first match as manager of Everton by hosting the man he succeeded at Southampton in the form of Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham side.
The other four matches have Burnley hosting Swansea, Crystal Palace welcoming former manager Tony Pulis and his West Brom side back to Selhurst Park, Southampton facing Watford and Middlesbrough hosting Stoke at what is likely to be an excited Riverside.
Late Match
We’ll get to see the pre-season favourites Man City in the evening game when they host Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium. That means it will be Pep Guardiola and David Moyes in the spotlight from the dugouts and it will be interesting to see what impact they have had on their respective clubs heading into the new season.
Betting
I’m not going to go too mad on the opening day of action. Much has changed since the Premier League was last in situ both in terms of management and player personnel at plenty of clubs and it might take a couple of games for us to assess those sides.
I’ll be interested to see how the likes of Leicester, Man City and the promoted trio all go on this first day but in terms of a bet it is at Selhurst Park where I am heading where two sides who kept their managers meet.
Tony Pulis is a straight talker and if he has come out in the build up to this match and said he needs to get five players in then we can take it that he isn’t altogether happy with the men he is going into battle with here. That might inspire the players he has but it isn’t what you would want going into the opening game of the season.
In contrast to that Alan Pardew has been talking his Crystal Palace squad up, a squad which he has strengthened even though he hasn’t brought in too many players that they will need time to gel. Palace begin the season knowing they have a point to prove after a real tailing off in the second half of last season and they have the ideal opportunity here, an opportunity I don’t think they will pass up.
Tips
Back C.Palace to beat West Brom for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with William Hill
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