Premier League Predictions, Picks and Odds – EPL Best Bets For August 16-18

Premier League Betting Preview Including Predictions and Odds

WagerTalk Premier League handicapper Kevin Dolan presents his Premier League prediction preview heading into August 16-18 matches. He gives betting previews for key matches including Fulham vs Manchester United and Manchester City vs Chelsea. Which teams is he looking to pick up points and which will have goals being scored? Read his betting preview now! Also, at WagerTalk you can always find free NFL picks every day.

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Fulham vs Manchester United | August 16 | 3:00PM ET

Fulham +450 | Manchester United -175 | Draw +350

The Cottager’s trip to Old Trafford on Friday evening to take on Manchester United will officially kick off the new Premier League campaign, and one both teams will hope to get off to a good start in.

For Fulham, despite adding the talents of Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe over the summer, the loss of Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich has been a huge blow to them considering how instrumental he was in guiding them to a safe mid-table finish last season, something the German giants were quick to pick up on.

For Manchester United, it hasn’t exactly been an ideal start to the new season, with summer signing Leny Yoro expected to be out for around three months with a foot injury, along with several other key injuries to the first-team lineup also.

Manager Erik ten Hag however will have few excuses given the level of investment Manchester United have poured into the squad over the summer transfer window.

However, despite missing some players, Manchester United looked solid in their penalty shootout defeat against Manchester City last week in the Community Shield, having a goal ruled offside and having another rattle off the post also before Manchester City were eventually able to grab an equalizer late on.

Because of that performance, coupled with Palhinha’s massive absence in the Fulham lineup, we’re leaning towards a Manchester United victory at home on Friday, but one we’re nevertheless expecting to be close by the time of the final whistle.

Premier League Prediction: Manchester United to Win by 1 Goal (+260)

Liverpool vs Ipswich | August 17 | 7:30AM ET

Liverpool -280 | Ipswich +675 | Draw +455

The Tractor Boys, Ipswich Town, have endured a long 20-year wait to finally get themselves back into the top flight of English football, but it won’t exactly be an easy start for them here welcoming in the 2019-20 champions Liverpool for their maiden game.

Things aren’t exactly all sunny on the Liverpool side of the ledger however, with their epic collapse from an extremely commanding position in the league table late last season compounded by the fact of manager Jurgen Klopp’s decision to step down as boss as well, bringing the curtain down on an extremely bright period for the Reds.

In former Feyenoord coach Arne Slot however, Liverpool likely has the perfect candidate to take over, as like Klopp, Slot likes to play a high-intensity game with an aggressive style of play to boot, a fact highlighted by Feyenoord’s average mark of 3 goals scored per game at home last season.

Both of these managers have a set, energetic style of play, and it’s extremely unlikely that Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna will revert away from that here as he’s been rightly hailed as one of the brightest young minds in the managerial world, owing to Chelsea’s recent interest in him.

McKenna guided Ipswich Town to the Premier League through an attack-minded, possession-based philosophy, and that’s been his mindset from day one, even going back to his days as a Tottenham youth coach and as an assistant manager at Manchester United also.

This should be a highly attacking game throughout on Saturday between two managers with very clear offensive philosophy’s, a result that should lead to plenty of goals this weekend.

Premier League Prediction: Over 3.5 (+115)

Manchester City vs Chelsea | August 18 | 11:30AM ET

Manchester City -125 | Chelsea +305 | Draw +300

The biggest game of the matchday 1 slate sees champions Manchester City, fresh off their victory in the Community Shield last week, take on a resurgent Chelsea team with new manager Enzo Maresca at the helm.

Maresca was a former assistant manager at Manchester City before guiding Leicester City to Championship glory last season, winning the league outright with a formidable 67% win rate.

Whether that success will transfer over to this Chelsea team, a team that similar to Manchester United across recent years, has been known to have somewhat of a culture problem in its ranks, will be the million-dollar question ahead of this season, but there’s no denying that bringing in a coach like Enzo Maresca seems like a step in the right direction for the Blues.

For Manchester City meanwhile, it’s generally been a relatively quiet transfer window, having one of their most-subdued summers in a number of years as they look to once again solidify themselves as the team to beat in England this season.

Both teams played a recent friendly over in the United States, with Manchester City breezing past Chelsea in that game 4-2, a result that actually flattered Chelsea a little, but friendlies are friendlies, and Chelsea has shown across recent competitive meetings against City that even during low points, they’re more than capable against them, securing two outright draws over their last three head-to-heads.

Last season’s 4-4 effort at Stamford Bridge especially was an absolute barnburner, and this meeting could well deliver also, so we’re backing both teams to find the back of the net at least once in the second half on Sunday.

Premier League Prediction: Both Teams to Score in 2nd Half – Yes (+150)

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

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