Betting column: SunSport picks for the first weekend of the Premier League season

THEY used to have know-how, now they’ve got no Howe. They’ve got none of their best players either. When you get taken over by one of the richest nations in the world, you don’t expect to see Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes all failing to come back from their holidays. Who knew Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was short of a quarter of a billion quid? Of course, they are playing by the financial fair play rules; I guess somebody has to. German Matthias Jaissle is tasked with stepping into Eddie Howe’s shoes, the man who ended the Geordies’ 56-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup in 2025. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Jaissle has a trophy-winning CV himself with Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, so at least he’ll be able to handle the temperatures we get over here. And he should be able to handle the expectations – with a side who were in the Champions League last season now quoted at 400-1 to win the title. And one that is as short as 15-2 to go down. What Newcastle have done is put their faith in youth, signing six players all in their early 20s and younger led by Ivorian winger Bazoumana Toure for £42m from Hoffenheim. Still, it’s still a case of “Hello mate, who are you, who we got tomorrow?” In this case, the answer to that is Liverpool, at home. The Reds of course are also under new management after Arne Slot’s second-season slump. Bet Balls Man United to win 4-0 at Hull today is 12-1 with BetGoodwin Brentford to beat Spurs tonight, BTTS, is 3-1 with BetGoodwin Bournemouth leading half-time, City win is 16-1 with BetGoodwin Liverpool to win 3-1 at Newcastle is 11-1 with BetGoodwin GET £15 IN FREE BETS WITH BETGOODWIN New boss Andoni Iraola earned his spurs by leading Bournemouth to a best-ever 6th place finish last season. He did it by creating a fleet-footed, forward-thinking, well-organised, balanced side that did their best to derail Arsenal’s title march with a deserved victory at the Emirates at the back end of last season. He does though have to replace the legend that was Mo Salah. He hasn’t yet. And Coral’s Dave Stevens sees big question marks over both clubs. He said: “You have to feel for Newcastle, they have mega rich owners but stick to the rules while their rivals spend, spend, spend. It’s been another hard summer and a repeat of last season’s bottom half finish (10-11) is not hard to see. “Iraola did a superb job at Bournemouth, but how many times have we seen these managers step up to bigger clubs and fail? Plenty is the answer, and he could be another one. ”If Isak and Wirtz start to deliver, and they can sign a top-class central defender they could be set for top four, at 8-13, but that’s as far as I see them going.” Bet365 make the Toon a best-priced 29-10 outsiders, while Liverpool are a shade under evens with BetMGM and the draw trading at 3-1. I like Iraola, with fit again ex-Geordie striker Alexander Isak at his disposal, who leads the first-scorer market at 9-2 with Coral and Ladbrokes. While we can expect the home side to be high energy, it’s class that tells at this level which leaves me firmly in the Red corner. Liverpool win and BTTS is the obvious route but 2-1 is not enough to tempt me in. Instead I like the visitors to win by two goals at 5-1 with Sky Bet and by three goals at 9-1 with Paddy Power. He who pays the piper calls the Toon. Title talk LIVERPOOL spent north of £400m last summer, after winning the title at a canter, and kicked off as 15-8 favourites to retain their crown. As far as I know Arne Slot is still looking for a new job. His ex-side were dismal and finished fifth. So while Arsenal did a demolition job on Man City in the Community Shield last weekend, that second album is always difficult. Of their challengers, City at 18-5 looked what they are, a team in transition. Ditto the Merseysiders, who will be hoping some of their expensive arrivals come off this time round. When they get the treatment room empty, Spurs will have their best squad for years and a maverick manager in Roberto De Zerbi who can get the best out of them. All change as usual at Chelsea – manager, players, owners but as yet no ground. Man United, though, were a revelation in the second half of the season and would have won the title if it was from January to May. Keep calm and Carrick on at 9-1. TITLE ODDS (best price): 5-4 Arsenal; 18-5 Man City; 6-1 Liverpool; 9-1 Chelsea, Man United; 33-1 Spurs; 66-1 Villa; 250-1 Brighton. Dark horse 14-1: Rio Ngumoha may have looked a little raw last year but he also looked very dangerous. Take the Liverpool winger to score any time and the Reds to win, BTTS, and kop a 10-1 price off Coral Goodwinners’ Enclosure ENZO MARESCA wasn’t the only one shocked at how bad his Man City side were in the Community Shield last weekend. Before kick-off and before they were buried, embarrassed and battered 3-0 by Premier League champions Arsenal, here at BetGoodwin Towers our backers had piled on City to get the job done under new management at 13-8. Nice to see football remains a funny old game. One step down the football pyramid, all the interest has been on West Ham to lift the Championship title at 7-4. But we saw a late punt on Wolves at 11-2 – with our punters envisioning a strictly two-horse race between the two relegated Prem sides. Down in League Two, there was a nasty shock for punters who had made Salford City their 6-1 title favourites, as the Class of 92’s outfit failed to get any points on the board away at Barnet in their opener. As far as the top-flight title race is concerned, no surprise that the Gunners have been installed as heavy favourites to retain their crown at 13-10. Where might the challenge come from? Well we think it may be rising in west London. Chelsea have laid out close to a £200m net spend, spearheaded with the £117m outlay on England and Aston Villa attacker Morgan Rogers. With no European football to worry about and highly-rated ex-Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso in the dugout, we feel they are a huge price at 8-1! Villa, who showed up very well in the European Super Cup, getting edged out by Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, could be an interesting bet at 4-1 to make the top four. All things considered, though, here is our top-four prediction, in order, for this season: 1st Chelsea2nd Man City3rd Man United4th Arsenal The straight forecast on Chelsea-Man City pays a very hefty 33-1. At the other end of affairs, promoted sides Hull, Ipswich and Coventry are all odds-on to go straight back down. And surprisingly our punters think Sunderland could have bitten off more than they can chew by making the Europa League this term – and have backed them down to 29-10 for the drop. In the big game of the weekend, Liverpool are at Newcastle after difficult seasons for both big guns last term. Reds are favourites at 17-20 but we fancy draw and BTTS at 10-3 Drum roll please… The BetGoodwin Banker Acca of the weekend is Everton, Wrexham, Stockport and Port Vale all to win at a nicely boosted 11-1! Top Tips Pro bet Millwall to beat Norwich, QPR to beat Bolton, Doncaster to beat Barnsley, Bristol Rovers to beat Newport, Salford to beat Chesterfield. Acca pays 25-1 with bet365. Retirement bet Palace to win at Everton, Leeds to win at Forest, Watford to win at Wrexham, Blackburn to beat Middlesbrough, Cardiff to win at Derby, Northampton to win at Crewe, Gillingham to win at Fleetwood, Crawley to win at Rochdale. Perm 1 x Acca, 8 x 7-folds, 28 x 6-folds. Acca pays 29,829-1 with bet365. Away day Wolves to win at Preston, Reading at Wimbledon, Plymouth at Wycombe, Barnet at Shrewsbury. Acca pays 25-1 with Coral. Top draw Ipswich v Sunderland, Swansea v Sheff Utd, Bromley v Cambridge, Rotherham v York. Acca pays 136-1 with Betfred. TV Special Man United to win at Hull, Brentford to beat Spurs, Man City to beat Bournemouth BTTS, Liverpool to win at Newcastle. Acca pays 16-1 with Coral. GET £15 IN FREE BETS WITH BETGOODWIN 18+ New customers only. One participation per customer. Qualifying bet must be placed within 7 days of registering your Account. Terms and conditions apply. BeGambleAware. 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