StevieDay1983

On current form it seems a bit of an insult that Argjir are 25/1 (Hills, Ladbrokes) to win away at Vikingur (3.00 today).

Hi everyone! The first week of Fantasy Premier League action is now done and dusted. It's @StevenKing with his team warning hazchem who takes the early lead after deciding to captain Mohamed Salah. Unlike a lot of others, he still wracked up 89 points without Erling Haaland in his team. Just an all-round strong performance from his players with only Luis Diaz failing to get above the obligatory 2 points.
Over the coming weeks, I will aim to post the top 15 overall and the top 15 for the month so far. Doing both of those obviously won't be necessary for August because we're in the first month but will be needed from September onwards so we can keep track of who is in the hunt overall and for the monthly prizes. I'll also give a shout out to the highest scorer each week and a few words of disgrace for the worst scorer each week just to keep us all on our toes! 
Feel free to post any chat or banter between each other ahead of week 2 in here such as transfer ideas or any questions you might have about how the game is played.
On a final note, this week's name of shame is Carol Haynes aka @Wild Spirit whose team, The Wild Ones, could only muster 28 points this week! Unlucky, Carol. It's far from the worst team selection we've seen (although the killer was probably having captain Connor Coady on the bench!) so hopefully those players can pull their socks up for you next week!
 
 

Manager: To Ly
Team: HurriKane

Hi everyone! The first week of Fantasy Premier League action is now done and dusted. It's @StevenKing with his team warning hazchem who takes the early lead after deciding to captain Mohamed Salah. Unlike a lot of others, he still wracked up 89 points without Erling Haaland in his team. Just an all-round strong performance from his players with only Luis Diaz failing to get above the obligatory 2 points.
Over the coming weeks, I will aim to post the top 15 overall and the top 15 for the month so far. Doing both of those obviously won't be necessary for August because we're in the first month but will be needed from September onwards so we can keep track of who is in the hunt overall and for the monthly prizes. I'll also give a shout out to the highest scorer each week and a few words of disgrace for the worst scorer each week just to keep us all on our toes! 
Feel free to post any chat or banter between each other ahead of week 2 in here such as transfer ideas or any questions you might have about how the game is played.
On a final note, this week's name of shame is Carol Haynes aka @Wild Spirit whose team, The Wild Ones, could only muster 28 points this week! Unlucky, Carol. It's far from the worst team selection we've seen (although the killer was probably having captain Connor Coady on the bench!) so hopefully those players can pull their socks up for you next week!
 
 

It's a difficult one to call tonight. I think I'm favouring the draw but I saw a lot of stuff I liked about Watford last week against Sheffield United, who showed this weekend that they are not far off last season's standards, so I wouldn't be surprised if the away team snatched a win.

W.B.A. v Watford
West Brom started the new season with a creditable 1-1 at Middlesbrough whilst Watford recorded a 1-0 win against Sheffield United and both sides will be looking to make a serious challenge for promotion to the Premier league. West Brom have been hard to beat at home since Steve Bruce took over in February losing just 2 of 9 in that time. Watford were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season and will have to improve on their away form if they want a quick return winning only 2 of their last 14 away league games losing 9. Meetings between these two sides have generally been tight affairs with 5 of the last 10 being draws and that is what I am going for tonight. 

Hi everyone! The first week of Fantasy Premier League action is now done and dusted. It's @StevenKing with his team warning hazchem who takes the early lead after deciding to captain Mohamed Salah. Unlike a lot of others, he still wracked up 89 points without Erling Haaland in his team. Just an all-round strong performance from his players with only Luis Diaz failing to get above the obligatory 2 points.
Over the coming weeks, I will aim to post the top 15 overall and the top 15 for the month so far. Doing both of those obviously won't be necessary for August because we're in the first month but will be needed from September onwards so we can keep track of who is in the hunt overall and for the monthly prizes. I'll also give a shout out to the highest scorer each week and a few words of disgrace for the worst scorer each week just to keep us all on our toes! 
Feel free to post any chat or banter between each other ahead of week 2 in here such as transfer ideas or any questions you might have about how the game is played.
On a final note, this week's name of shame is Carol Haynes aka @Wild Spirit whose team, The Wild Ones, could only muster 28 points this week! Unlucky, Carol. It's far from the worst team selection we've seen (although the killer was probably having captain Connor Coady on the bench!) so hopefully those players can pull their socks up for you next week!
 
