Friday evening gave us just a taste of what is to come, with most of the Premier League and Ligue 1 games taking place on Saturday. Manchester City will try to defend their title, while Tottenham hope for better performance in the domestic championship. In the French first division, Olympique Marseille and St Etienne have their sights locked on the Champions League and they need to start the season with a win.
Manchester City and Tottenham Seek Early Premier League Lead
Home pitch advantage has always been important for Manchester City, but with few exceptions, the reigning champions have always been favorites on the road. This is the case once again in the match scheduled at noon on Saturday, as they play against West Ham United. Punters can lock in on odds of 3/10 on the visitors to prevail, but these are expected to drop as kickoff draws near. West Ham have caused plenty of headaches to top English teams and they’re priced at 10/1 by bet365 Sports to do it again
Tottenham have started the last few seasons on a positive note, with back-to-back victories but they failed to defend their advantage. They have got another opportunity to add three valuable points in the last match of this day, scheduled for 5:30 PM UK time. They welcome Aston Villa, a team that has returned to the Premier League after a season in the second division. Tottenham are clearly the favorites to prevail, as reflected by the odds of 7/20 offered by 888 Sport
Olympique Marseille and St Etienne Face Resilient Opponents
Olympique Marseille found a way of squandering an important advantage last season and won’t be playing in the Champions League in 2019. They hope for a better outcome at the end of this season, but they need to start earning points and the first opportunity is today. They welcome Reims at the Stade Velodrome, a team that they have defeated many times in the past. This looks like a difficult match, as reflected by the odds of 13/20, but the visitors have an even tougher task and they get odds of 5/1.
St Etienne have earned most of the points in front of their fans last season and in the previous years. That’s why, traveling is always problematic for this team, but in the opening ground, they play against Dijon. Their opponents have barely avoided relegation and Winner Sports doesn’t trust their ability to start the season with a victory. The hosts are priced at 12/5, the same odds offered on a draw, while a victory for the visitors enjoys odds of 13/10.