Premier League Predictions Week 8: Previews, Best Bets, and Analysis

Premier League Predictions Week 8: Recommended Bets

• Arsenal to WIN by 1 Goal, +270 at FanDuel
• Harry Kane to score 2 or more goals, +360 at FanDuel
• Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne to score, +351 at PointsBet

Paying Respect

The previous EPL fixtures were postponed as a mark of respect following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Play will resume this Friday (September 16th) with seven of the 10 planned fixtures going ahead. Chelsea vs Liverpool, Manchester United vs Leeds United, and Brighton vs Crystal Palace have all been postponed to accommodate other events in the UK. 

In what will now be a crammed schedule with the World Cup and other international tournaments, these fixtures are likely to be rearranged for a date in January at the cost of FA Cup or EFL Cup games. One thing is for sure, we do not envy the teams having to fit these in. 

With focus shifting back to the current run of order, we’ll see Arsenal take on Brentford to continue their charge for the title. A win would keep them within touching distance from Manchester City and Tottenham if they can secure their 3 points this weekend. Brighton is still the underdog within the top 4, thanks to an admirable playing style controlled by Graham Potter. Fans couldn’t fault this performance, however, this has attracted attention from other top clubs as he has been pipped for the Chelsea job following the departure of Thomas Tuchel. Desperate times have called for desperate measures, the surprise sacking came after a huge $190 million was spent over the summer giving Potter a number of options. 

At the other end of the table, Nottingham Forest will be keen to turn the tide on their current form. Losing in three consecutive games has resulted in disappointment, even more of a killer considering they have 22 new players at their disposal! Leicester is the other concern. Brendan Rodgers has come out on record to say he feels unsupported by the club's owners. Moving on Fofana and Schmeichel without viable replacements have left the club in a defensive mess. So it’s not a surprise to learn that he’s the favorite as the next Premier League manager to be sacked (-200)...

Let’s get into the Premier League Week 8 predictions. There’s plenty of value for bettors this week, check out our odds comparison tool for additional lines. 

Premier League Predictions Week 8

Brentford vs Arsenal: Best Odds

Sunday, September 18 at 7:00 am ET

On the back of their first loss this season, Arsenal would’ve benefited from momentum going into this game. Throwback to last season, Brentford managed a serious upset on an opening day with a 2-1 win against Arteta's squad. It’s fair to say that both teams have come a long way from then. Brentford looks comfortable against any team in the league which means they cannot be easily dismissed. Both teams find themselves within the top 3 for big chances created, 17 for Brentford and 12 for Arsenal. 

Arsenal goes into the fixture as the favorite (-300) due to their current form and the strength of their squad. So far, they’ve managed a total of 104 shots with 34 of those on target - giving them a Shot on Target (SoT) percentage of 32.7%. By no means is this one of the best records in the league but the stark comparison is Brentford achieving a SoT% of 38.2%. Whilst Brentford has been more clinical, Arsenal has a much higher ceiling to score goals and a front three who can all create all kinds of problems for the opposition. It’s important not to be distracted by the stats since these only tell a small picture. Against Leeds, Brentford managed 7 shots on target, nearly 25% of their total amount! Arteta’s men will not be as open, creating a larger challenge for Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo. 

After losing to Manchester United 3-1, the Gunners will be looking to bounce back and send a strong message. Playing a high line left them vulnerable to the counter-attack with Sambi-Lokonga being the weak link. Given the extended break provided through postponements, Arteta will be drilling the team to close down and put pressure around the middle area to prevent this from occurring, for a team like Brentford who excel at this - perhaps this couldn’t have come with better timing? 

Our Premier League week 8 predictions include Arsenal bouncing back in style against a confident Brentford team, we expect it to be closely contested with a fine margin. 

Premier League Predictions Week 8: Recommended Bet

• Arsenal to WIN by 1 Goal, +270 at FanDuel

Tottenham vs Leicester: Best Odds

Saturday, September 17 at 12:30 pm ET

This fixture is a fan favorite for the Lilywhites. In the two fixtures last season, Spurs managed to bag 3 goals on both occasions and took all six points. With Leicester currently in turmoil and sitting dead last in the league, it’s difficult to see this going any other way. 

Leicester travels down to London after a thrashing against Brighton in game week 6. It’s tough to sugarcoat how poorly they played, however, they were always going to look mediocre compared to a flying Brighton. Conceding 23 shots in a game will always end in tears but is a summary of the glaring issues they need to address. The holes they have in defense have left them far too open and there seems to be no hope of quick fixes. Last season, Schmeichel recorded a save percentage of 71% whilst his replacement Danny Ward is currently sitting around 42.3% - talk about big shoes to fill! Even so, this is a smaller sample size but the departures of other notable defenders have meant Leicester is recording more shots against than ever before. 

The other side of the story promises plenty of action. Tottenham has nailed down their counter-attacking style of play with a deadly front line including Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Richarlison, and Kulusevski. With a total of 93 shots in the league so far, Conte will be drilling into his squad to take as many chances as they can. Kane in particular has a fantastic record against Leicester, scoring 17 goals from 14 matches, it’s hard to ignore this and with their current defensive woes, it’s possible he could even bag a couple.

The EPL week 8 odds have Tottenham to win (-200) and place Leicester as the outlier at +525. Given a stellar record, we can’t argue against this and suspect to see talisman Harry Kane among the scorers as one of our Premier League week 8 predictions.  

Premier League Predictions Week 8: Recommended Bet

• Harry Kane to score 2 or more goals, +360 at FanDuel

Wolves vs Manchester City: Best Odds

Saturday, September 17 at 7:30 am ET

Another win in the Champions League last night has cemented City’s dominance across Europe. None other than Erling Haaland bagged the winner against his former club Dortmund to take the three points. This puts him already within touching distance of Wayne Rooney for all-time champions league goals and he’s only 22 years of age… 

Attention falls back on their Premier League fixtures as they travel to face Wolves at the Molineux stadium. This will be an interesting challenge. Wolves have a better defensive record than City when you look at how likely it is a keeper will save a shot and this is their specialty. They’ve conceded 4 goals so far across the season which is the best in the league, but looking at their previous opponents this could be expected. Clean sheets against newly promoted sides Fulham and Bournemouth and a poor Southampton have aided this record but signs of weakness have been evident when they’ve played more aggressive teams such as Leeds and Tottenham. City falls into this other bracket and we expect a bombardment of attack over the full 90 minutes. Last season, Kevin De Bruyne scored a huge four goals against Wolves and this was when they preferred a more creative approach to finding goals. 

Pep has since changed their style of play focusing entirely on getting the ball to Haaland. His strength and speed mean he bullies defenders poaching goals by just sitting outside the 6-yard box. The team has adapted to feeding balls through to the Norwegian, if they can continue to find him, then he’s on track to score 102 goals across all club competitions this season, unfathomable. 

They’ve got the quality to break down the best of teams, so as our Premier League week 8 prediction, it seems crazy to go against their current run of form. We expect plenty of goals with both Haaland and De Bruyne finding the scoresheet. 

Premier League Predictions Week 8: Recommended Bet

• Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne to score, +351 at PointsBet

Other Fixtures: EPL Week 8 Odds

Conclusion

With the Premier League making a return this weekend, our EPL predictions for week 8 look at what's in store for the heavy hitters in this upcoming game week. If you're looking for more soccer content, read our guide: How To Bet on Soccer, and visit our odds comparison tool to compare the latest odds.