EPL 2025/26 Preview & Betting Tips: Matchday 8

With England having booked their place at next summer's World Cup, attention returns to the cut and thrust of the Premier League.

Champions Liverpool have been faltering in recent weeks, with big-spending Arsenal managing to replace them at the top of the tree and they will both be looking to set the pace over the coming weeks.

Ruben Amorim at Manchester United and Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest are two men under the pump coming into this weekend, while the likes of Wolves, Burnley and West Ham all have work to do as the current bottom three.

City Ground, 18th October, 20:30

Under pressure Ange Postecoglou will be looking for his Nottingham Forest side to pull a cat out of the bag, as they take on Chelsea at the City Ground.

The Tricky Trees are winless since the Australian arrived and look to be in a battle to stay in the Premier League, rather than repeat thei European football push from last season.

Chelsea meanwhile should be buoyant coming into this one, having beaten Liverpool last time out and they need to start developing some consistency at this level in terms of results.

This should be a good one and while Forest could push Chelsea close, the blues should just about prevail here.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Chelsea to win the match	$1.97
	Joao Pedro to score or assist (anytime)	$2.25
	BTTS	$1.65

Predicted Lineups:

Nottingham Forest: Sels, Willams, Milenkovic, Morato, Zinchenko, Luiz, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Bakwa, Ndoye & Jesus.

Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, James, Badiashile, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Pedro, Estevao, Neto & Gittens.

Selhurst Park, 18th October, 23:00

Crystal Palace suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Everton last time out and they will be looking to bounce back here against Bournemouth.

The Eagles have been in fine fettle under Oliver Glasner in both the Premier League and Europe and they are normally a force to be reckoned with in front of their home fans.

Bournemouth are also going great guns this season, having lost plenty of key players during the summer but they are flying high inside the league's top 4.

Both sides are in great nick and bring the goals and the drama, making this one an entertaining draw on paper.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	BTTS	$1.75
	Draw	$3.40
	Over 3.5 goals in the game	$2.45

Predicted Lineups:

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Guehi, Richards, Lacroix, Mitchell, Hughes, Wharton, Sarr, Mateta & Pino.

Bournemouth: Petrovic, Smith, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert, Adams, Tavernier, Scott, Kluivert, Semenyo & Evanlison.

Etihad Stadium, 18th October, 23:00

Manchester City will be looking to keep pace with the sides above them in the Premier League table, asv they take on Everton at the Etihad.

City have carried an increased threat and stability this term, without pulling up too many trees but they will be looking to develop consistency over the coming weeks.

Everton meanwhile have started very well this term under David Moyes and how they would love to put a spanner in the works for City here.

With Jack Grealish unable to play against his parent club, Everton could lack some creativity but they could have enough about them to pick up a point here.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	BTTS	$2.00
	Draw	$5.10
	Erling Haaland to score (anytime)	$1.75

Predicted Lineups:

Manchester City: Donnarumma, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Bernardo, Nico, Foden, Doku, Savinho & Haaland.

Everton: Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Garner, Gueye, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, Dibling & Beto.

Turf Moor, 18th October, 23:00

Two promoted sides square off here, as Burnley and Leeds United do battle at Turf Moor.

Scott Parker's side have suffered a tough start to the season and have had to endure some very tough fixtures but games like this feel key to their hopes of survival.

They take on a Leeds side that were undone by Tottenham last time out and who will be looking to take the game to the Clarets from the outset.

This will be a good one but with Burnley so tough to break down at home, they could manage to sneak an important three points.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Burnley to win the match	$3.30
	Under 2.5 goals in the match	$2.10
	A red card to be shown	$3.00

Predicted Lineups:

Burnley: Dubravka, Walker, Esteve, Ekdal, Hartman, Cullen, Ugochukwu, Larsen, Hanibal, Anthony & Foster.

Leeds United: Perri, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson, Stach, Tanaka, Longstaff, Calvert-Lewin, James & Okafor.

AMEX Stadium, 18th October, 23:00

Two of the more entertaining sides in the league meet here, as Brighton host Newcastle, with both sides chasing points as they look to climb up the primative Premier League table.

Brighton have mixed some excellent results with some relatively poor ones this term and they will be looking to add some consistency to both their performance levels and results over the next few weeks.

Newcastle's output tells a similar story but Eddie Howe did look to have his side clicking before the international break and he will be hoping that continues here.

