Premier League Match Day 3: Best Handicap Bets

We have another cracking weekend of Premier League action to look forward to this weekend. Chelsea kick things off against minnows Luton Town on Friday evening; Brighton and West Ham lock horns in the Saturday TV game; before the classic Newcastle United vs. Liverpool clash lights up Super Sunday.

With a full list of 10 fixtures on offer, punters are spoilt for choice when it comes to betting opportunities. Here we pick out our four best handicap bets of the weekend, using data presented by newbettingsites.co.uk.

Premier League: Chelsea vs. Luton Town – Friday 8pm

A David vs. Goliath clash from Stamford Bridge gets the televised action underway on Friday evening, as Chelsea plays host to Premier League new boys Luton Town. Chelsea head into this without a win from their opening two games, but results aside, we have been impressed with Mauricio Pochettino’s men. Bossing the shots on target count 4-1 in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, they were again the better side for much of the contest in a 3-1 loss at West Ham, with Enzo Fernandez’s missed penalty proving to be the turning point in the match.

Luton arrive fresh, having had last weekend off, but that shouldn’t be much of an advantage at this early stage of the season. Overall, it’s hard to see what The Hatters have going for them here. Expected to be outclassed for much of this season, that proved to be the case in their opener as they were battered 4-1 at Brighton, and they are coming up against a side with a number of potent attacking threats here. Raheem Sterling was electric at the London Stadium last week, whilst Nicolas Jackson’s speed and intelligent running is developing into a useful weapon. Winless or not, this looks like a mismatch. Chelsea ought to improve as the season goes on under Pochettino’s guidance and can get their campaign up and running by putting Luton to the sword.

• Best Bet - Handicap Betting: Chelsea -2 @ 83/50 with Midnite

Premier League: Bournemouth vs. Tottenham Hotspur – Saturday 12:30pm

Bournemouth are without a win in their opening two fixtures, having drawn at home with West Ham and been taken apart by Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. It looked like a risky decision to replace Gary O’Neill with Andoni Iraola before the start of this season, and on the evidence to date, we expect that gamble may backfire. O’Neill had transformed the side from odds-on favourites for relegation into a well-drilled unit who survived with something to spare. Expecting largely the same group of plays to implement Iraola’s free-flowing attacking style is a big ask, and one which the Cherries appear to be struggling with, particularly at the defensive end of the pitch.

Tottenham are undergoing a similar change in philosophy under Ange Postecoglou, but crucially, they do look to have the players to pull it off. Even in the absence of Harry Kane, Spurs have looked consistently threatening in their two games to date – drawing at Brentford, and comfortably beating Manchester United. James Maddison has slotted seamlessly into the playmaking role, Yves Bissouma looks like a player reborn, whilst Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulesevski bring pace and creativity from the flanks. With Bournemouth expected to come forward at home, this may turn into a shootout, and Spurs have the more threatening arsenal at their disposal.

• Best Bet - Handicap Betting: Tottenham -1 @ 5/2 with PariMatch

Premier League: Sheffield United vs. Manchester City – Saturday 3pm

Anticipated one-sided contests are a theme with this week's selections, and the biggest of all comes at Bramall Lane, as new boys Sheffield United host the defending champions. City have been flawless so far this season – winning both Premier League matches and lifting the European Super Cup in their three games. Only coming out on top 1-0 against Newcastle United last weekend, that victory was far more comfortable than the narrow scoreline suggested. Had Erling Haaland been his usual lethal self, it could easily have been 3-0.

Having created a fair share of chances against one of the league's stingiest defences from last season, we don’t expect Phil Foden and co to have too many problems dismantling a Blades outfit, who will likely find themselves on the backfoot throughout. Beaten by Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in their opening two games, Sheffield United are moving into a different league entirely here and have shown nothing to suggest they are up to the task.

• Best Bet - Handicap Betting: Manchester City -2 @ 37/25 with Midnite

Premier League: Arsenal vs. Fulham – Saturday 3pm

So far, so good for Mikkel Arteta’s men, with two wins from as many games as they bid to go one better than last season's runners-up finish. On paper, a narrow 2-1 success over Nottingham Forest and a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace aren’t overly impressive. However, we are happy to forgive the Gunners a little rustiness in their season opener, whilst they had to see out much of the second half with only ten men at Selhurst Park. Considering the team is adjusting to the summer additions, there has been plenty of encouragement in those performances, and we expect the shackles to come off this week. Arsenal were excellent at home last season, winning 14 of 19 and averaging 2.8 goals per game – a total bettered by only Manchester City.

We had doubts surrounding Fulham heading into the season. So far, those doubts have played out. Awful in their opener against a poor Everton side, they somehow managed to escape with a 1-0 win, but were ruthlessly exposed in a 3-0 home defeat to Brentford last weekend. Unorganised at the back, lacking cohesion in the centre of the park, and shorn of the goal threat of Aleksandar Mitrovic, a similarly heavy beating looks to be on the cards in this one.

• Best Bet - Handicap Betting: Arsenal -2 @ 31/20 with BetUK

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