It's another blockbuster weekend of Premier League football this Saturday. Swansea face Hull at the Liberty Stadium, with both sides looking to build on last weekend's opening day wins. For Tottenham and Palace they will both be looking to register their first wins of the season at White Hart Lane. Watford take on Chelsea at Vicarage Road in the battle of the Italians, with both looking to prove they are the capital man.
Swansea vs Hull – Saturday 20th August 2016 – 15:00
Swansea kick off their second fixture in the Premier League at home against newly promoted Hull City.
Francesco Guidolin and his men got off to the best possible this season with a 1-0 win in their opening match against Burnley.
It was a good performance away from home and to top it off by scoring an 82 minute goal courtesy of Leroy Fer will have delighted the Swansea manager.
The match itself was a thoroughly entertaining affair that saw plenty of options wasted by both sides, with Andre Gray blazing over one of Burnley's better chances.
At the other end captain Tom Heaton kept Burnley in the match, producing two fine saves against Swansea's new signing Fernando Llorente.
Optimistic Start To Season
That result will give the club a huge sense of optimism that they can return to past glories and erase last seasons disappointing campaign.
Huw Jenkins has kept his faith in the man responsible for getting them out of relegation trouble, and to be able to have a pre season with the club will be of enormous benefit.
This is a match that sees newly promoted Hull travel to the Liberty Stadium and they will be full of confidence after their excellent win against Champions Leicester City.
Hull will be a good challenge for Swansea, given that the Swans are at home and with the Spanish pairing of Llorente and Baston within their ranks, Swansea will be expecting to win.
Swansea will be looking to continue their good record against Hull. In 28 matches they have won 12, lost 8 and drawn 8 times.
Swansea are the favourites at 4/5 with Fernando Llorente the favourite to open the scoring at 4/1.
Hull kicked off the new season with an exceptional 2-1 win against Leicester at the KC Stadium, which saw them beat the Premier League Champions.
They took the lead late in first half stoppage time courtesy of an acrobatic bicycle kick by Adama Diomande, which would have knocked the stuffing out of Leicester.
Claudio Ranieri and his men equalised in the 47th minute after Demarai Gray was fouled by Tom Hiddlestone, Riyad Mahrez duly obliged from the spot.
Mike Phelan and his men took the lead 10 minutes later courtesy of a well worked corner and Robert Snodgrass slotted away, with an excellent finish into the corner past Casper Schmeichel.
This result will enhance the claims of manager Mike Phelan, who is looking to be installed in the role full time and Curtis Davies has given his seal of approval.
Signings Needed
The more worrying aspect from Hull's perspective will be that despite this performance the squad still needs heavy investment if they are to remain in the league.
Swansea are their opponents in this match and their recent record against them is even, in their last four meetings they have won two and lost two.
If they produce another performance like they did against Leicester on Saturday, they will have six points from two games.
Given the situation they found themselves when Steve Bruce resigned that would be an excellent achievement.
Phelan will be looking to cement his place in the hot seat at Hull looking to register their 2nd win of the season and their 9th win against Swansea overall.
Hull are the underdogs at 19/5 with Abel Hernandez the favourite to score first at 15/2.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Odds – Saturday 20th August 2016 – 15:00
Tottenham kick off their second fixture in the Premier League at home against London rivals Crystal Palace.
Mauricio Pochettino and his men got off to a good start this season with a 1-1 draw in their opening match against Everton at Goodison Park.
It was a good away performance and to come back having conceded an early goal was a great testament of character from Spurs.
The match itself was a thoroughly entertaining affair that saw Tottenham grow as the game went on and once the goal was scored there would have been only one winner.
Martin Stekelenburg produced a series of fine saves at the end to keep the visitors out and in the end Spurs will feel unlucky to have only grabbed a point.
Optimistic Start To Season
Everton away is a tough fixture and with Ronald Koeman at the helm expect Everton to be a very competitive side home and away.
Ross Barkley opened the scoring for the Toffees in the 5th minute, with an excellent free kick and that lead lasted well into the second half when Erik Lamela scored in the 67th minute with a glancing header.
This is a match that sees Crystal Palace make the short trip to White Hart Lane and a former player in Andros Townsend will pit his wits against his former club, having failed to make the grade under Mauricio Pochettino.
Palace will be a good challenge for Tottenham but given that Spurs did comprehensively beat them in both Premier League games last year will give the side a great deal of confidence that they can stretch that to three games on the spin.
The only negative to come out of last Saturday's game will be the absence of Hugo Lloris for four weeks, with former Swansea keeper Michel Vorm to deputise during his absence.
Tottenham will be looking to continue their good record against Palace. In 33 matches they have won 16, lost 7 and drawn 10 times.
Tottenham are the favourites at 1/2 with Harry Kane the favourite to score first at 3/1.
Crystal Palace kicked off the new season with an disastrous 1-0 loss against West Brom at Selhurst Park last weekend.
They conceded a sucker punch from West Brom striker Salomon Rondon in the 74th minute, in a result that will have had Alan Pardew fuming.
