Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.
Several fixtures stick out from the Premier League’s second matchday.
The latest: Liverpool has its first EPL match at Anfield under Arne Slot when it hosts Brentford on Sunday. Elsewhere, Arsenal will need a complete effort to pick up three points against Aston Villa in Birmingham.
Check out the latest EPL Matchday 2 odds.
EPL Matchday 2 odds
Visit all of NorthStar Bets’ Premier League markets. Click on game odds below to bet now.
Brighton came out of the gates hot in 2023-24, winning five of the first six games. That included a 3-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Now, the Seagulls host United with both teams off to a 1-0-0 start.
Manchester City began its title defence with a 2-0 win over Chelsea despite losing the expected goal battle (1.24-1.38). City is a massive home favourite over recently-promoted Ipswich Town while the Blues will look to rebound at Molineux.
Liverpool kicked off the Slot era with a tidy 2-0 win over Ipswich Town. Now it’ll play host to a Brentford side that went 5-2-12 on the road last year (losing 0-3 at Anfield).
The Lions went 12-4-3 at Villa Park last year including a 1-0 win over Arsenal, which ended up being critical in the Premiership race. Unai Emery will hope to give his former team even more trouble this weekend.
The latest: Pep Guardiola and Manchester City look for a fifth straight title but Arsenal has the tools to stop them. Liverpool enters the post-Jurgen Klopp era while Tottenham and West Ham seek to establish themselves as Champions League sides.
This 2024-25 EPL season preview features betting predictions, outlooks on the favourites, transfer rumours, plus more.
EPL season preview
Can anyone dethrone Man City?
Manchester City just set the record for most consecutive Premier League titles.
It was the Sky Blues’ fourth in a row and sixth in the last seven seasons. Perhaps most impressively, it came on the heels of a 2022-23 campaign where City won the European treble, playing an exhaustive 61 games across all competitions.
But Guardiola is the best coach in the world for a reason and managed to rally his troops to 91 points — two better than Arsenal, which finished as the runner-up for a second straight year.
Arsenal seems like the obvious candidate to dethrone the champs.
The Gunners are loaded with top-end talent like Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli. All of them had 10-plus goal and assist contributions and are under 25 years old.
Mikel Arteta’s side conceded the fewest goals (26) last year and just needed one more favourable result down the stretch. Arsenal fans will be hoping that scar tissue leads to a title.
Liverpool has plenty of players on its roster who have won a Premiership before but Klopp — the man who led the way — is gone after a legendary tenure.
Arne Slot takes over for the Reds after an impressive stint at Feyenoord. He led the club to the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final and won the club the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup.
City is the team to beat
As good as those other clubs are, it’s hard to see City not coming out on top.
Guardiola has the world’s best goalscorer in Erling Haaland to slot alongside the reigning Premier League player of the season (Phil Foden) and Rodri, who’s arguably the best midfielder.
That said, it might not be any team which takes the Sky Blues down.
The club is due to face 115 charges for breaches of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, which could result in a point deduction or potentially relegation.
Red Devils on the hot seat
Manchester United and Chelsea are in tough spots.
Their fans expect titles because that’s what the clubs have delivered in the past. But this season, these teams simply aren’t good enough.
The only reason Erik ten Hag is still bench boss for the Red Devils is thanks to a late-season FA Cup win over Manchester City. It was reported that the team was planning on moving on before then.
United’s eighth-place finish was its worst ever and ten Hag will be on the hot seat from the jump.
As for Chelsea, the club has remained dysfunctional despite all the money its thrown around.
The team has been through five coaches since Todd Boehly took over as chairman in June 2022, with Mauricio Pochettino most recently getting the sack for Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea does have strong pieces on its roster (Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, among others) and has spent north of $180 million Euros on transfers this offseason.
Maresca, like many coaches before him, will be expected to deliver immediate results with this group. He could be out quickly if things go sideways.
EPL season preview: London’s Dark Horses
Calling the Spurs a dark horse might be a stretch even though they’re on the outside looking in.
Tottenham finished two points out of a Champions League spot in Ange Postecoglou’s first season as manager. But there was a lot to like about the Spurs’ play and they’ve already made some intriguing splashes in the transfer window.
Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have been added to a side that was aggressive last season.
Tottenham should score plenty but will need to tighten up defensively to get into the top four.
West Ham, meanwhile, would be a shock to finish inside the top four but I think it has a chance.
Julen Lopetegui is an experienced manager who has some big-time offensive players at his disposal.
Niclas Fullkrug came over from Borussia Dortmund while Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and James Ward-Prowse are all coming off huge seasons for the Hammers.
Improving on defence will be a priority. But the addition of centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo should help with that.
New additions and transfer window rumours
There haven’t been any massive transfers yet… just plenty of decently large ones.
•Julian Alvarez left Manchester City for Atletico Madrid for a hefty sum ($75 million Euros).
•Tottenham brought in Solanke for the biggest purchase total yet ($64.3 million).
•Leny Yoro, a dynamic 18-year-old centre-back, was bought by ten Hag’s United alongside Joshua Zirkzee, a Dutch midfielder.
•United is also reportedly looking at Dominic Calvert-Lewin (eight goals scored for Everton last year).
•Arsenal shored up an already elite back with the acquisition of Italian centre-back Riccardo Calafiori.
•Liverpool took a swing at two attacking players in Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago.
Best EPL bets for the 2024-25 season
Now, my best futures bets for the upcoming season.
Click linked odds to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/markets no longer available if grey.
Tottenham top four (+200): Tottenham was in the Premiership race around Christmas but faltered after some untimely injuries hit the inexperienced squad.
But the Spurs have shored their depth throughout the pitch and I’m buying what Postecoglou is selling.
The Australian has consistently succeeded throughout his career. He brought Tottenham from eighth to fifth in his inagural season with the club.
With Harry Kane long gone, it’ll be the younger talent that propels this team back into the Champions League.
West Ham top 10 (-125): Since I believe West Ham has a chance to finish inside the top four, I naturally like its chances of finishing in the top half.
The Hammers were ninth last year despite losing Rice to Arsenal.
Now it has had some time to reinvest that $105 million into the transfer market.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Max Kilman also join Todibo on a transformed back end. The defence should be much better this season.
Arsenal – winner without Manchester City (-125): There’s a ton of built-in value here as Arsenal is priced to finish inside the top two at -230.
A top-two finish would cash this wager so betting on the other market is nonsensical.
Arsenal finished second in each of the past two seasons. It was seven points clear of Liverpool last year and nine points clear of Manchester United before that.
Arteta’s offence is elite and its defence was second to none. I expect Liverpool to fall off slightly and the Gunners to contend with City until the very end.
The Atlanta Braves look to sweep the San Francisco Giants.
The pregame narrative: Atlanta started this series 1.5 games clear of San Francisco for the NL’s final wild-card spot and a win tonight would put it 4.5 games up. Robbie Ray should rack up strikeouts for the Giants while Marcell Ozuna is my bet to record multiple bases.
Check out my Braves vs. Giants prop picks for August 14.
San Francisco took a big risk when it traded for Ray last offseason.
The 2021 AL Cy Young winner regressed in his first season with the Seattle Mariners and then missed the entirety of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
He was only recently brought back to the majors but so far, so good.
Ray has a 3.98 ERA through four starts with 28 strikeouts in 20.1 IP. That’s a small sample size but is encouraging nonetheless. The fireballing lefty posted a stellar 11.5 K/9 rate in his Cy Young season with the Toronto Blue Jays and has that swing-and-miss juice back.
He fanned seven Detroit Tigers in his last start and nine Cincinnati Reds the outing before that.
Both of those teams are swing-happy but they don’t hold a candle to what the Braves are doing right now.
Atlanta has the fifth-highest K rate this season (24.7%) and the highest strikeout rate versus lefties since the all-star break (34.2%).
San Francisco has already trotted out two southpaws in this series to positive results. Blake Snell struck out a whopping 11 batters in 6.1 IP while Kyle Harrison fanned six in 5.0 IP last night.
For Harrison, who has a 45th-percentile K rate on Baseball Savant, that’s a big night.
The Giants have been increasing Ray’s workload start-to-start and he just logged 105 pitches his last time out. There should be ample opportunities to rack up strikeouts.
