EPL 2025/26 Preview & Betting Tips: Matchday 3

The 2025/26 Premier League season may only be two game weeks old but there has been plenty of drama served up already, at both ends of the table.

Liverpool have won both of their opening games, needing late goals to prevail in both cases and Arne Slot's side look set to bring the chaos this term. Arsenal and Tottenham by contrast have looked impressive, keeping clean sheets in both of their early season victories.

Promoted sides Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland have all won one of their opening two games, as they look to buck the relegation trend for sides coming up from the Championship, while the likes of Wolves and West Ham look to have plenty of work to do this term.

The international break looms after this week, adding extra importance to match day three in the Premier League.

Stamford Bridge, 30th August, 20.30

A West London derby opens up proceedings this weekend, as Chelsea take on Fulham. An opening day draw with Crystal Palace raised a few question marks for Enzo Maresca's side but they bounced back impressively to overcome West Ham 5-1 last time out. Fulham meanwhile have drawn their opening two games and Marco Silva always sets up his side well and they are never easy to break down.

Local derbies such as this are always unpredicatable and Fulham will believe they have a chance of getting something from down the King's Road but Chelsea have plenty of attacking options at their disposal and they should win here.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	A penalty to be awarded in the match	$3.25
	Chelsea to win the match	$1.57
	Both teams to score	$1.85

Predicted Lineups:

Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Pedro, Estevao, Neto & Delap.

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

Stadium Of Light, 30th August, 21.00

Following a superb opening day win over West Ham, Sunderland were unable to back it up at Burnley and they will be desperate to get back to winning ways at home to Brentford here. The Bees suffered an opening day loss at Nottingham Forest but bounced back impressively to beat Aston Villa last time out and should be up for this.

Ascertaining how far Sunderland can go this season isn't easy, with so many new players in their ranks but they will believe they have the tools to hurt Brentford in this one. For the visitors, they will want to build upon their first win under Keith Andrews last week and settle into the new campaign, with plenty of fresh faces at the club.

This could be an entertaining one, with both sides potentially happy to settle for a draw when all is said and done.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	The match to finish as a draw	$3.50
	Both teams to score	$2.05
	Dango Ouattara to score or assist (anytime)	$2.75

Predicted Lineups:

Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Ballard, Alderete, Mandava, Sadiki, Xhaka, Diarra, Talbi, Adringa & Mayenda.

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

Old Trafford, 30th August, 23:00

The Manchester United saga continues under Bruno Amorim, following their latest slip up at Fulham but they will be looking to get back on track here against Burnley. United are without a win from either of their opening two games but there have been a few sparks for fans to cling on to and they will be hot favourites to open their account here.

Burnley meanwhile will have a clear game plan from the off in this one and they will try to make life as tough as possible for the Red Devils. Buoyed by back to back wins over Sunderland and then Derby in the Carabao Cup, the Clarets shouldn't fear this one necessarily.

That said, United have a heap of firepower in their ranks and this could be the day it all clicks for them at home.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Manchester United to win the match	$1.40
	Under 3.5 goals	$1.75
	Bryan Mbuemo to score or assist (anytime)	$2.25

Predicted Lineups:

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

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

Molyneux, 30th August, 23:00

It has been a tough opening couple of the weeks of the season for Wolves, who are without a goal or a point in the Premier League and Everton await next.
Wanderers did manage to pick up an impressive midweek Carabao Cup win over West Ham though, something that should give them a boost ahead of this one against the Toffees.
A superb win over Brighton on their bow at their new stadium felt like a big moment for Everton, who will be eager to avoid a relegation scrap this term.

This should be a tight one, between two sides that don't give too much away and a draw feels likely.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Under 2.5 goals	$1.95
	A red card to be shown	$3.50
	The match to finish as a draw	$3.40

Predicted Lineups:

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

Everton: Pickford, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Garner, Gueye, Dewsbury-Hall, Iroegbunam, Grealish, Ndiaye & Barry.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 30th August, 23:00

It has been all about Tottenham so far this season, who feel transformed under Thomas Frank but there is a very long way to go this term. Bournemouth await next for Spurs, in what should be an entertaining game North London.

A famous win on the road at Manchester City last week has Spurs fans dreaming of a Premier League title challenge this season and optimism around the club is high. Bournemouth meanwhile picked up their first win of the campaign over Wolves last time out and should enjoy playing on the break here.

