Manchester United and Arsenal clash on Sunday to kick off their EPL seasons.
The pregame narrative: Arsenal saw its title hopes ruined by injuries last season, but brought in Viktor Gyorekes to fill a huge need at the striker position. Man U made big moves of its own and looks for a much better result this season after finishing 15th in 2024-25.
Check out my Manchester United vs. Arsenal predictions, including props on Gyorekes and Amad Diallo.
Manchester United vs. Arsenal predictions
Parlay: Both teams to score | Gyokeres over 1.5 shots on target | Diallo over 0.5 shots (+375)
Both teams to score (-141): I wrote about this pick in my EPL predictions for this weekend, so why not add it to this SGP?
Arsenal finished with 69 goals last season, the third most in the Premier League, despite dealing with numerous injuries.
Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus missed significant time but come into the new campaign healthy.
Both sides also went big with the signings this summer.
- Man U spent over $50 million a piece on attackers Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha.
- Arsenal, meanwhile, purchased centre forward Viktor Gyokeres for $75 million.
Mbeumo and Cunha combined for 35 goals and 13 assists in the EPL last season.
I’ll touch more on Gyokeres later, but just know he was one of the most clinical attackers in Europe.
Both United and Arsenal went all in on offence during the transfer window, and I can’t help but expect goals in their opening match on Sunday.
EPL SGP legs
Gyokeres over 1.5 shots on target (+140): He’s never played in the EPL, but the Swedish attacker has dominated everywhere he has played.
Gyokeres spent the most recent 2024-25 campaign with Sporting in the Portuguese league and scored 39 goals in 33 matches.
That included 2.12 shots on target per 90 minutes.
His competition was indeed much weaker, but he also played with less talented teammates. Gyorekes is joining a top team in England and will surely benefit from the playmaking.
Arsenal was in desperate need of a true striker, and Gyokeres fits the bill. I can’t see the Gunners being shy about deploying their new expensive transfer.
If he plays a good amount of minutes, it should be more than enough for a player of his calibre to create a few shots on target.
Gyorekes ranks in the 99th percentile amongst forwards for shots per 90 (4.04) and shot-creating actions per 90 (4.91).
Diallo over 0.5 shots (-305): This final leg has some chalk attached but takes the SGP from +250 to +375, so it’s a welcome addition.
- The 23-year-old is an attacking-minded midfielder, recording 2.23 shots per 90 for Manchester United in the EPL last season.
- He appeared in 26 Premier League matches and had a respectable eight goals and six assists.
- Diallo appeared in two friendlies over the past month and cleared this line in both.
In fact, across all competitions, he went 33-9 against this wager for the Red Devils in 2024-25.
As he matures, his role should only expand moving forward, leading to even more shot opportunities.
Manchester United vs. Arsenal predictions made at 2:18 p.m. ET on 08/16/2025.