 

Manchester United vs Brighton
The second 2pm BST kick-off in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon is the fascinating match-up between Manchester United and Brighton at Old Trafford. These two teams experienced two contrasting games when they met in the league last season so which way will this game end up going as both teams look to deal with a number of key changes to their playing and backroom staff over the summer.
Manchester United begin the competitive matches of the Erik ten Hag era here and the tenure of the Dutchman has not already been without its controversies. The former Ajax head coach wasted no time in shifting some deadwood out of the club with the likes of Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, and Andreas Pereira all leaving. The additions have been limited so far though. The Red Devils have brought in full back Tyrell Malacia, versatile defensive player Lisandro Martinez, midfielder Christian Eriksen, and the more bizarre arrival of midfielder Tom Huddlestone in a player/ coach role. Anthony Martial is likely to be absent for this game which is a shame given his pre-season form. It's uncertain what involvement Cristiano Ronaldo will have either with conflicting messages about his future at the club coming from ten Hag, Ronaldo himself, and the owners. United's record on the opening game of the season has been decent for a while now with the club winning 10 of their last 13 such league games. They do boast the best record for victories on the opening weekend of the Premier League with 20 wins. No pressure on ten Hag but 6 of the last 7 Manchester United managers have won their first game in charge of the club. It'll be interesting to see if Bruno Fernandes can carry his positive form from the end of last season into this one. He ended the last campaign with 4 goals in his last 5 league games.
Brighton come into this campaign with a few people backing them to consolidate their place in the top of the table after finishing in 9th last season. Graham Potter is earning huge praise for his work with the team but he must once again deal with a couple of big departures after Yves Bissouma left for Tottenham and Marc Cucurella signed for Chelsea. The Seagulls have kept to their traditional restricted transfer budget with Julio Enciso being brought in to try and address the profligacy in front of goal issue and the other less high profile arrivals of Benicio Baker-Boaitey, Imari Samuels, and Simon Adingra coming in on a shoestring. The loan agreement to bring in Levi Colwill as part of the Cucurella deal will be a shrewd one, especially if there is a right to buy clause in there. It's probably not the best statistic for Brighton fans to read but they have lost all 10 of their Premier League games that they have played in Manchester so far. The team did lose just 1 of their last 9 league games last season and they did lose just four times on their travels in the league last season. I do think that Potter still has some transfer business left to complete before the window closes at the end of this month and that business could determine where this Brighton side finishes this season.
This will be the first time these two sides have met in a top flight opening game of the season. Brighton not only have a terrible record in Manchester at this level but they have also lost 6 of their last 7 encounters with Manchester United in the Premier League. However, the last meeting was a resounding 4-0 win at home. It's now 14 visits to Old Trafford without a victory for Brighton and I can see that stretch continuing here. I'm expecting to see United improve on last season but they still have some deep-rooted issues that will take ten Hag more than a few months to sort out.
Manchester United to Win @ 1.73 with Betfred
Total Goals Scored Over 2.5 @ 1.91 with SBK

My other thought is that Dundee Utd should have too much for Livingston on Sunday and i think the price is too big for the home side and there is value to be had.
Dundee Utd have bought well this summer. The signing of Levitt from Man Utd is an outstanding piece of business, this kid is the real deal and probably is the best midfielder in the SPL outside the old firm. The signing of McGrath from wigan, veteran striker Fletcher and winger Middleton from Rangers are all very good signings. Trust me when i say this, Tannadice could be a trap for a lot of teams this season and i include Celtic in this.  I suggested that the Arabs could be a long shot to beat AZ in midweek at 15/2, they played well and secured the 1-0 win.  Watch the goal from Middleton btw, its a cracker.
Livingston are the perennial hot and cold team and can cause an upset on any given day,  however the loss of winger Alan Forrest to Hearts is a big loss for them.  Look to the Arabs to ride on the wave of confidence of beating AZ and dispatch of Livingston.
Back Dundee Utd to win.

