ALEX CROOK PREVIEW: The Premier League Returns!

The long wait is finally over, writes ALEX CROOK.

Eighty three days after Liverpool proudly held aloft their 21st championship, the Premier League returns and is back with a bang this weekend.

Liverpool begin their quest for a record breaking 21st league title at home to Bournemouth on Friday night.

Anfield will pay tribute to tragic Diogo Jota before kick-off on what is sure to be an emotionally-charged evening.

All eyes will then be on Arne Slot’s plethora of new signings to see how quickly they adapt to the blood and thunder of English football.

Liverpool looked decent going forward in last weekend’s Community Shield and I was particularly impressed with the fleet-footed Hugo Ekiteke, who looks ready to take the Prem by storm.

Ekiteke is 7/2 with starsports.bet to repeat what he did at Wembley by scoring first.

As slick as they were in attack, the champions looked far from solid defensively and there may be a few early-season teething problems as Slot’s newbies bed in.

For that reason I think Bournemouth can at least get on the scoresheet and am backing their Brazilian forward Evanilson to get himself a goal.

Liverpool should still be too strong for their visitors from the south coast and a build-a-bet of Liverpool to win and both Ekitike and Evanilson to score returns 8/1 with starsports.bet.

Two of last season’s top four contenders go head to head when Aston Villa host Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime.

It has been a turbulent summer for Newcastle after missing out on a host of their top transfer targets and with star striker Alexander Isak effectively on strike.

Villa have been relatively quiet in the window, partly due to the lost revenue from losing out to their visitors in the race for a Champions League place.

But Unai Emery has so far managed to keep his top players, fending off interest in the likes of Emi Martinez, Morgan Rogers, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins.

Watkins has been linked with Newcastle and I am backing him to show the Magpies what they are missing and Villa to take advantage of Eddie Howe’s lack of attacking options.

Villa to win and Watkins to score returns 2.5/1 with starsports.bet.

Villa are also the first leg of this weekend’s ‘Alex Acca’ which has been price-boosted from 19/1 to a whopping 25/1 with starsports.bet.

Elsewhere, I fancy Sunderland to make a winning return to the top-flight at what should be a bouncing Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats have forked out more than £100m on new signings this summer and look the best equipped of the newly-promoted sides to buck the recent trend and stay up, assuming they gel quickly.

I think West Ham will be one of the established teams looking over their shoulders, particularly if Jarrod Bowen is ruled out for any prolonged period due to injury.

In contrast to last summer, Graham Potter’s side have not splashed the cash this summer and Hammers fans are far from optimistic about the season ahead.

My short-price selection is Manchester City to win at Wolves on Saturday evening.

Wolves are another team I fear for after losing their three best players – Matheus Cunha, Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri – and not really backing a frustrated Vitor Pereira.

While I do not really fancy City in the title race they could easily win this one with a few goals in hand.

The final leg of the acca is Nottingham Forest to get the better of Brentford on Sunday.

The Bees are my tip for relegation after losing long-serving manager Thomas Frank to Tottenham and taking a big risk by promoting set-piece coach Keith Andrews as his successor.

I always worry about where their goals will come from after selling Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and with want-away Yoane Wissa refusing to play.

While Forest will struggle to hit the heights of last season when they were top four candidates before eventually having to settle for 7th place, they will still pick up plenty of points at home and this looks a very good opportunity to get off to a winning start.

The other big game on Sunday sees Ruben Amorim’s new-look Manchester United take on Arsenal in one of the biggest grudge games in the calendar.

It will be fascinating to see if Viktor Gyokeres can propel the Gunners from perennial runners-up to Premier League top dogs, but this is as good a time as any for United to host Mikel Arteta’s men.

I fancy United at +1 on the handicap at 4/5 with starsports.bet.

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RECOMMENDED BETS
1⃣ BEST BET Aston Villa to win and Ollie Watkins to score 2pts at 2.5/1 with starsports.bet
2⃣ NEXT BEST Manchester United +1 on the handicap 1pt at 4/5 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
📊 BUILD-A-BET Liverpool to win, Hugo Ekitike to score, Evanilson to score 1pt at 8/1 with starsports.bet
🚀 ALEX ACCCA Aston Villa, Sunderland, Man City, Nottm Forest 1pt at 25/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

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ALEX CROOK P&L (AUG 2025): 0.00 points

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