Premier League Saturday Tips: Back 9/2 Brighton and six other value bets | OneFootball

English Premier League

Mitoma is looking back to his best

Ste Tudor highlights where the goals and three points will likely be found to get this Premier League weekend started...

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Brighton v Man United (12:30) - Seagulls reborn

In a slightly different form but just as entertaining, the Seagulls are back, as evidenced by their clever and ruthless deconstruction of Everton last Saturday. This in itself was an extension on a highly encouraging pre-season.

Yankuba Minteh's introduction to the Premier League may have been cut short due to a head injury but he was still one of the stand-out stars at Goodison, his searing pace and trickery making him a major threat in transition.

The same can be said for Kaoru Mitoma who completed four dribbles and tormented the Toffees all afternoon.This pair will cause some serious damage in 2024/25.

As for United, there are positives to be found, not least Bruno Fernandes' record in this fixture, amounting to six goal involvements. A possible debut for Matthijs de Ligt meanwhile intrigues.Yet the big takeaway from their opening day win over Fulham was not the result, but rather the sheer volume of opportunities they presented their opponents against an isolated, back-pedaling defence. Little then has changed.

It is in these spaces where Brighton thrive.

Crystal Palace v West Ham (15:00) - Early missteps

The Eagles can consider themselves unfortunate to lose on the opening weekend, undone by poor refereeing and missed chances. Eberechi Eze alone took on seven shots, the most of any top-flight player on Matchweek 1.

Here they will miss Joachim Anderson who is Fulham-bound. The centre-back was responsible for seven blocks and clearances at Brentford and completed five accurate long passes.

He has long been a criminally under-rated defender.

Which also applies to Max Kilman, West Ham's summer purchase who was arguably their best performer in what was an underwhelming start to their Julen Lopetegui era. Sluggish and predictable going forward, the Hammers relied on Kilman's nous to keep them in the game vs Villa, ultimately to no avail.

The visitors may well be brighter on this occasion, should Fullkrug and Summerville be handed their full debuts.

BTTS is the way to go here with both teams scoring in their last 14 meetings. There has been a couple of seven-goal thrillers in recent seasons too.

Fulham v Leicester (15:00) - Lack of clinical edge

The Cottagers racked up 10 attempts on Manchester United's goal in their opening fixture but that pales to the number of times they carved out promising situations, only to misplace their final ball.

Better decision making in and around the opposition box will surely have been prioritized this week in training. Andreas Pereira incidentally is exempt from criticism in this regard. No player in the top-flight was responsible for more key passes on matchday one (six).

Leicester meanwhile were buoyed by Jamie Vardy rolling back the years but in truth the 37-year-old's equalizer papered over some serious cracks. It took the Foxes nearly an hour to post their first shot on target vs Tottenham.

Mads Hermansen made five saves to keep Spurs at bay and the Dane is expected to be busy in the weeks and months to come.

Man City v Ipswich (15:00) - A pressing matter

We can expect Kieran McKenna to once again deploy the hybrid press that caused Liverpool all manner of problems last week until the Reds compromised and went more direct.

To what extent it troubles arguably the most press-resistant team in the league remains to be seen but it has to be said that Ipswich execute it superbly well. And it is absolutely their best chance of pulling off a shock result at the Etihad.The champions will again be minus Rodri, a deprival that tends to strip them of their superpowers but that certainly wasn't the case last week at Stamford Bridge, with Mateo Kovacic excellent. The Croatian won eight ground duels and successfully completed 95% of his passes.

That Erling Haaland scored last weekend was probably the least surprising development of Matchweek 1. The Striking Viking fired eight in his first six last term and ten in his first six in 2022/23.

First Salah, now Haaland. What a baptism of fire this is for an Ipswich rearguard that was frustrating Exeter City forwards just 16 months ago.

Southampton v Nottingham Forest (15:00) - Gloss but no finish

Despite having a man advantage for well over an hour last week at St James Park, and despite having 46 touches in the opposition box, Southampton failed to convert, their 19 attempts on goal amounting to very little.That will concern Russell Martin for all the positive gloss he put on their performance post-match.

Naturally enough, amassing 77.8% of the possession resulted in a high corner-count for the Saints while a fractious game inevitably brought several cautions after Fabian Schar's sending off. And it is these two details that offer up value in a fixture that is otherwise hard to call.

Southampton's four yellows was a continuation of their disciplinary problems from last term, that saw the promoted side receive the third-highest number of cards in the Championship.

Regarding corners, Forest won a meagre two last weekend, the second lowest in the top-flight. This is fitting because they finished second from bottom last season too for corners won.

Tottenham v Everton (15:00) - Bad omens

The omens aren't exactly promising for Sean Dyche's side as they travel to the capital, hoping to write last week's disaster-class off as an almighty false start.

Everton have won only one of their last 23 league encounters with Spurs and moreover are winless on the road in 2024. They last won a top-flight game in August three years ago.

The easy manner in which they were sliced open by Brighton on the opening day will not have gone unnoticed by James Maddison who has assisted four times in his last three meetings with the Merseysiders. Fifteen progressive passes made vs Leicester has the schemer in form.

Then there's Richarlison - should he pass a late fitness test - who scored in this fixture last season before helping himself to a brace at Goodison.

Let's go for Dominic Solanke though to get off the mark on his home debut after repeatedly knocking at the door last Monday evening. Tottenham's big summer signing accrued three shots on target, all saved.

Aston Villa v Arsenal (17:30) - On the attack

It's merely a point of interest but Arsenal accumulated twice as many touches in their opponent's box than Villa last weekend.

Granted, West Ham were a trickier adversary than a passive Wolves, and furthermore, Villa were away from home. Even so, it highlights a relentless mandate to hurt teams that has, more often than not, paid off handsomely for the Gunners.

They have scored 2+ goals in 84% of their league commitments across 2024.

In Kai Havertz they possess a hybrid attacking talent who has more goal involvements than any other player going back to mid-February. Bukayo Saka meanwhile has started this campaign as he means to go on, racking up impressive numbers against Wolves, including five key passes, a goal and an assist.

Villa secured a double over the Gunners last term but it's the visitors who are fancied here, ravenous as they are to finally fend off Manchester City to a title.

Don't discount an early strike either, with Arsenal scoring at least once before the break in each of their last seven league fixtures.

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