Five games to watch this weekend: Can Manchester United start season in style against Crystal Palace?
Odds and preview for this weekend’s biggest games
Manchester United get their season underway this weekend – but they face a potential banana skin in the shape of Crystal Palace.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side ended last season in style, remaining unbeaten in the league after January and finishing third.
But they’ll be wary of slipping up against a Palace side that haven’t lost in Manchester since September 2017.
Meanwhile, Liverpool visit big-spending Chelsea and Real Madrid start their campaign against Real Sociedad.
Ahead of the action, we’ve outlined five unmissable matches this weekend.
Manchester United v Crystal Palace (Saturday 17:30)
Despite losing this fixture 2-1 last term, United are the clear favourites to triumph at 1/3. Palace are going at 17/2 to repeat their heroics while the draw is 4/1.
If Solskjaer’s side want to start their season with three points, they’ll need their attacking talent to be on song. Anthony Martial scored 17 Premier League goals last term and the Frenchman is 7/2 to open the scoring at Old Trafford.
Palace are arguably stronger than when they won at United last season, having added Eberechi Eze and Michy Batshuayi to their ranks. The pair are 9/2 and 10/3 respectively to open their accounts for the season tomorrow.
Borussia Dortmund v Borussia Monchengladbach (Saturday 17:30)
The Bundesliga season gets underway this weekend and Dortmund will be looking to challenge for the title and end Bayern Munich’s dominance. Lucien Favre’s side are 8/13 to start with a win over 19/5 shots Monchengladbach.
Three of the last five meetings between these two have seen Dortmund win to nil – we go 6/4 on Both teams to score – No.
Erling Braut Haaland has been a revelation since joining the hosts. The Norwegian striker is odds-on at 3/4 to score anytime or 10/3 to bag two or more. Monchengladbach’s best hopes of scoring come in Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram. Both players are 14/5 to bag anytime.
Arsenal v West Ham (Saturday 20:00)
The Gunners have improved dramatically under Mikel Arteta and they’re odds-on favourites at 8/15 to continue their winning run, having thrashed Fulham 3-0 on the opening day. West Ham are longshots at 5/1, with the draw 16/5.
Arsenal have bolstered their attack over the summer with the signing of Willian, as well as tying down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a new deal. The north Londoners are 10/3 to score over 4.5 goals against a Hammers side that looked toothless in their defeat to Newcastle.
Aubameyang is priced at 3/1 to score two or more, while Willian is 23/10 to get his first goal in Arsenal colours. Michail Antonio is West Ham’s likeliest scorer at 21/10.
Chelsea v Liverpool (Sunday 16:30)
Jurgen Klopp’s side kicked off their title defence with a thrilling 4-3 win over Leeds last weekend and they’re 6/5 to make it two wins on the spin. Chelsea can be backed at 11/5 while the draw is 27/10.
These two sides last met in July, when Liverpool ran out 5-3 winners. A repeat of that scoreline is priced at 150/1 and Liverpool to win with over 5.5 goals is 16/1.
Timo Werner looked bright on his debut at Brighton despite not scoring. The German is 4/1 to open the scoring at Stamford Bridge if he can shake off the dead leg he suffered on Monday.
Meanwhile, former Blues player Mohamed Salah is going at 33/1 to score his second hat-trick in as many games.
Real Sociedad v Real Madrid (Sunday 20:00)
After winning the title last season, Real Madrid are looking to continue where they left off at Sociedad. Zinedine Zidane’s men are 4/6 favourites here, with the hosts going at 16/5.
Madrid did the double over Sociedad last season, with over 2.5 goals in both games. An away win and over 2.5 goals is 6/4.
David Silva has returned to Spain to join forces with Sociedad and he’ll be looking to mark his debut with a goal. The playmaker is 14/1 to open the scoring and 5/1 to net anytime. Real Madrid marksman Karim Benzema can be backed at 3/1 to score first.
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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
