Among the things that the opening weekend of the 2026-27 Premier League season told us were that Arsenal remain the team to beat, Leeds have strengthened, Man Utd looked rusty, Liverpool still looked a bit shaky in defence, Chelsea looked good going forward but are still jittery at the back, and Aston Villa have paid the price for selling their best players. Can their head coach Unai Emery perform wonders yet again? Factoring all of this into this weekend’s games, I’ve come up with the following acca: Liverpool, Coventry, Man Utd and Arsenal.
Premier League Weekend ACCA
- Liverpool (to beat Nottingham Forest)
- Coventry City (to beat Hull City)
- Man United (to beat Ipswich Town)
- Arsenal (to beat Aston Villa)
- Odds: 4.98/1
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest, Sat 29 August, 12:30, TNT Sports 1
Liverpool got out of jail with the penultimate kick of the match against Newcastle last Sunday, and now face a home game against Forest, who have failed to score in their two matches so far this season.
Liam Delap was signed for a reported £50million from Chelsea during the week, but he hasn’t been prolific of late and may take time to bed in.
Liverpool looked quite laboured against Newcastle, struggled for cohesion, and looked particularly vulnerable on the left side of their defence. Forest will look to exploit this.
However, the Reds looked better when lively winger Víctor Muñoz came on, and Andoni Iraola can ill afford to lose his first home game as Liverpool’s head coach.
That in itself, of course, doesn’t influence outcomes on the pitch but, with strong characters in their side and buoyed on by a vociferous crowd, Liverpool can surely get their season rolling.
Remarkably, Forest have won this fixture in each of the last two seasons, with Liverpool having won six in a row before that. There has not been a draw in this fixture in the last nine seasons.
A third-successive home defeat in the league by Forest just isn’t going to happen, is it?
Best bet: Over 2.5 goals and Liverpool to win (21/20 bet builder)
Coventry City v Hull City, Sat 29 August, 15:00
Hull will arrive at the Coventry Building Society Arena full of confidence after their 2-0 opening weekend win over Man Utd. Furthermore, in the Championship they have a good record in this fixture, having lost just once in their last eight league visits to Coventry, winning on four occasions.
This, though, is a different kettle of fish. Coventry have strengthened markedly since last season, and their home games are where they need to make capital this time around in order to give themselves a chance of survival. They lost just twice at home in the league last season (23 games), winning 17 times, and were particularly effective at set-pieces.
In front of a raucous home crowd that can really generate a vibrant atmosphere, they can get their season up and running on Saturday following last week’s 3-0 humbling at Arsenal.
Best bet: Coventry to win (9/10)
Man Utd v Ipswich, Sunday 30 August, 16:30, Sky Sports Premier League
Man Utd looked surprisingly rusty last week in losing 2-0 to Hull. They surely couldn’t have asked for better to put things right in their second game, a home match against a newly promoted side.
This said, Ipswich started their campaign well with a 2-1 home win against Sunderland.
However, United were, ultimately, strong at home last season, winning eight of their last nine matches. The Old Trafford faithful will demand nothing less than a strong reaction to last week’s defeat, and this squad has the firepower to oblige.
Man Utd scored two or more goals in eight of their last nine home league matches last season, although, by contrast, they kept just two clean sheets in those games.
Best bet: Over 2.5 goals looks a likely enough option in the match (3/5)
Aston Villa v Arsenal, 20:00, Monday 31 August, Sky Sports Premier League
The final Premier League fixture of the weekend (and the month), sees the champions visit fellow-Champions League qualifiers Aston Villa,
Villa got swept aside by Brighton, 4-0, in their opening fixture last Sunday, while Arsenal comfortably dealt with Coventry (3-0) in theirs last Friday.
In truth, Villa looked a little bewildered while Arsenal looked imperious, with last season’s Premier League title success clearly doing wonders for their belief and confidence, which is normal. For a squad filled with talent, well, their sense of well-being can only be elevated even further.
With Rogers and Watkins having left the club, Villa have lost a serious amount of firepower. Nicolas Jackson has come in from Chelsea, and he is a solid acquisition, but Watkins will not be an easy act to follow.
Arsenal looked as solid as ever at the back last week and full of variety going forward. They have strengthened since last season, which is quite a thought, and Christos Tzolis impressed on his debut.
Arsenal lost just seven of their 63 matches last season (eight if you include the Champions League final that was lost on penalties), although one of those was away to Villa in the league (2-1), and they have won both of their matches so far this season.
Key players that started that day – Konsa, Tielemans, Rogers and Watkins – have since left Villa, and their talismanic keeper Martinez is also looking to move on.
All in all, it adds up to something of a transitional time for the home side, and Arsenal, who are probably the last side you would want to meet at such a time, can take full advantage.
Best bet: Arsenal to win to nil (31/20)
Premier League Weekend ACCA
- Liverpool (to beat Nottingham Forest)
- Coventry City (to beat Hull City)
- Man United (to beat Ipswich Town)
- Arsenal (to beat Aston Villa)
- Odds: 4.98/1