Palace endured a wretched end to last season in the league and they finished in 15th position, one point behind the Baggies who finished in 14th.
Pardew will need to go back to the drawing board to ensure that his side do not continue the vein of form that cost them so dearly post December.
Home wins will be crucial to Palace to ensure they meet the required aims of the new owners to make the top ten and this result was not what they needed to start.
Signings Needed
Palace announced post match that Yannick Bolasie had joined Everton in a deal that could rise to somewhere in the region of £30 million.
They have looked to spend that money wisely, bidding for Liverpool striker Christian Benteke who despite being in limbo in Merseyside could be exactly what the Eagles need.
Crystal Palace dominated possession on Saturday with 62% of the ball but they failed to find that cutting edge with only four shots registered on target out of a possible 14.
The signing of Benteke could be crucial to the Londoners if they are to push themselves up the Premier League table and an initial bid of £23 has been rejected, but they are expected to up that offer in the coming days.
Another loss here will spell a nightmare start to this season for Pardew and the sale of Mile Jedinak to Aston Villa has proved immensely unpopular with supporters.
Palace will be looking to recreate the magic result in the FA Cup last year, where they were able to win 1-0, they will be looking to produce a first Premier League win in three attempts on Saturday.
Palace are the underdogs at 11/2 with Connor Wickham the favourite to open the scoring at 9/1.
Watford vs Chelsea – Saturday 20th August 2016 – 15:00
Watford kick off their second fixture in the Premier League at home against London rivals Chelsea.
Walter Mazzarri and his men got off to a good start this season with a 1-1 draw in their opening match against Southampton at St.Mary's.
It was a good away performance and having gone ahead the new manager will only be disappointed that they failed to close out the game.
The match itself was a backs to the wall affair that saw Southampton dominate possession but fail to break down a very stubborn Watford side.
With 24 shots and only 6 on target Mazzarri will be delighted with the defensive resolve of his players, something that is synonymous with Italian football.
The opening goal from Etienne Capoue came in the 9th minute, with the Frenchman thumping a ball in from open play around the penalty spot.
Southampton equalised in the 58th minute through Nathan Redmond, who volleyed a Gomes punch through a sea of players into the goal.
A More Expansive Style
They face a tough challenge at home against a Chelsea side that were very spirited and produced a good performance at home against West Ham on Monday night.
It will be a tactical encounter between two Italians in charge of London clubs and Mazzarri will be demanding the same defensive application as displayed in their first Premier League match.
They will need to be a lot more free flowing going forward given that they produced very little in terms of chances against Southampton, with only one shot on target and five attempts overall.
The sending off of Ben Watson won't have pleased Mazzarri either, with that indiscipline nearly costing Watford dearly and it's a mistake that cannot happen regularly.
Watford have a big advantage having played last Saturday, the extra two days rest this early on will have an impact and that they are at home as well could be a massive factor.
Watford will be looking to improve their record against Chelsea. In 17 matches they have won 5, lost 8 and drawn 4 times.
Watford are the underdogs in this match at 4/1 with Troy Deeney the favourite to score first at 7/1.
Chelsea kicked off the new season with an excellent 2-1 win against London rivals West Ham, with a late Costa goal enough to secure the spoils.
The Blues and Antonio Conte got off to the best possible start as they look to dramatically improve on last season and to have Diego Costa and Eden Hazard on the score sheet will give them great confidence.
Chelsea dominated the opening exchanges between the sides and had more than a few chances, with the failure to award Oscar a penalty after contact with Winston Reid a bone of contention.
Chelsea did take the lead moments later when Cesar Azpilicueta was bundled over in the box by Michail Antonio, with Hazard slotting it down the middle to make it 1-0.
James Collins equalised in the 77th minute with a thumping volley to level the scoring and West Ham had a real chance to capitalise at that stage.
Chelsea continued to put West Ham under pressure and the bell finally tolled when new signing Michy Batshuayi knocked it down for Costa and the Spain international slotted past Adrian from 20 yards to send the Stamford Bridge crowd into ecstasy.
Fabregas Speculation Mounting
The big transfer news around involves Cesc Fabregas, with the Spanish midfielder apparently surplus to requirements under new manager Antonio Conte.
Chelsea have been active in the transfer market and the assist from new signing Michy Batshuayi could prove to be a shrewd investment.
N'Golo Kante put in a decent shift for his first time in the blue of Chelsea but the return to form of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa will be crucial if Chelsea are to challenge.
Chelsea will look to continue their dominance of the ball in this next fixture against Watford but Conte will be wary of the tactical setup from fellow Italian Walter Mazzarri.
Both games against the Hornets last year resulted in stalemates with 0-0 and 2-2 but with Chelsea's key men seemingly back on song expect goals.
Chelsea are the favourites at 8/11 with Diego Costa the favourite to score first at 4/1.
Betting Tips
Baston to score first @ 5/1 and a 1-1 draw @ 5/1
Kane to score first @ 3/1 and Tottenham to win 2-1 @ 7/1
Hazard to score first @ 11/2 and Chelsea to win 2-1 @ 7/1