The 2023/24 English Premier League begins today, Friday, as newly promoted side Burnley host defending champions Manchester City, then on Saturday, last season’s surprise team Newcastle kick off their campaign against Aston Villa in another eagerly anticipated clash.

Event # 1 – EPL– Burnley vs Manchester City– 2:00 pm

Burnley have made a swift return to the Premier League after dominating and winning the Championship last season, and they could not have asked for a more difficult opponent in their first match back in the top flight as defending champions Manchester City travel to Turf Moor.

Turf Moor will be rocking in hope rather than expectation of a major upset to get their season off to an unexpected winning start. With that said, this Burnley side under manager Vincent Kompany is vastly different from the one that got relegated in the 2021/22 season, as they had the best attack and defensive record in the championship last season. However, hosting treble-winning Manchester City is a totally different kettle of fish compared with the championship teams.

Manchester City finally got their hands on the Champions League last season, with that win in Istanbul completing a historic treble that the club has yearned for. City’s pre-season has not been perfect as they have lost their last two matches, with defeats to Atletico Madrid and then to Arsenal in the Community Shield last Sunday.

Pep Guardiola and his City side won’t be overly concerned with those losses when they take on Burnley as they have dominated them in recent times, winning the previous 11 head-to-head clashes, with 10 of those wins by two or more goals.

KEY STATS

• Burnley– won the Championship last season, losing just three times, while winning 29 games.

• Man City – won 28 of the 38 games in the Premier League last season, while losing five and drawing five games.

• Both sides – Manchester City have won the last 12 head-to-head meetings against Burnley, winning their last encounter 6-0 when both sides met in the FA Cup last season.

The Betting Tip. Man City win.

Event # 2 EPL – Newcastle vs Aston Villa – 11:30 am

Two of the Premier League’s newly ambitious teams go head to head on the opening weekend as Newcastle host Aston Villa in an expected thriller.

Indeed, under their new Saudi-backed ownership, Newcastle secured a top-four finish last season, meaning they will be playing Champions League football for the first time after two decades.

Newcastle have continued their excellent form from last season as they have won five times and drawn twice in their pre-season matches, winning their last game 4-0 against Villarreal and scoring 17 times during this run. They ended last season unbeaten in their last three Premier League matches and were impressive at home where they scored at least two or more goals in five of their last seven league games.

Aston Villa, like Newcastle are back in the European competition after finishing seventh in the league. In fact, finishing that high following their poor start to the season under coach Steven Gerrard, who was fired and replaced by Spanish coach Unai Emery, is a major achievement.

Following Emery’s appointment, Aston Villa went on to win 15 of their last 25 matches to secure a European football spot. Like Newcastle, Aston Villa won their last three Premier League matches to end last season – and they were also impressive on their travels, scoring at least two goals in five of their last 12 away matches.

KEY STATS

• Newcastle – have scored 17 goals in seven pre-season matches this season. Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 15 against Aston Villa at home.

• Aston Villa – have scored 13 goals in five pre-season matches this season. Aston Villa have won 15 of their last 17 matches.

• Both sides – the two teams have met in a friendly and played out a 3-3 draw in the USA. Newcastle have won two of their last three meetings between both teams, which includes a 4-0 thrashing in this exact fixture last season.

The betting Tip. Draw – both teams to score.

JUSTBET ODDS – Burnley vs Manchester City

Friday, August 11, 2023

PredictionOdds on PredictionOdds Calculation

BURNLEY TO WIN$9.00which means a $1,000 bet would pay $9,000

MANCHESTER CITY TO WIN$1.30which means a $1,000 bet would pay $1,300

MATCH TO DRAW$5.75which means a $1,000 bet would pay $5,750

Odds on the Home Team (Burnley) winning the game 2-1 at full time$26.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $26,000

Odds on the Away Team (City) winning the game 1-3 at full time$11.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $11,000

Odds on the game drawing 2-2 at full time$26.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $26,000.

JUSTBET ODDS – Newcastle vs Aston Villa

Saturday, August 12, 2023

PredictionOdds on PredictionOdds Calculation

NEWCASTLE TO WIN$1.76which means a $1,000 bet would pay $1,760

ASTON VILLA TO WIN$4.40which means a $1,000 bet would pay $4,400

MATCH TO DRAW$3.85which means a $1,000 bet would pay $3,850

Odds on the Home Team (N/Castle) winning the game 3-1 at full time$14.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $14,000

Odds on the Away Team (Villa) winning the game 2-3 at full time$41.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $41,000

Odds on the game drawing 1-1 at full time$7.00which means that a $1,000 bet would pay $7,000.