The 2024/25 Premier League season is underway, and the usual suspects impressed early while Chelsea and Tottenham stumbled.
Premier League Wrap
It wasn’t the high-scoring season opener history suggested it would be, and what the Top Shelf Tips hoped for, but Manchester United got their Premier League season off to a winning start by beating Fulham 1-0 at Old Trafford. Ipswich Town looked competitive in their first 45 minutes in the top flight but goals to Diogo Jota and Mo Salah in the 60th and 65th minute saw Liverpool walk away with the three points.
Arsenal got their season off to a strong start with a fairly convincing 2-0 win over Wolves. Brighton did similar in beating Everton 3-0. We’re going to hear about this being the final season at Goodison Park alot, but it couldn’t have started any worse. Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Southampton will only be remembered for one thing: Ben Brereton Diaz’s embarrassing flop leading to Fabian Schar’s red card. Nonetheless, the football gods corrected things with Newcastle winning the match despite playing the majority of it with 10 men.
A late Antoine Semenyo equaliser saw Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth play out a 1-1 draw. Aston Villa are under a little bit of pressure to replicate their 2023-24 Premier League season, but started this one with a well-earned 2-1 win over West Ham. A howler from the referee saw Eberechi Eze’s stunner disallowed as Crystal Palace fell 2-1 to Brentford.
Premier League Tips: ❌✅✅🤦♂️✅
Eberechi Eze's goal being incorrectly waved away cost us a really strong opening week.https://t.co/DHl8Vq2SRN
— Jason (@SportsJO13) August 19, 2024
Another season, same old Manchester City and Chelsea. The defending champions barely got out of second gear as Erling Haaland scored his first of many goals this season ($1.45 to be the top goal scorer) before Mateo Kovacic secured the 2-0 win in the 84th minute. It might be the same old Tottenham, too. Playing with 70% possession against the newly promoted Leicester City, Spurs could only manage a 1-all draw.
Three takeaways from Matchday 1
Ten Hag & Artera’s Approach: Manchester United are under pressure to start the Premier League season well. If they don’t, Erik ten Hag will find himself in the hot seat once again. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta enters the season under the weight of expectation. Arsenal went so close in the last campaign. They themselves expect to go better and lift the league trophy.
The two managers come from different ends of the spectrum, and their quotes only confirm this.
Ten Hag has little confidence in his side and is already planting a few seeds of struggle: “The team is not ready but the league starts.”
Arteta is leaning into the hype and setting his team up for success: “We have been missing the competition for many weeks – too long for us. We are so willing to start, really enthusiastic about it… The team has looked really sharp, looked at it and desperate to play.”
Those quotes played out on the pitch as United looked off the pace despite the 1-0 win while Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 win. We’re still in the optimistic stage of the Premier League season, but Manchester United’s $8 to finish in the Top 2 is a fair reflection of where they’re at against Arsenal ($1.45).
Sterling’s place in the squad and the Chelsea juggling act: The jokes have been flying all summer, but Chelsea really does have eight goalkeepers! Worse still, they’ve spent £72m on four of them – the same amount paid for Kepa Arrizabalaga who isn’t even training with the squad right now. Raheem Sterling might be the next of the 46 players to be disgruntled and on his way out.
He failed to make the squad this week, which isn’t a huge shock when you consider Chelsea spent £185m on 11 more signings over the summer. Sterling’s “camp” released a statement on the situation:
“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity. “As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation. “Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”
Enzo Maresca has an incredibly difficult job of getting 40+ players into 11 every week while keeping the squad happy. If he does manage to pull it off, it won’t be overnight. Their $1.70 to finish in the Top 6 might be a little generous at this point. It looks as though they might have a high mountain to climb if the results don’t come early in the season.
Tottenham Hotspur are back!
He’s starting to understand what it’s like to be fully Tottenham now.pic.twitter.com/UG77bexZEI
— JRTSPURS (@jrtspurs) August 19, 2024
Tottenham Hotspur looked comfortable in the first half of their match against Leicester City. However, in contrast, but similarly half-baked as last season, they couldn’t maintain that level in the second half. Despite playing with 70% possession and dominating for long periods, Tottenham couldn’t find a winner. Dominic Solanke, who recently arrived on a club-record £65m purchase, missed a number of chances.
Big Ange will have Tottenham playing an entertaining and exciting brand, but is it a winning one? They’re already under pressure with Everton to come in Matchday 2.
News & Notes
– Mo Salah loves opening day. While marking his 350th appearance for Liverpool, he became the first player in Premier League history to score for a ninth time on the opening day of the season.
– “There’s some transfer interest and because of all that we decided not to involve him today.” – Thomas Frank on Ivan Toney
– Amadou Onana scored inside four minutes against West Ham. It’s the joint-earliest goal for a player in their Aston Villa debut.
10 – Manchester City have won each of their last 10 Premier League matches, scoring at least two goals in each victory. Indeed, they have more 10-game win streaks than any other side in the competition (7). Humming. pic.twitter.com/2aD9VngDfI
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 18, 2024
– James Milner started his 23rd Premier League season over the weekend. The 38-year-old surpassed Ryan Giggs for most seasons in the league.
– Shortly before Tottenham took on Leicester, they sold Oliver Skipp—a product of the Spurs academy—to their opposition of the day.
– Conor Gallagher looks set to leave Chelsea for Atletico Madrid. But no, that won’t see the squad size shrink. Joao Felix is coming back the other way.
Premier League Odds
The uninspiring performances of Chelsea and Manchester United are reflected in their Premier League winner odds, drifting from $14 and $18 to $21 and $23, respectively. As will be the case for much of the season, Manchester City and Arsenal occupy the first two lines of betting.
Liverpool started their new era with a win but remains unchanged at $7. Should either City or Arsenal stumble, Liverpool looks likely to fill the second spot up top at $3.50. Manchester United, and to a lesser extent, Tottenham, are also in the mix at this early stage.
Top 2 Finish: Manchester United—$7, Tottenham—$10, Chelsea—$11, Newcastle—$11, Aston Villa—$17.
We’ve already captured Crystal Palace to finish in the top half of the league at $2. While they didn’t come away without the points in Matchday 1, there were enough encouraging signs there. Similarly, despite failing to find a winner, Tottenham looked sharp against Leicester. They’re working a number of new faces into the midfield. It will take time for the squad to gel. However, when they do, and provided it’s soon, their $3 to finish in the Top 4 and $1.57 for a Top 6 finish appeal.
Premier League Winner Market
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| TEAM | CURRENT PRICE | LAST WEEK’S PRICE |
| Manchester City | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Arsenal | $2.70 | $2.80 |
| Liverpool | $7 | $7 |
| Chelsea | $21 | $14 |
| Manchester United | $23 | $18 |
| Tottenham | $31 | $31 |