All over Aberdeen to beat St Mirren this weekend, price just shy of evens is a good price.
Dons lost away to my team, but myself and the boys who sit around me were impressed with dons. They on the whole played ok against Celtic albeit set up to defend, they looked fairly dangerous on counter and missed a 100% chance in front of goal when Jonny  Hayes had time to control the ball and pick his spot. He put it the wrong side of the post. It was easily the best chance of the match. They have have brought in some new players which have improved the team.
St Mirren on the other hand are my tip to be relegated they were terrible when losing their home season opener against a Motherwell team who are beret of confidence having being embarrassed by Sligo Rover in their European fixtures. I think there will be a clear power shift this season with a lot of SPL teams like Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hibs, Hearts being fairly astute in the transfer market. I think we will see the SPL align as such. St Mirren and St Johnstone in my view will battling out the last two spots.
Dons will have pencilled this game to get their season started. This is their home season opener against a poor team, i expect them to win easily.
 

Frustrating from Norwich, had most of the ball but struggled to break them down and create clear cut chances.

^^ Bit wary of Sheffield United, Ndiaye was their only bright spark against Watford.
I've done a single on Norwich, they were underwhelming against Cardiff but shouldn't have lost and this is easier against a promoted team (3/4 SBK).

I think Sheffield Utd and Burnley are a fairly safe double this weekend.  Expect Blades to bounce back from losing away to Watford and Burnley impressed away to Huddersfield and should have too much for Luton at home. Double pays just a shade over 2-1

Under (2/2.5)  @ 1.83

Birmingham did not have good results in the preseason, they had a tough travel match in Luton in the opening round, but played surprisingly well. They kickoff the season with just a point. However, after a well-defensive game against Luton, they will be full of confidence to enter this match.
Huddersfield are one of the low ranked teams in the Championship. They may face issues with avoiding relegation this season. In the opening round, Huddersfield at home soil lost 1-0 against Burnley. The had a bad performance as Burnley dominated from the start. They may find it hard finding the back of the net. Although they have won 6 of their past 10 away matches.

West Ham vs Manchester City
Much more at ease than the previous year when they had come close to relegation, this West Ham team perfectly raised their heads in 2021-2022 to avoid any further scares. Better still, the Londoners were able to steal 7th place in the standings, allowing them to play in the preliminary rounds of the Conference League. The Hammers want to sneak into the top four with Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd, and Flynn Downes joining the squad in the summer. There are no injury worries in the home team ahead of the season opener, meaning that David Moyes is going to field the best possible side. Michail Antonio has been the main player of the Hammers, and in the Premier League last season, he scored ten goals and assisted his teammates eight times.
Manchester City begins their title defense with a match against West Ham United at London Stadium. Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are no longer parts of the team, but the club chiefs did well to sign Norway superstar Erling Haaland in the summer transfer window. Kalvin Phillips is likely to make his official Man City debut against the Hammers as well, while Aymeric Laporte remains on the sidelines with injury. Riyad Mahrez scored 11 goals last season and hopes for even better performances in the new season.
Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction                                                                            
It is going to be an entertaining clash since it won't be easy for the defending champions. Nevertheless, we expect them to show dominance and win by at last two goals. 
Goals Market Prediction
Both teams were involved in many high-scoring matches last season, and this one shouldn't be much different. We anticipate goals in both nets in this encounter. 
Manchester City AH -1.5 @ 2.05
BTTS Yes @ 1.83
Correct score 1:3 @ 12.00

hope you fully recover soon.sounds extremely painful.??

Everton vs Chelsea
The final Premier League game of the day on Saturday afternoon is between last season's under-achievers Everton and Champions League qualification hopefuls Chelsea in a 5:30pm BST kick-off from Goodison Park. This is a big opportunity for the home team to shove a lot of the words critics have thrown at the club back down their throat but they face a stiff challenge from a visiting team beginning life under new ownership.
Everton are being tipped to struggle once again after last season's disappointing campaign. Head coach Frank Lampard exceeded the expectations of many by steering the Toffees clear of relegation but the season ended with just 1 win from their last 4 league games and ending up in 16th place. Transfer activity hasn't exactly been inspirational over the summer with the only additions being James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil, and Ruben Vinagre. This has proven especially underwhelming given the fact that star player Richarlison has been moved out of the exit door. The club has suffered a further blow with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out for the opening weeks of the season and his under study Salomon Rondon is suspended. It makes it even more mystifying that Lampard hasn't moved to sign a striker. Let's face it, Calvert-Lewin is beginning to appear a little injury prone. Home form was crucial for Everton last season with the team earning 29 of their 39 points last season on home turf. The club do boast a superb opening day record though having gone unbeaten in their last 10 seasons.
Chelsea will start life under the Todd Boehly consortium era in this game and the jury remains out on whether this will be a positive period for the club or not. The days of mega-spending under Roman Abramovich may be long gone but the new owners have already shown a willingness to back head coach Thomas Tuchel. The departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen were disappointing and the exit of Romelu Lukaku was unsurprising but a suitable number of players have been brought in to soften those losses. Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Marc Cucurella are the stand out signings so the Blues fans can't complain too much. Chelsea do possess the second best opening day record in the Premier League with 19 wins. Only Manchester United have won more. Chelsea also have an awesome away record under Tuchel with the team losing just 4 of their 28 away league games under the German. They conceded a joint low of 11 league goals away from home last season too.
It's an intriguing statistic to see that Everton have won each of their last four home league games against Chelsea but have they ever been in such a dire state as they are now? I don't think so. I'm still not convinced that everyone is all good at Chelsea. The change of ownership was very unsettling and the transfer business hasn't exactly struck me as having a clear direction. Chelsea have notoriously missed out on a lot of players they wanted to sign. Mainly because Barcelona somehow managed to sign them instead. However, this is a team that won the Champions League just over a year ago. I just don't rate this Everton team and I think Chelsea will do enough to sneak a narrow win.
Chelsea to Win to Nil @ 2.50 with Betfred
Anytime Scorer: Raheem Sterling @ 3.50 with VBet