Key stat: Atlanta has a 25.9% K rate in 112 combined at-bats against Ray.
Quick pick
Ozuna over 1.5 total bases (+108): Ozuna sold my +305 MLB parlay yesterday by going 1-for-5 with four strikeouts. The other legs (Tarik Skubal over 6.5 strikeouts, Yankees moneyline) cashed with ease.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. headlines today’s Toronto Blue Jays picks.
The pregame narrative: Jose Berrios and Tyler Anderson take the mound as Toronto looks to sweep the Los Angeles Angels. Guerrero has crushed left-handed pitching during his hot streak, making his bases prop enticing. I’m also looking to fade Berrios who has been awful on the road.
Check out the best Blue Jays picks vs. the Angels on Aug. 14.
Guerrero is a top-10 hitter in nearly every metric despite an awful start to the season.
He is fourth in batting average (.320), seventh in wRC+ (164), eighth in total bases (252), and 10th in OPS (.940). Getting him at plus money to record multiple bases seems absurd at this point, but I’ll take it.
Vladdy has been on a ridiculous 25-game heater, slashing .456/.523/.957 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs. He is slugging 1.105 against left-handed pitching during this run.
Anderson is a respectable arm with a 2.99 ERA but I’m happy to ride with the hot bat in this matchup.
Especially when you consider the southpaw has an xERA of 4.20, making him the 28th “luckiest” pitcher in MLB, per Baseball Savant.
Guerrero has also faced Anderson before and is 3-for-6.
All of those hits went for singles but I’m not worried about Vladdy reaching back and hitting for power.
Key stat: Guerrero is 17-8 against this line in his last 25 games (68.0%).
Quick pick
Angels F5 moneyline tie no bet (-115): If we’re talking about Anderson having a lucky season we also need to mention Berrios.
Toronto’s righty has a 3.97 ERA and a 5.14 xERA, the latter of which ranks in the ninth percentile. He also has an 11th-percentile xBA (.276) and a 19th percentile K rate (18.7).
That’s simply not good enough.
Berrios has cobbled together some good starts here and there but he’s generally gotten shelled on the road. He has a 5.29 ERA and a .272 opponent batting average outside of Rogers Centre.
Los Angeles doesn’t have a potent lineup but is still batting a respectable .258 against him in 35 combined plate appearances.
I would be keen on fading Berrios’ outs prop but it is set at 18.5 and heavily juiced (-180) to the under. This seems like a solid pivot.
Toronto is 0-9 on the F5 moneyline in Berrios’ last nine road starts.
Two player props and a moneyline pick make up today’s MLB parlay.
The pregame narrative: Tarik Skubal is cruising toward the AL Cy Young and is in a great spot to rack up strikeouts against the Seattle Mariners. Elsewhere, I like the New York Yankees to bounce back and Marcell Ozuna to rake.
That marked the third straight game where he logged eight-plus strikeouts. I am playing the over on his 7.5 K total tonight (+105) but will tease it down just a smidge for this parlay.
Skubal has gone over this mark in eight of his last nine outings, dominating teams like the Kansas City Royals (eight Ks), Los Angeles Dodgers (eight Ks) and Philadelphia Phillies (seven Ks).
Seattle doesn’t hold a candle to any of those offences.
The Mariners have the third-highest K rate against left-handed pitching (26.2%) and are 25th in wRC+ vs. lefties since the all-star break (82).
Skubal has a 91st percentile K rate (30.1%), per Baseball Savant.
Other picks
Yankees moneyline (-295): Yesterday I backed the Yankees to cover a -1.5 run line … they lost 12-2.
That marked the only time this season the Chicago White Sox have beaten a team by 10-plus runs. As embarrassing as that is I won’t be discouraged in going back to the Bronx Bombers tonight.
Chicago is still 2-24 in its last 26 games with a -77 run differential, after all.
New York starter Nestor Cortes has also dominated the Sox’s lineup. In 50 plate appearances, he has held Chicago to a .184 batting average with a 32.0% K rate.
Ozuna over 1.5 bases (+104): While the rest of the Atlanta Braves lineup has regressed, Ozuna is putting up his best season in a while.
