The Premier League returns from the international break on Saturday and it does so with seven matches taking place over the course of the three kick off times as most of the division get their campaign back underway.
The table was taking shape before the pause for the latest set of internationals and with a number of those towards the upper end of it on show on Saturday we should be in for a good day of action, one which sees two of them available to watch for us in the UK.
Early Kick Off
The first match to kick off is the lunchtime game which comes from Vicarage Road where Claudio Ranieri begins another stint in the Premier League when he takes charge of Watford for the first time. He faces a pretty stern test though as his new team host the former champions Liverpool, although there might be a sense of the Hornets getting the Reds at the right time given that the visitors will be without goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Fabinho due to the South American qualifying schedule.
3pm Matches
There are five matches in the traditional 3pm slot with some big teams in action despite the relatively few number of games. Both Manchester clubs are in action in this slot with Manchester United facing a tricky trip to the King Power Stadium to take on a Leicester City side who will be looking to kick start their season into life. Manchester City play host to Burnley in a match the champions will be expected to win despite the possible absence of Gabriel Jesus and Ederson.
Brighton and Hove Albion are the other member of the top six heading into the weekend who are in action at the normal time slot. They make the trip to Norfolk to take on a Norwich City side who really need to start winning matches to avoid this being another disaster of a season. The other two matches both look competitive affairs with Aston Villa welcoming relatively local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers to Villa Park and Southampton playing host to Leeds United who won’t be helped by the possible absence of Raphinia.
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Late Game
The day concludes with another London derby among the many that are on the schedule this season as Brentford continue their first season in the Premier League when they play host to the Champions League winners Chelsea who despite their defeat to Manchester City two games prior to the international break, go into the weekend leading the way in the Premier League table. Brentford have already seen off Arsenal and held Liverpool at their home ground this season so although this is a short trip for Chelsea there is enough to suggest it won’t necessarily be an easy one.
Betting
Two bets jump out at me over the course of these matches and they both come along in the 3pm matches. The first of them is at the King Power Stadium where I am fully expecting to see some goals because of the absences in the defences of the two sides. It remains to be seen whether Jonny Evans has recovered from the illness which kept him out of international duty earlier in the week but even if he is fit Leicester City are still without James Justin and Wesley Fofana. Manchester United will be missing both Harry Maguire and Rafael Varane so there is going to be a fair bit of mixing and matching in the back line of both teams. I think it is fair to say that so far this season the attacking units have been the strength of these two sides and I expect them to combine for more than 2.75 goals in this one.
The other bet I like is for Brighton and Hove Albion to see off Norwich City. I might not have taken this without draw cover because you do get some weird results after international breaks but this two sides look at opposite ends of the scale to me. Brighton are flying, they don’t concede many goals and with one or two players back to bolster their high press they are likely to create a lot of chances against a defence which leaks more than a sieve at this level. Norwich have only scored two goals all season so it is asking a lot for them to double that here which you feel they will need to in order to avoid defeat in this match. There have been signs that Norwich are warming to the task but that was against Burnley. Brighton are a different animal than them and I expect that to be reflected in the scoreline here.
Tips
Back Leicester City vs Manchester United – Over 2.75 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with BetVictor
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Back Brighton and Hove Albion (-0.25AH) to beat Norwich City for a 3/10 stake at 1.81 with William Hill
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