Tottenham vs Southampton
If you read my club-by-club prediction table earlier this week you will see that I'm expecting big things from Tottenham this season and they begin their campaign at home to Southampton in a 3pm BST kick-off on Saturday afternoon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Many people are tipping the away side to have a tough season but we'll see how they perform here in one of their hardest fixtures of the year.
Tottenham are moving in the right direction under head coach Antonio Conte. The team gatecrashed the Champions League qualification places at the end of last season and finished the season unbeaten in their last 6 league games including winning their final 3 league matches of the season. Each of those victories delivered clean sheets too. When you see that Conte has seemingly strengthened that impressive team with the signings of Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Djed Spence, Fraser Forster, and Yves Bissouma plus Clement Lenglet, Dejan Kulusevski, and Cristian Romero on loan then you begin to wonder what their actual potential is this season. Spurs are notorious for bottling their expectations but Conte is a natural-born winner. If Conte can get Harry Kane to start scoring in August and Son Heung-min can build on his form of 12 goals in his last 10 league games then that is a devastating line-up right there!
Southampton come into this game with their fans feeling quite pessimistic about this year. I feel they have every reason to feel slightly more optimistic than last season. Ralph Hasenhuttl has worked hard to add more strength in depth. Gavin Bazunu, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Romeo Lavia, Joe Aribo, and Sekou Mara show a favouritism towards youth which is always a gamble but it also brings with it a degree of fearlessness to it. I'm not sure this Saints squad is any weaker than last season and they managed a 15th position finish that time around. Unfortunately, Southampton have lost every single one of their opening league games of the season under Hasenhuttl. They have also picked up just 1 win in their last 12 league games but they have won 2 of their last 3 away league games in London. Is James Ward-Prowse a decent pick for anytime scorer given he bagged 9 of his 10 league goals last season on his travels?
This will be the fourth time that these two sides have met on the opening weekend of a league campaign and Tottenham are unbeaten with 2 wins and a draw in those three previous encounters. Spurs may well be without the suspended Richarlison and Bissouma is an injury doubt but they still have plenty of quality on display. Southampton will be keen to limit the damage here because it's a tricky opening game and they won't want squad morale to take a hit especially after the way last season ended. I can see a business-like win for Tottenham and it might be worth backing the clean sheet victory too.
Tottenham to Win to Nil @ 2.38 with BetVictor
Tottenham to Win & Total Goals Scored Over 2.5 @ 1.91 with Boylesports
 

OK, so apologies for the delay to this being released. I know the Championship one went down well so I was keen to release all of the teams in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, I suffered a nasty injury in football on Monday night that resulted in my finger being dislocated and the dislocated bone severing the skin and poking out. Lovely stuff. Anyway, 48 hours later and a wonderful bit of reconstructive surgery by the medical team at Swansea Morriston Hospital (one of the only times I'll be thankful for Swansea! ) and I am back home, one-handed, and back on the content production! So even though I haven't quite been able to complete the club-by-club preview completely, I'm still able to release it in two parts. I'll dedicate a post per team like the Championship preview but I'll do the teams I am predicting to finish 20th to 11th first and then release the second part hopefully tomorrow when I've completed it. I hope you enjoy! 