Kevin Gausman can lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a series win tonight.
The pregame narrative: Gausman has been a workhorse on the road this season and I expect him to carve up a mediocre Los Angeles Angels lineup. Take the over on his outs prop and bet on Toronto to win.
Check out the best Blue Jays picks vs. the Angels on Aug. 13.
This bet asks Gausman to record 6.1 IP or more, something he’s done in four of his last five starts.
That includes three straight on the road where the righty has a stellar 2.74 ERA this season. Compare that to his 5.91 ERA at Rogers Centre and you’ll see one of the more stark home/away splits for a starting pitcher in MLB.
Gausman was great in Toronto last season and it’s hard to say why things flipped in 2024.
But I do know he’s been fantastic on the road and I do know that Los Angeles doesn’t have a scary lineup.
The Angels rank 25th in runs per game and particularly struggle to hit right-handed pitching.
They are 24th in batting average (.230), 25th in wRC+ (89), and 27th in slugging percentage (.370) vs. RHP this season. L.A. is also dead last in SLG against righties since the all-star break.
Gausman’s biggest problem this season has been giving up hard contact and the Angels swing one of the softest bats in the league.
He should shove tonight.
Key stat: Gausman is averaging 7.0 IP in his last five starts.
Quick pick
Blue Jays moneyline (-134): I think Gausman is in for a big game but I can’t say the same for Angels starter Carson Fulmer.
Fulmer just got moved out of the bullpen to a larger role and has posted a solid 3.60 ERA in five starts. On a surface level that seems impressive but I’m skeptical.
Two of those starts were against the Oakland Athletics, one was against the Colorado Rockies and one was against the Seattle Mariners. The latter of which is struggling mightily to put the bat on the ball lately.
Fulmer has also only recorded 5.0-plus innings pitched once.
That means the Angels bullpen is going to get some run and it has been horrible.
L.A.’s relievers rank 23rd in ERA (4.21) and strikeouts (395). Toronto has been hitting better lately and I expect its bats to show up this evening.
The NFL season is almost here and some teams are projected to have much better seasons than others.
The latest: Last year’s Super Bowl finalists, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, share the highest projected win totals in the league. The New England Patriots have the lowest, while the Caleb Williams-led Chicago Bears are favoured to go above .500.
Find the latest NFL win total odds below ahead of Week 1.
NFL win total odds
Let’s begin by looking at the AFC.
The Chiefs are hunting for the NFL’s first-ever three-peat. Patrick Mahomes and Co. are clear-cut favourites to win a weak AFC West and stack up divisional wins.
KC is also favoured to win the most regular season games.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have to deal with the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets in the AFC East while every AFC North team has a win total of 8.5 or higher.
New England officially hit the reset button last season, cutting ties with legendary head coach Bill Belichick and trading Mac Jones before drafting Drake Maye.
The No. 3 overall pick out of UNC has potential but the talent surrounding him is questionable at best.
Rookie head coach Jerod Mayo has holes all over the roster he needs to fill. It will probably take a few years before the Pats are contending for a playoff spot.
San Francisco fans and players probably still have a sour taste in their mouths after how last season ended.
But there’s no better way to cleanse that than by beating the wheels off teams in the regular season.
And that’s exactly what the Niners have done since acquiring Christian McCaffrey.
San Fran is 22-5 since CMC joined forces with Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk. Now that’s an all-pro offence (though it’s unclear if the latter will be on the team come Week 1).
The Niners are no joke on the other side of the ball and should be favoured in most games this year.
It might be too early to declare the Bryce Young trade the worst of all time … but it’s certainly close.
Carolina moved up eight spots in the 2023 draft to take the 5-foot-10 signal-caller ahead of C.J. Stroud.
Stroud ran away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year and is a legitimate MVP candidate heading into this season. Young had the second-worst QBR out of any starter in the NFL and Carolina went 2-15.
Oh, and the Panthers gave up their 2024 No. 1 overall pick for the right to acquire Young.
That ended up being Caleb Williams.
And their 2025 second-round pick also goes to Chicago.
