By Jamie O’Hara, PricedUp Brand Ambassador
World Cup summer is done, the transfer window has been mental, and we’ve got a Friday night opener at the Emirates to get us going.
So, let’s get straight into it. Five games, five calls, and the reasons behind them.
Arsenal v Coventry — Friday, 8pm
My prediction: Arsenal win
I don’t see anything other than a comfortable Arsenal win here, and if you watched the Community Shield, you’ll know why.
A comfortable three-nil win against Manchester City in Cardiff. Calafiori scored inside the first minute, Havertz added a second before the break, and Odegaard walked it in three minutes into the second half. It all looked far too easy for Arsenal which worries me. Arteta had Rice, Saka, Gyökeres and Zubimendi to bring off the bench as well.
To add to that, Bruno Guimarães, who signed for £75m, was in the starting XI. He captained Newcastle, made close to 200 appearances up there, and he gives Arsenal a different kind of midfielder – grit, aggression, drives the ball forward. After winning the League he’s a great addition, I don’t like it.
Coventry deserve their moment though. Twenty-five years they’ve waited to get back here, and Frank Lampard did it in style by winning the Championship, sealed promotion with three games to spare, and did it without a penny of parachute money. Lampard was Manager of the Season and rightly so. But going to the champions on the opening night is about as tough as it gets.
Everton v Crystal Palace — Saturday, 3pm
My prediction: Everton to edge it
Everton ended the season poorly, so they are going to look to kick on at the start of the new season.
They were eighth with 46 points and seven games to go last season. Europe was there for them. Then they took three points from those seven, didn’t win any of them, and finished thirteenth. That’s really poor form to end the season and the fans won’t have forgotten it over the summer. Moyes will know he needs a fast start, because the mood around that place can turn quickly.
Palace are the interesting one. Losing Oliver Glasner is a big deal. The man won them the FA Cup and then the Conference League, but he has left. That’s the most successful spell in the club’s history, and now it’s someone else’s job. Pierre Sage arrives with a good CV. Ligue 1 Manager of the Season at Lens, won the Coupe de France, finished second behind PSG.
The thing is, new manager, new ideas, and they’ve got Europa League football to juggle on top. That takes time to settle. Everton at home, first day, with something to make up for – I’ll take the hosts, but I’d expect it to be tight, and I wouldn’t be shocked by a low-scoring draw.
Brentford v Tottenham — Saturday, 5.30pm
My prediction: Draw
I think this is a really tough opener for Spurs, and I don’t think people appreciate how good Brentford were last year.
Ninth place, 53 points, and they missed out on European football on goal difference. That’s it. Same points as Brighton, a worse goal difference, no Europe. Keith Andrews was written off before a ball was kicked and the club rewarded him with a six-year contract – that tells you everything about what they think they’re building. And in Igor Thiago they’ve got a striker who scored 22 league goals, second only to Haaland, a club record for a Premier League season. Brentford flat out refused to sell him this summer.
The Gtech is the smallest ground in the division and it’s a nasty place to visit. Brentford lost one of their first eleven home games last season. They press, they counter, and they don’t give you a second on the ball.
Now, Spurs. Look, I’ve got skin in this game and I’ll be honest – the summer has been enormous. Tonali for £100m, Mateus Fernandes for £85m, van Hecke for £52m, plus Robertson, Senesi and Dubravka on frees. De Zerbi has completely rebuilt the spine after taking over a side that was 17th and thirteen games without a win and only stayed up on the final day.
I think we still need to strengthen at the top end of the pitch. I think everyone, including the manager, knows that, but it’s been a good summer so far and I look forward to seeing this new team in action.
Man City v Bournemouth — Sunday, 2pm
My prediction: Manchester City win
City need this one badly, and not because of the points.
That Community Shield performance was poor. Overrun in midfield, second to everything, and Enzo Maresca stood there watching Arsenal walk through them. Not the start you want when you’re following a man who spent a decade at the club and won 17 major trophies, including six league titles and four in a row. Nobody can fill those shoes, and nobody should expect Maresca to. But he does need a response on Sunday, at home, with a clean slate.
He knows the building at least from his time as academy coach, then Guardiola’s assistant during the Treble year. And City at the Etihad on the opening weekend, against a side adjusting to their own new manager, is the kind of fixture you’d want to steady yourself.
Bournemouth are in transition too. Sixth last season, 57 points, the best finish in their history and Europa League football to show for it – and then they lose Andoni Iraola to Liverpool. Marco Rose is a good appointment and he’ll get them playing, but you don’t replace a manager like that overnight, and they’ve got European midweeks to think about now as well.
City to win because they have to put last week’s performance behind them and they have a point to prove.
Fulham v Chelsea — Monday, 8pm
My prediction: Chelsea win
Now this is a proper Monday night storyline, and I’m not sure enough people have clocked it.
Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa. Teammates for Spain and Real Madrid. Alonso got the Madrid job, got sacked in January, and Arbeloa was the man who replaced him. Now, eighteen months later, they’re both managing in West London and they meet on the opening weekend. You couldn’t write it. Both played in the Premier League too – Alonso 210 games for Liverpool, Arbeloa 98 for the same club before finishing up at West Ham.
Chelsea are the pick for me. Alonso is a really good manager, even if it didn’t quite work out at Real Madrid – the man won Leverkusen the first league title in their history and did it unbeaten domestically. That’s not luck. And here’s the bit people are underrating – Chelsea have no European football this season after finishing tenth. One competition to focus on, a young squad, and a manager who knows how to build a league campaign. That’s a decent recipe.
Arbeloa has got a job on. He’s replacing Marco Silva, who gave Fulham five stable years before leaving for Benfica, and he’s arrived off the back of a difficult few months at the Bernabéu. Craven Cottage will get behind him, and Fulham finished on the same points as Chelsea last year, so this isn’t a mismatch. But I’ll side with the team I believe has a better squad and a great manager.
The Weekend in Five
Arsenal to win
Everton to win
Brentford v Tottenham — draw
Manchester City to win
Chelsea to win
Accumulator odds – 23.5/1
That’s how I see it. Doesn’t mean that’s how it’ll go – this is football, and if the opening weekend went to script every year none of us would bother watching. These are my opinions and nothing more. Have a look, make up your own mind, and only ever stake what you’re comfortable losing.
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