Manager Name - Onder Yeniatakan
Team Name - FC Redno23

Everton vs Chelsea
The final Premier League game of the day on Saturday afternoon is between last season's under-achievers Everton and Champions League qualification hopefuls Chelsea in a 5:30pm BST kick-off from Goodison Park. This is a big opportunity for the home team to shove a lot of the words critics have thrown at the club back down their throat but they face a stiff challenge from a visiting team beginning life under new ownership.
Everton are being tipped to struggle once again after last season's disappointing campaign. Head coach Frank Lampard exceeded the expectations of many by steering the Toffees clear of relegation but the season ended with just 1 win from their last 4 league games and ending up in 16th place. Transfer activity hasn't exactly been inspirational over the summer with the only additions being James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil, and Ruben Vinagre. This has proven especially underwhelming given the fact that star player Richarlison has been moved out of the exit door. The club has suffered a further blow with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out for the opening weeks of the season and his under study Salomon Rondon is suspended. It makes it even more mystifying that Lampard hasn't moved to sign a striker. Let's face it, Calvert-Lewin is beginning to appear a little injury prone. Home form was crucial for Everton last season with the team earning 29 of their 39 points last season on home turf. The club do boast a superb opening day record though having gone unbeaten in their last 10 seasons.
Chelsea will start life under the Todd Boehly consortium era in this game and the jury remains out on whether this will be a positive period for the club or not. The days of mega-spending under Roman Abramovich may be long gone but the new owners have already shown a willingness to back head coach Thomas Tuchel. The departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen were disappointing and the exit of Romelu Lukaku was unsurprising but a suitable number of players have been brought in to soften those losses. Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Marc Cucurella are the stand out signings so the Blues fans can't complain too much. Chelsea do possess the second best opening day record in the Premier League with 19 wins. Only Manchester United have won more. Chelsea also have an awesome away record under Tuchel with the team losing just 4 of their 28 away league games under the German. They conceded a joint low of 11 league goals away from home last season too.
It's an intriguing statistic to see that Everton have won each of their last four home league games against Chelsea but have they ever been in such a dire state as they are now? I don't think so. I'm still not convinced that everyone is all good at Chelsea. The change of ownership was very unsettling and the transfer business hasn't exactly struck me as having a clear direction. Chelsea have notoriously missed out on a lot of players they wanted to sign. Mainly because Barcelona somehow managed to sign them instead. However, this is a team that won the Champions League just over a year ago. I just don't rate this Everton team and I think Chelsea will do enough to sneak a narrow win.
Chelsea to Win to Nil @ 2.50 with Betfred
Anytime Scorer: Raheem Sterling @ 3.50 with VBet

If you look at the respective teamsheets of Bournemouth and Villa this afternoon I suspect there would not be a single Bournemouth player that would warrant a place in Villa's team, ..............yet this is Villa, and Bournemouth are bound to be at 110% for their latest Premiership debut.
I'm sure Villa will be all out for 3 points and will at no stage settle for a draw. They will have Cash and Digne (replacement last January for Targett, although Augustinsson is an interesting recruit) bombing forward. I anticipate Villa will have the majority of possession and have bought their corners squared at 42 with Sporting Index.
Whilst not confident that Villa will find the net as often as their likely possession should warrant, I think there is a chance they score 3 or 4 goals so have bought their goal rush at 18 (Sporting Index).