Dave Canales gets his first head coaching shot with this young and frankly awful roster. Things could get really ugly in Charlotte.
One spread, one team total, and one player prop make up today’s MLB parlay picks.
The pregame narrative: The New York Yankees take on the Chicago White Sox in what should be a one-sided affair. Elsewhere, I like Freddy Peralta to clear an alternate strikeout total and the San Diego Padres to have a big night offensively.
The White Sox are a league-worst 28-91 and are 1-24 in their last 25 games.
During that stretch, they’ve been outscored by 87 runs and are 8-17 against a +1.5 run line. The only thing that stopped Chicago from holding the longest losing streak in MLB history was a 5-1 win over the lowly Oakland Athletics.
So yeah, New York should crush Chicago tonight.
The Yankees have Luis Gil pitching (3.06 ERA) and the second-best offence in baseball (5.06 runs/game).
Milwaukee’s righty gives up a decent amount of hard contact but he also misses a lot of bats. Peralta’s 31.8% whiff rate and 29.4% K rate rank in the 91st and 90th percentile at Baseball Savant.
Los Angeles has the third-highest K rate agianst right-handed pitchers since the all-star break (26.4%).
Peralta has cleared this line in eight of his last 10 games and four of his last five.
Gonzales carries a 4.54 ERA into tonight’s contest and has gotten rocked in back-to-back outings. His last start was against the Padres in Pittsburgh and he ceded eight hits and five earned runs in 4.2 IP.
It’s been a rough go and the advanced stats paint an even worse picture. The lefty ranks in the first percentile for xBA (.314) and xERA (6.75).
San Diego’s lineup is 23-for-75 (.307) against the lefty with a .507 SLG in 83 plate appearances.
The latest: The San Diego Padres are red-hot and host the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have tumbled out of the playoff picture with seven straight losses. Elsewhere, the Houston Astros look to build on their MLB-best five-game winning streak.
Check out the latest MLB odds for Monday, Aug. 12.
MLB odds: Aug. 12
Visit all of NorthStar Bets’ MLB markets. Click on game odds below to bet now.
The Chicago Cubs aren’t out of the wild-card hunt just yet. Shota Imanaga (3.06 ERA) gets the ball and looks to extend the team’s four-game winning streak. Chicago has won each of his last four starts. Ben Lively (3.59 ERA) starts for Cleveland.
Houston has reclaimed the top spot in the AL West lead thanks to its three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox on the weekend. The Astros have scored 33 runs during their five-game winning streak (6.6/game).
San Diego is an MLB-best 16-4 since the all-star break. The Padres swept the Pirates in Pittsburgh last week and are favoured to win tonight’s opener at home. Joe Musgrove (5.66 ERA) has logged three straight quality starts against the Bucs.
A pitcher’s duel between last year’s NL Cy Young winner (Blake Snell) and this year’s NL Cy Young favourite (Chris Sale) closes out the slate. Sale has a 2.75 ERA this season while Snell has a 1.65 ERA in his last seven games.
The latest: Manchester City begins its title defence with a tough test at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal and Liverpool are two of the heftiest favourites to pick up three points while Leicester City host Tottenham to wrap up the action.
Check out the latest EPL Matchday 1 odds for the 2024-25 season.
EPL Matchday 1 odds
Visit all of NorthStar Bets’ Premier League markets. Click on game odds below to bet now.
Manchester United pulled off an upset over Manchester City in the FA Cup to close out its season and that probably saved Erik ten Hag’s job. He’s still on the hot seat, though, considering the Red Devils’ eighth-place finish was their worst since 1990.
The post-Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool has a soft landing with an away game at recently promoted Ipswich Town. The Reds still have a stacked roster and are third in odds to win the Premiership behind Manchester City and Arsenal.
The Gunners ended up trophyless for a fourth straight season despite finishing runner-up in each of the last two campaigns (no, we’re not counting Community Shields). That said, Arsenal is loaded with talent and poised to contend yet again.
Tottenham had a solid first season under Ange Postecoglou but will be looking to take the next step by finishing inside the top four. Picking up a win on the road versus Leicester would be a good start. The Foxes were promoted back to the Premiership after being relegated in 2022-23.
