The 2019 EPL season kicks off with a bang this weekend and Before You Bet is gearing up for a massive summer in soccer. We’ll be providing you with weekly EPL betting tips as well as a weekly roundup of the top games of the weekend across the rest of Europe including the La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
We’ll also be covering Europe’s biggest competition, the UEFA Champions League from Round 1 and we’ll pick up the Europa Cup when the knockout stages kick off.
Today, however, we take a look at some of the key games in Week 1 of the EPL, which gets underway on Saturday morning (AEST) with Liverpool taking on Norwich City.
EPL Week 1 Betting Tips
Liverpool vs Norwich City (Saturday 5am AEST)
Liverpool may have won the Champions League in thrilling fashion last season, but their No.1 goal heading into the 2019-20 year will be to claim that elusive Premier League title. They come into the year with largely the same core that missed out on the trophy by just two points year, in one of the most dominant seasons not to result in a title in EPL history.
Liverpool went undefeated at home throughout the entire 18/19 season and allowed just 10 goals through their 19 games at Anfield. They will be thankful to the scheduling gods this season after being given a fairly easy start to the year with a game against the newly promoted Norwich City at home.
Considering Liverpool allowed a goal in just 7 of their 19 games at home last season, we think it’s safe to assume that Anfield will be a similar fortress this year. Can see some real value in the Reds winning this game to nil.
Liverpool Win to Nil
$1.72
Watford vs Brighton & Hove Albion (Sunday 12am AEST)
Not the most exciting matchup of Week 1 but one that we definitely see the most value in as Watford host Brighton & Hove Albion at midnight Saturday night. Watford cemented themselves as a true mid-table team last season and should be here to stay for the foreseeable future in the Premier League. They’ll be eyeing off their first top 10 finish in club history this year after finishing two points behind 10th last season.
Watford face a Brighton team that narrowly avoided relegation last season after winning just one of their last 10 games of the year and finishing just two points ahead of Cardiff in 18th place. They were dreadful away from home, winning just 3 of 19 road games, which was more than only Huddersfield and Fulham.
The two teams faced off in August last season at Watford and the Hornets were comfortable 2-0 winers after maintaining 53% possession and firing off a massive 19 shots with 5 on targets compared to just 6/0 for the Seagulls. Watford is great value at $1.91 here.
Manchester United vs Chelsea (Monday 1.30am AEST)
The game of the week sees Manchester United hosting Chelsea at Old Trafford from 1.30am on Monday morning. United will be looking to bounce back from a horror season last year which saw them finish sixth on the table with just a 19-9-10 record. They’ll have Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjær at the helm for his first full season after taking over from Jose Mourinho mid-way through last season.
The Blues will also have a new manager in charge as club legend Frank Lampard takes over from Maurizio Sarri. Chelsea will also have to adjust to life without star player Eden Hazard, who leaves the club for Real Madrid after the better part of a decade in blue.
Manchester had a pretty ordinary record at home for a big six club last season, winning just 10 of their 19 games. Chelsea have had some success at Old Trafford in the past as well, picking up at least one point in five of their last seven trips there. Chelsea look good value at $2.42 draw no bet.
Chelsea draw no bet
$2.42