Leeds vs Wolves
Two teams that I've backed to struggle this season go head-to-head in a 3pm BST kick-off on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League as Leeds take on Wolves at Elland Road. Every comment and prediction I've seen relating to this game so far has found it difficult to separate these two sides so can either team take the victory or will they end up cancelling each other out?
Leeds have suffered some big departures in this transfer window. Both Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha have left for pastures new and it's hard to see how a team that narrowly avoided relegation from the top flight with those two players in the squad can look to improve on last season without them. Head coach Jesse Marsch has attempted to rebuild the squad in his own vision. Pre-season has shown that Brenden Aaronson is a particularly exciting prospect but will he be as effective in a more intense and physical environment? It does seem the wee man was given a free licence to roam in pre-season so could take his time to pick his passes. The Whites will be unable to call upon new signing Luis Sinisterra for this game. Luke Ayling, Adam Forshaw, Stuart Dallas, and Junior Firpo are all out injured too whilst Daniel James is out through suspension. It's also not great reading for Leeds fans to see that the team have only managed 1 win in their last 9 home league games. The team have also failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 12 home league matches. Marsch himself does enjoy an encouraging opening day record having won 4 of his last 5 opening day of the season games played.
Wolves supporters will be a little bit nervous heading into this season. Bruno Lage's side went from potential Champions League qualification contenders to mid-table mediocrity in a very short space of time last season. Wanderers haven't exactly moved the earth in the transfer market this summer with centre back Nathan Collins being the only addition of any real note to arrive at the club. That's not including Hwang Hee-chan's loan move being made permanent. Lage will be without talismanic striker Raul Jimenez for the first few weeks of the season after an injury he picked up in pre-season. Nelson Semedo and Adama Traore are also likely to be absent. Interestingly, Wolves are currently one of the most out-of-form teams in the Premier League having failed to win any of their last 7 league games. It's also now 9 league games without a clean sheet for Wolves. It'll be intriguing to see how Lage lines up this squad that looks very similar to the one that began to fall off the pace last season.
The Wolves fans will be delighted to see that they are undefeated in their last 4 away league games at Leeds. Wolves have also only failed to score in 1 of their last 13 league matches played against Leeds. It was the resilience of Leeds that saw them take 4 points from this fixture last season with a 90th minute goal earning a 1-1 draw at home a 3-2 win away. I'm not sure I can call a winner here. I have very little confidence in either defensive line and I think a score draw is the value bet here.
Draw @ 3.45 with SBK
BTTS @ 1.84 with SBK

Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest
It's another one of the newly promoted teams up in the Premier League in a 3pm BST kick-off on Saturday as mega-rich Newcastle host Nottingham Forest at St James' Park. There is a lot of expectation surrounding the home team now with the club set to make a push on up the table but can they get off to the perfect start against an away side playing their first game in the top flight since 1999?
Newcastle completed their first objective under the new ownership of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund last season by simply staying in the Premier League. Head coach Eddie Howe managed to turn around the fortunes of a team that were briefly looking set to face a relegation battle and ended up guiding them to an 11th place finish. Howe has slowly been tweaking this squad and adding necessary signings to areas of weakness. Joe Willock, Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, and Dan Burn boosted the squad last season and they have been joined by Matt Targett, Nick Pope, and Sven Botman during this transfer window. Howe could well be without the trio of Jonjo Shelvey, Jamaal Lewis, and Federico Fernandez for this opening game though. Howe has only seen his team lose two home league games since he took charge at the Magpies and those losses came against Liverpool and Manchester City. Newcastle are also undefeated in their past 8 league matches against newly promoted opposition. Callum Wilson could also be a fair shout for anytime scorer having bagged a goal in 3 of his last 4 opening day games of the season. 
Nottingham Forest supporters have waited a long time for this day to come with the club finally back in the top flight of English football. The team started last season with just 1 point from their opening 7 league games in the Championship and were bottom of the table when Steve Cooper replaced Chris Hughton as gaffer. It has officially been 23 years and 82 days since Forest were last in the Premier League which is the longest gap between stints in the top flight of any club in English football. The Tricky Trees do boast the best opening day win ratio out of clubs that have more than one top flight campaign under their belts of 80% in the Premier League though. Interestingly, Forest's last Premier League game did see them beat Leicester by a 1-0 score-line back on 16th May, 1999. The team's defensive displays in the Championship this calendar year were superb with the team conceding just 12 goals in their 21 league games played during 2022. A worrying omen from the history books is that Forest have finished bottom in the Premier League in 3 of their last 5 top flight campaigns.
I think most people, except Huddersfield (and maybe Derby!) fans, will agree that it's great to see Nottingham Forest back in the Premier League but it's a tough opening game for them. Coming to a ground that Howe has turned into a fortress for Newcastle since he came in and the fact he's only appeared to have further strengthened his squad since last season means anything other than a loss will be seen as a great result for Forest. I can see Forest making a good fist of it and they won't get steam rollered but I think Newcastle are favourites for a reason and should get a business-like victory.
Draw HT/ Newcastle FT @ 4.60 with SBK
Anytime Scorer: Callum Wilson @ 2.50 with Coral

He looked very lively so a shame he didn't get first scorer or even score at all. Think he'll be worth backing a lot this season though. I can see him getting a lot of assists through his busy nature in and around the area too.