Goals feels like they will be on the agenda here and with confidence high in the Spurs camp, they could prevail in this one.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Both teams to score	$1.70
	Tottenham to win the match	$1.88
	Richarlison to score or assist (anytime)	$2.30

Predicted Lineups:

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

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

Elland Road, 31st August, 00.30

The atmosphere should be ramped up once more at Elland Road, as Leeds take on Newcastle in a classic Saturday Night Football encounter.
A painful Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday will have hurt Leeds last time out and there will be pressure on Daniel Farke's side to respond in this one.
Eddie Howe's Newcastle suffered a sucker punch against Liverpool on Monday, losing in the dying embers adn they are looking for their first win of the season here.
It feels like this is a big game already for both clubs but Toon need a win and should get one down the road at Leeds.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Newcastle United to win the match	$2.10
	Both teams to score	$1.75
	Over 3.5 goals	$2.10

Predicted Lineups:

Leeds United: Perri, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson, Stach, Tanaka, Gruev, Piroe, James & Okafor.

Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Burn, Schar, Livramento, Tonali, Ramsey, Guimaraes, Murphy, Barnes & Osula.

City Ground, 31st August, 22:00

The pressure has been firmly ramped up on Graham Potter and West Ham, with things looking no easier as they head to Nottingham Forest.
An exciting Europa League campaign beckons for Forest but they will want to keep plugging away in the Premier League, having picked up 4 points from their opening 2 games.
West Ham have been abject so far this term, conceding 8 goals from first 2 games and the midweek Carabao Cup loss to Wolves has set tongues wagging.

This should be a good game, with all the momentum with Forest, who should pick up another home win.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Chris Wood to score anytime	$2.50
	Under 3.5 goals	$1.50
	Nottingham Forest to win the match	$1.88

Predicted Lineups:

Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Anderson, Sangare, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Hudson-Odoi & Wood.

West Ham United: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Aguerd, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf, Ward-Prowse, Potts, Bowen, Paqueta & Fullkrug.

AMEX Stadium, 31st August, 22:00

It has been a curious start to the season for both Brighton and Manchester City, with both eager to get the ball rolling in this one.
Brighton are winless from their opening two games, despite dominating against Fulham and missing countless chances against Everton. They know there is no need to panic at this early stage of the season though.
City meanwhile were undone by another Tottenham smash and grab last week but did look a touch more organised in their opening day win over Wolves.

Neither side will be too confident heading into this one and not losing may end up being the priority down on the south coast.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	The match to finish as a draw	$4.20
	Erling Haaland to score (anytime)	$1.85
	Both teams to score	$1.90

Predicted Lineups:

Brighton: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Dunk, Van Hecke, Ayari, Baleba, Gomez, Gruda, Mitoma, Minteh & O'Riley,

Manchester City: Trafford, Nunes, Dias, Stones, O'Reilly, Nico, Bernardo, Reijnders, Doku, Foden & Haaland.

Anfield, 1st September, 00:30

Arguably the two front runners for the Premier League title meet here at Anfield, as Liverpool host Arsenal in a bumper clash.
Last gasp wins have been enough to preserve Liverpool's perfect start to the new season but they have looked a lot more vulnerable than last season, something Arne Slot will look to address.
Arsenal meanwhile have been as solid as ever under Mikel Arteta and this feels like the best squad he as assembled, as he launches another title bid.
This will be decided by fine margins and it could turn out to be a draw at Anfield.

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Mohamed Salah to score or assist (anytime)	$1.85
	The match to finish as a draw	$3.50
	Both teams to score	$1.80

Predicted Lineups:

Liverpool: Alisson, Bradley, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Szaboszlai, Ekitike, Gakpo & Salah.

Arsenal: Raya, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Madueke, Gyokeres & Eze.

Villa Park, 2nd September, 04:00

It has been a tough start to the season for Aston Villa, who are without a win and things won't get any easier here, as they take on Crystal Palace.
Villa have lost some key players this summer, with not much investment in return and they look to be under pressure a touch to replicate their superb last few campaigns under Unai Emery.
Crystal Palace meanwhile are a real force to be reckoned with these days under Oliver Glasner. The club embarks on its first ever European campaign next month and optimism is high in the camp.
This should be a good one, with Palace perhaps ready to spring a big surprise on Villa here. 

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Crystal Palace to win the match	$4.10
	Both teams to score	$1.75
	A penalty to be awarded	$3.25

Predicted Lineups:

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

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