Premier League Props & Best Bets This Week: Schedule, Picks for Matchday 2

Matchday 1 in the Premier League was exhilarating, with some of the biggest clubs kicking off the campaign with three points. Check out our Premier League best bets for Matchday 2 based on the best Premier League odds.

A number of the Premier League's best teams started the season on a high note, but perhaps none more than Newcastle. The Magpies kicked off their 2023-24 campaign with a 5-1 drubbing of Aston Villa, and they'll try to use that momentum in an away affair with the three-time defending champions, Manchester City.

For Aston Villa, they'll look to get back on track following that devastating defeat. They welcome Everton to Villa Park, with three points being the only acceptable outcome for the home side.

Meanwhile, Liverpool and Chelsea - two title hopefuls - played to a 1-1 draw in the first game week, though their opponents differ in quality on Matchday 2. Liverpool get a tasty home date with Bournemouth, while the Blues play away to a motivated West Ham squad.

Here are our Premier League best bets for Matchday 2 (odds via our best soccer betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Premier League schedule and odds for Matchday 2

(odds via DraftKings)

• Nottingham Forest (-110) vs. Sheffield United (+340)
• Liverpool (-425) vs. Bournemouth (+1100)
• Wolves (+290) vs. Brighton (-110)
• Fulham (+175) vs. Brentford (+160)
• Spurs (+180) vs. Manchester United (+140)
• Manchester City (-145) vs. Newcastle (+380)
• Aston Villa (-145) vs. Everton (+390)
• West Ham (+275) vs. Chelsea (+100)
• Crystal Palace (+475) vs. Arsenal (-175)

  Check out our top soccer picks.  

Premier League best bets for Matchday 2

• Double chance: West Ham or draw (-120 via Caesars) vs. Chelsea ⭐⭐
• Player prop: Mohamed Salah anytime goal (-120 via bet365) vs. Bournemouth ⭐⭐⭐
• Double chance: Newcastle or draw (+115 via DraftKings) vs. Manchester City ⭐⭐
• Moneyline: Aston Villa (-143 via bet365) vs. Everton ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Top Premier League game picks

Double chance: West Ham or draw vs. Chelsea (-120 via Caesars) ⭐⭐

West Ham are another club looking to bounce back following a relatively disappointing result on Matchday 1. The Hammers followed up their exhilarating win in the Europa Conference League final to close out last season with a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth to open this one. However, I expect a better result in front of what should be a rocking London Stadium crowd.

In fairness to Chelsea, they feature a significantly different squad from last year's iteration. However, in 2022-23, the Blues were in the bottom half in terms of points per away match at 1.00, and their minus-10 goal differential also represented the 11th-worst mark.

It's also being reported that Chelsea right-back and captain Reece James suffered a hamstring injury in training and will miss at least this week's match.

With Chelsea already being bitten by the injury bug and West Ham potentially benefitting from a raucous home crowd, we'll back the Hammers to at least draw on Sunday.

All of our best sportsbooks offer a similar price on West Ham to win or draw, with only FanDuel standing out as a book to avoid with its -135 odds.

Double chance: Newcastle or draw vs. Manchester City (+115 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐

This bet is two-pronged: First, we're getting a really good number on Newcastle. Second, City played three matches in 10 days to start the season, including one just three days prior to this affair.

Newcastle made a statement on Matchday 1, dismantling Aston Villa at home. The Magpies managed to score five times in a match twice last season, going over that number on only one other occasion. The fact that they kicked off the season in such impressive fashion - against a club listed among the top-10 favorites to win the league this season, by our Premier League title odds - could be a sign of things to come.

Meanwhile, City looked impressive, too, in their 3-0 win over Burnley and victory on penalties against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup. However, fatigue could play a role after so many games this early in the campaign.

I know it's City, and they were absolute juggernauts at home last season to the tune of a league-best 2.74 points per match, but this team has taken some hits to its depth ahead of the campaign. That depth is vital during stretches such as the one City faces now.

As previously mentioned, the biggest reason for this bet is the price we're getting on the Newcastle double chance. Newcastle are being treated as a mid-table club in this matchup, so let's take advantage of the generous plus-money offering.

Both DraftKings and FanDuel list the Newcastle double chance at +115, and BetMGM and Caesars offer similar +114 odds.

Moneyline: Aston Villa ML vs. Everton (-143 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aston Villa will look to right the ship following that disastrous effort at St. James' Park. However, there were some positives to take away from the 5-1 defeat.

First, Villa managed just one goal on 1.8 expected goals, signifying that they were creating good chances but simply not finishing them. Additionally, they conceded five goals on 3.3 expected goals against. Against an Everton side that had the most xGA and fourth-worst expected goal differential in away matches last season, Villa could benefit from some early positive regression.

Villa were one of the Premier League's best home sides last season, managing 2.00 points per match. This is a solid price to back Villa to pick up their first three points against a far inferior side. 

All of our best sports betting sites offer similar odds on the Villa moneyline, but bet365's -143 price is the best by a slight margin.

Top Premier League prop picks

Player prop: Mohamed Salah anytime goal vs. Bournemouth (-120 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah missed out on his first goal of the season by just centimeters against Chelsea, as VAR ruled him offside following a wonderful through-ball.

That goal - had it stood - would have made it 2-0 for Liverpool, and the Reds would have likely walked out of Stamford Bridge with the three points. Liverpool had to settle for a draw, but the match was an early reminder of how dangerous the Egyptian forward is.

With rumors swirling of Salah's potential exit to the Saudi Pro League, it will be extremely important to track his status in the coming weeks when it comes to betting on Liverpool. However, we're safe by making this bet because if Salah is on his way out, he simply won't play at all, and our pick will be void.

I don't foresee Salah leaving before the summer, though, and anticipate both him and Liverpool bouncing back in a big way during this home match against likely basement-dwellers Bournemouth.

The biggest reason why I'm betting on Salah to score is because of his odds to do so. Liverpool are massive moneyline favorites, and yet their biggest goal-scoring threat is trading at -120 to score. Generally, when Salah goes, so do Liverpool.

Rather than laying a ton in juice to back the Reds - or risking a bet on the spread - I'll ride with Salah to score his first (allowed) goal of the season.

DraftKings and FanDuel are pricing a Salah goal as short as -135, with bet365 standing out among our best sports betting apps.

Premier League Matchday 2 best bets made 8/17/2023 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Here are our best soccer betting sites:

• Caesars Promo Code: SBRBONUSFULL | Read our Caesars Review
• BetMGM Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetMGM Review
• bet365 Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our bet365 Review
• BetRivers Promo Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetRivers Review
• FanDuel Promo Code | Read our FanDuel Review
• DraftKings Promo Code | Read our DraftKings Review

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