Premier League Betting Guide Matchweek 1: Crystal Palace, Newcastle Can Start With Wins

The world's most-watched league returns to action on Friday, and we'll have matches to watch all weekend long.

When looking at the EPL soccer odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, what bets make the most sense for the opening games of the season?

Crystal Palace at Sheffield United (10 a.m. ET Saturday)

Crystal Palace Moneyline (+145)

We're not gonna look at a match between any of the headline-grabbing teams for our first bet. Instead, we'll look at a game between a team that's perennially in the bottom half of the table and a side that's just gotten promoted.

Crystal Palace were solid last season, finishing 11th in the table. Their expected goal (xG) differential, per FBRef, was 12th in the Premier League. It was a fine season, and they have some fun pieces, although losing a talisman as good as Wilfried Zaha hurts the team.

Palace didn't spend a ton of money in the summer but bought an exciting young Brazilian in Matheus Franca, who could be an eventual replacement for Zaha. For the time being they'll rely on the continued development of Eberechi Eze, who scored 10 goals as an attacking midfielder/winger. He even got his first cap for England because of his performances.

So, in short, Palace are nothing to write home about, but they should likely be competent. We can't say the same about Sheffield United in their first campaign back in the Premier League in three years.

The 2020-21 Blades finished bottom of the Premier League and tied for the most defeats in a league season. They were able to get back to the top division by finishing second in the Championship last season.

Typically, teams coming into the Premier League tend to spend a lot of money to make sure they can compete to stay in the division. That isn't the case this summer for Sheffield United, who have made a profit in the transfer market by selling some important players.

Iliman Ndiaye had the seventh-highest average rating in the Championship, per WhoScored. He contributed to 24 of the Blades' 73 goals last season. This summer, he went back to his home country of France, joining Marseille. Sheffield United didn't wasn't able to find a direct replacement for him -- as of yet.

Ndiaye is one key player gone, and they've also lost Sander Berge, Billy Sharp and Enda Stevens -- guys who had played regularly for the team over the course of the last two seasons.

Crystal Palace should be able to beat what is essentially a weakened Championship team from last season. Sheffield United are -155 favorites to be relegated this season, and getting a +145 number on Palace to beat them is appealing.

Aston Villa at Newcastle United (12:30 ET Saturday)

Newcastle Moneyline (-140)

Last season, newly rich Newcastle United took a jump into the Premier League's elite sooner than most expected. They were able to capitalize off down seasons from Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham, qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in third place.

Newcastle were a solid, defensively-sound team last season. They tied with Manchester City for the fewest goals conceded (33). Overall, they actually underperformed by xG, finishing with the second-best xG differential in the league, behind only City.

A spending spree was always likely for Newcastle after they made the Champions League. That's exactly what has happened. They picked off two players from relegated sides in Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento, both of whom should be able to contribute now but are also young.

The big signing was Sandro Tonali from AC Milan. The deep-lying midfielder was one of Milan's best players over the past two seasons -- years in which they won Serie A and made the Champions League semifinals. He and Bruno Guimaraes give Newcastle one of the best midfields in England.

Aston Villa also finished the season higher than people expected, especially after their start. They were in 17th place when Steven Gerrard was sacked, but an excellent closing run saw them get up to 7th by the end of the year.

Unlike Newcastle, Villa's advanced data does not look very good. They finished with an xG differential of -2.2, which was ninth in the EPL. Villa looks like a team on the rise under Unai Emery, but they had some good fortune last season.

New signings Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby are promising additions for Villa, and it will be particularly interesting to see where Diaby will fit in. Youri Tielemans also joins from Leicester and is a really solid midfielder who can create in attack.

But as good as Villa finished last season, they are still a bit outclassed by Newcastle.

The Magpies' solid defense can be a platform for them to continue to build on. They'll have ambitions to get back into the top four this season, and this is a home game they should win if they want to do so.

Player Props

Bukayo Saka to Score (+145): Saka will likely line up in his right-wing spot and cut in on his left foot, which he's really effective at doing. His Arsenal side are -600 moneyline favorites at home against Nottingham Forest, who allowed the second-most xG of any team not relegated last season. Saka is likely to be on penalty duty with Gabriel Jesus injured. Saka checks a lot of boxes.

Mohamed Salah to Score First (+500): If you want a bit of a long shot, Salah to score first looks like a good bet. Liverpool are slightly favored away to Chelsea, who have a ton of moving parts to start the season. It's difficult to know how Chelsea will perform given their disaster last season. But getting +500 for a penalty taker with as good of a goal-scoring record as Salah makes this a bet to consider.

Looking for more soccer betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the soccer odds.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.