FST's big Premier League preview pt 1: Best bets for every team

The Premier League kicks off this week as Brentford take on Arsenal on Friday night and to get you in the mood for the new top flight campaign I’m giving you the low down on every single team in the Premier League along with my best bet for each one of them.

Make sure to check out the rest of our outright previews over in our season outrights section, too.

FST’s big Premier League preview part 1

Arsenal

Best bet: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang top team goalscorer at 8/13

Arsenal are without European football for the first time in 25 years and while that is a huge blow for them it does mean they can focus on getting their league standing back on track.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had his worst season in a decade last year but still managed ten Premier League goals – only three behind top scorer Lacazette. He’s unlikely to have another campaign as dismal as that and with Ben White joining I’m expecting a much better showing from the Gunners this term.

Champions League qualification is probably out of their reach at this point, but they should at least make it back into Europe.

Aston Villa

Best bet – Aston Villa to finish in the top half at 5/4

Aston Villa may have lost talisman Jack Grealish but their squad this season actually looks more well-rounded than the one that finished 11th last term. Emi Buendia is a fantastic capture and combined with the arrivals of Danny Ings and Leon Bailey they have as talented an attack as any of their top-half rivals.

If they can keep those attackers fit there is no reason they can’t overtake a team like Everton this year, and the signings of Ashley Young and Axel Tuanzebe provide some much-needed depth at the back. Finding a way to play without relying on Grealish is key in the early stage of the season, but their summer business looks promising and I fancy them to kick on.

Brentford

Best bet – Brentford not to be relegated at 4/6

Brentford are without a doubt the most exciting of the three newly promoted sides and I fancy them to stave off the threat of relegation. They were top scorers in the Championship last season with 79 goals and have a well-settled squad that have been building towards top flight football for years now.

Thomas Frank plays an attractive, attacking and intense brand of football that should translate well to the Premier League and the signing of Kristoffer Ajer looks a really good bit of business as they try to tighten up at the back. A lot will depend on how Ivan Toney adapts to the top flight but eight of the last 11 Premier League debutants have survived their first season and I expect the Bees to become the ninth.

Brighton

Best bet – Brighton over 46 points at 4/5

Brighton may have only just scraped past the magic 40 point mark last season but I’m expecting much greater things from this side. The underlying figures suggest the Seagulls were incredibly unlucky last season and Graham Potter’s side certainly passed the eye test when it came to attractive and cohesive football.

Their expected points tally was a top-five worthy 61.41 – some 20 points more than they actually managed – and they underperformed their xG massively. They have just received a healthy £50 million windfall from the sale of Ben White and while some of that should be put towards defensive reinforcements, if they can find a striker who can actually hit the back of the net with that money they could be in for a very good season indeed.

Burnley

Best bet – Chris Wood top team goalscorer at 8/15

The ineptitude of Sheffield United, West Brom and Fulham saved Burnley last season and they will be relying on the failure of other teams again this term, but if anyone can pull off an escape it’s Sean Dyche and once again their attacking prospects hinge on the performance of Chris Wood.

The New Zealand international has been the Clarets’ top scorer in three of their last four seasons and the only time he didn’t win that accolade was when he shared the spoils with Ashley Barnes. He was the only Burnley player to register more than five goals last season and even if Barnes manages to stay fit I don’t see him matching Wood.

Chelsea

Best bet – Chelsea to finish in the top two at 6/4

Chelsea have looked a changed side since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival and they head into the new season in high spirits after lifting the Champions League in May. The German has had time to put his stamp on this talented Blues outfit and even without any major transfers they look the most likely team to challenge Manchester City.

The continued improvement of Kai Havertz will be key and they look to be on the verge of re-signing Romelu Lukaku. Having that proven goalscorer to take the pressure off Timo Werner could fire them into Premier League contention and I expect them to outshine Liverpool and Manchester United.

Crystal Palace

Best bet – Crystal Palace to be bottom at Christmas at 7/1

Change is coming thick and fast at Selhurst Park but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. The loss of manager Roy Hodgson could be a real blow to their chances this season but the Eagles’ hierarchy weren’t content with only losing their manager.

They have shipped out a host of ageing first team players and, while the rejuvenation of their squad has long been necessary, I get the feeling that it’s all come too quickly for Palace. Patrick Vieira is an unproven manager who now faces a full squad rebuild and a potential relegation battle. I see them struggling.

Everton

Best bet – Everton to finish in the bottom half at 6/5

It could be a season to forget for Everton fans after a summer filled with turmoil. Rafa Benitez’s appointment was met with anger in some corners of the Toffees fanbase and their summer transfer business has been underwhelming to say the least. Add the Gylfi Sigurdsson saga into the mix and it looks like a recipe for disaster.

They scraped into the top half last term thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s heroics in the early stages of the season but the 24-year-old only scored three goals in his final 14 appearances for Everton last season. Combine all these issues and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of their competitors overtake them.

Leeds United

Best bet – Patrick Bamford top team goalscorer at 4/7

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds took the league by storm on their return to the top flight last season and this season the aim will be to consolidate their position and maintain their top-half standing.

Seven wins and just one defeat from their final ten games of the season indicate that second season syndrome is unlikely to take hold but the best value lies in backing their main man to continue being just that. Patrick Bamford was the focal point of Leeds United’s attack last season and his 17-goal haul was nine more than any other Lilywhites player. It might look short but with him starting almost every game it looks incredibly unlikely that anyone can surpass Bamford’s output.

Leicester City

Best bet – Leicester to win without the Big Six at 13/8

It seems incredible that a reckless and unnecessary challenge from Villarreal forward Fer Nino in a pre-season friendly could have derailed Leicester’s season before it began, but that’s exactly what has happened. Wesley Fofana’s broken leg will keep him out until at least 2022 and it leaves the Foxes short of centre back options, but they still have what it takes to cement their position as best of the rest.

They have finished fifth in each of the last two seasons and both times have come agonisingly close to Champions League football. The injury to Fofana means they might not be ready for another top four challenge this season, but they certainly have enough about them to finish above West Ham, Leeds, Everton and Villa.

More betting news:

Premier League winner & top 4 predictions

Premier League relegation predictions with 50/1 treble

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