This should be a very good game on paper and it could well end up as an entertaining draw down on the south coast.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	A penalty to be awarded in the match	$2.50
	BTTS	$1.80
	Draw	$3.60

Predicted Lineups:

Brighton: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Ayari, Baleba, Gomez, Gruda, Mitoma, Minteh & Rutter.

Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Burn, Botman, Thiaw, Tonali, Joelinton, Guimaraes, Murphy, Gordon & Woltemade.

Stadium of Light, 18th October, 23:00

High-flying Sunderland will be chasing more Premier Legaue points here, as they take on bottom side Wolves, at the Stadium of Light.

Summer acquisitions have transformed the Black Cats into a bonafide EPL side and they will be looking to keep their excellent run of form going for as long as possible.

Wolves meanwhile have shown real glimmers of progress in recent weeks, with draws against Brighton and Tottenham and they will be looking to build on those results here.

This will be a very tight one and while Sunderland may start as favourites, a draw looks to be on the cards.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	BTTS	$1.90
	Draw	$3.20
	A headed goal to be scored (anytime)	$2.50

Predicted Lineups:

Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Ballard, Alderete, Mandava, Sadiki, Xhaka, Diarra, Talbi, Le Fee & Isidor.

Wolves: Johnstone, Tchatchoua, Agbadou, Bueno, Doherty, Mosquera, Gomes, Andre, Bellegarde, Munetsi & Strand Larsen.

Craven Cottage, 19th October, 00:30

Fulham will be looking to lay down the gauntlet to a Premier League giant once again, as they welcome Arsenal across London.

The Cottagers haven't fully hit their stride as yet this term but they remain a side with plenty of attacking talent and they can trouble anybody on their day.

Arsenal meanwhile are the side to beat at the top of the Premier League table and there is a feeling that this could well be their year to finally win the title.

This should be a good one, with Arsenal perhaps most likely to come out on top and clinch all three points.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Arsenal to win the match	$1.58
	BTTS	$1.95
	A penalty be awarded in the match	$2.40

Predicted Lineups:

Fulham: Leno, Tete, Bassey, Andersen, Robinson, Lukic, Berge, Iwobi, Smith-Rowe, Kevin & Muniz.

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Saka, Merino, Eze & Gyokeres

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 19th October, 20:00

Two sides looking to force their way into the European picture come the end of the season meet here, as Tottenham host Aston Villa in North London.

Spurs have been going well under Thomas Frank so far this season and they have a wealth of attacking options at their disposal.

Aston Villa look to have turned the corner after a very tricky start to the campaign and they will relish this test.

Calling this one is tough but Spurs could have enough to come out on top, in front of their home fans.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	A red card to shown in the match	$2.50
	BTTS	$1.70
	Tottenham to win the match	$2.10

Predicted Lineups:

Tottenham: Vicario, Udogie, Porro, Van der Ven, Romero, Sarr, Paulinha, Bentancur, Tel, Richarlison & Kudus.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Buendia, Rogers & Watkins.

Anfield, 19th October, 22:30

The headline fixture of the weekend pits Liverpool against Manchester United, with both sides in serious need of points.

All looked to be going well for Liverpool before three losses in a week prior to the international break and they will be looking to reset and go again here against United.

For the Red Devils, their win over Sunderland last time out certainly lifted the gloom but this is a serious test of their mettle at Anfield.

A home win looks to be the way to go but in this fixture, anything can happen, as history as proved over the years.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	BTTS	$1.90
	Liverpool to win the match	$1.60
	A red card to be shown	$2.50

Predicted Lineups:

Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Isak, Salah, Gakpo & Ekitike.

Manchester United: Lammens, Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw, Dorgu, Diallo, Ugarte, Fernandes, Mbeumo, Cunha & Sesko.

London Olympic Stadium, 21st October, 04:00

A London derby of sorts finishes off the weekend, as West Ham and Brentford lock horns in Monday Night Football.

The Hammers now have Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm and they will be eager to start picking up points and drive themselves away from relegation trouble.

Brentford have started pretty well under Keith Andrews but the Premier League is an unforgiving place and they haven't always picked up the results they would hope for.

This should be a good one and with West Ham needing a win, they should manage to pick one up in front of their home fans.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	West Ham to win the match	$2.45
	BTTS	$1.75
	Jarrod Bowen to score (anytime)	$2.30

Predicted Lineups:

West Ham United: Areola, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf, Fernandes, Potts, Bowen, Paqueta & Fullkrug.

Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Hickey, Henderson, Yarmolyuk, Damsgaard, Schade, Ouattara & Thiago.