Good Morning ☀️,

It’s Lucas here, your Chief Predictions Officer at What Are the Odds?

This week in Premier League drama, Riccardo Calafiori, frustrated by wet balls, stole Newcastle stopper Nick Pope’s towel, and proceeded to fix his problem.

And on a more serious note, here’s what we’ve got for you in this week’s What Are the Odds?

• Our top EPL predictions for this coming weekend. 🦵⚽

• Some more weird and wonderful football news, followed up by a fun trivia quiz. 🏟️✨

• A powerful hit of inspiration courtesy of Italian football legend Gianfranco Zola. 🔥

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⚽ Leeds vs Tottenham
🏟 English Premier League
Saturday 04 Oct; 13:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: A solid double chance play with some decent (even if unspectacular) odds.

• CXSports says: As a freshly-promoted team this season, Leeds hasn’t been doing too badly, with two draws and a victory helping them climb into the mid-table. With that said, there’s still a large gap between them and the teams at the top of the table, like Tottenham. A quick look at goal difference is all it takes here — Leeds are on -3 vs +7 for Tottenham. What might work in Leeds' favor here, however, is their home advantage. It likely won’t be enough to claim a victory, but it might be enough to frustrate Tottenham, and maybe even hold them to a draw.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Tottenham or Draw

Option #1

• Bet: Double Chance (Draw / Tottenham)

• Odds Range: 1.28-1.45

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.57-1.75

⚽ Arsenal vs West Ham
🏟 English Premier League
Saturday 04 Oct; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Given how probable an Arsenal victory is here, the odds at the upper end of the range of what’s available represent insane value.

• CXSports says: With 13 goals conceded against just 5 scored, to say things have been pretty rough for West Ham this season would be an understatement. They now find themselves 2nd-last in the standings with just three points on the board. That’s miles behind their opponent in this match, Arsenal, who’re currently second in the standings with a much, much healthier goal balance and about 10 more points on the board. That should more or less give away how this match will play out.

• Score prediction: 3-0 for Arsenal

Option #1

• Bet: Arsenal Victory

• Odds Range: 1.12-1.25

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (No)

• Odds Range: 1.51-1.67

⚽ Man United vs Sunderland
🏟 English Premier League
Saturday 04 Oct; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Honestly, we’ll probably be taking a pass on this one, although the double chance is still a solid play.

• CXSports says: Man United are coming into this game under pressure after conceding 11 goals in their first six games this season (that’s an average of 1.83 goals conceded per game!). Clearly, there’s work to do in defense, and their recent 3-1 defeat to Brentford is the perfect case in point. With that said, they’ve been reasonably solid at home this season, which might mean they’ll find it within themselves to hold off Sunderland, who, while significantly higher in the EPL standings (just 7 scored for the season — the same as Man United). That might present an opportunity for United to use its home advantage to its fullest and break through for a narrow victory. Or maybe Sunderland will hold them to a draw.

• Score prediction: 2-1 Man United or Draw

Option #1

• Bet: Double Chance (Man United / Draw)

• Odds Range: 1.09-1.11

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.63-1.83

⚽ Chelsea vs Liverpool
🏟 English Premier League
Saturday 04 Oct; 18:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Some really strong odds available on a side that, until recently, has more or less been unstoppable.

• CXSports says: Despite their ‘mid-table’ positioning, Chelsea have been performing reasonably well this season. With 11 goals scored against 8 conceded, they’re not too far off the pace of their rivals in this match (and current EPL leaders), Liverpool, who currently have 12 scored against 7 conceded. With that said, it’s hard to ignore the difference in results. Liverpool’s only defeat so far came in stoppage time away at Crystal Palace, and their underlying numbers (e.g, possession, transition threat) and attacking depth are arguably superior. This should tip the balance towards Liverpool, even if Chelsea will likely cause at least a few complications for the visitors.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Liverpool

Option #1

• Bet: Liverpool Victory

• Odds Range: 2.04-2.25

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.35-1.53

Want to get the best odds on these predictions?

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In other weird and wonderful news this week, a football legend, Gianfranco Zola, has been spotted driving Team Europe golf buggies around the fairways at the Ryder Cup.

Apparently, his involvement has a lot to do with his experience of playing in “hostile environments” — something that thin-skinned golfers don’t know much about.

Let’s see what else you might know about Zola with a quick quiz from our friends at Masters of Trivia.

Question: Which Premier League club is Gianfranco Zola most famously associated with?

• A: Arsenal

• B: Liverpool

• C: Chelsea

• D: Manchester United

Think you know the answer?

Read to the end to see if you were right.

⚽ Aston Villa vs Burnley
🏟 English Premier League
Sunday 05 Oct; 15:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: This one’s far from being our top pick of the week, but a slowly improving Villa side could still be a fun one to watch.

• CXSports says: If we can find one positive thing to say about Aston Villa’s season so far, it’s that they’re currently on a 3-game unbeaten streak (although two of those were just draws). Perhaps even more positively, their only victory (over Fulham) came just ahead of this match, which means they’ll be carrying plenty of positive momentum into this game. Burnley, for its part, has hit a bit of a rough patch recently, with zero wins and more losses than draws over the last few weeks. Notably, their away defense has been particularly poor, which should work nicely in Villa’s favor here, possibly opening up the opportunity to create a serious gap.

• Score prediction: 2-0 for Aston Villa

Option #1

• Bet: Aston Villa Victory

• Odds Range: 1.38-1.56

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (No)

• Odds Range: 1.70-2.00

⚽ Everton vs Crystal Palace
🏟 English Premier League
Sunday 05 Oct; 15:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: There’s a strong double-chance play on this game, or some really great odds on a Palace moneyline play if you don’t mind taking a bit more risk.

• CXSports says: Everton has had a mixed start to their campaign, with 2 victories, 1 draw, and 2 losses, landing them in the lower mid-table. What’s been less mixed about their season, however, is their home record, which has been surprisingly strong (they remain unbeaten so far). Of course, Crystal Palace is miles ahead in terms of quality, and their recent 2-1 victory over Liverpool will have given them a massive confidence boost coming into this game — a confidence boost that may well undermine any home advantage Everton was counting on enjoying. That might mean this one turns into a more competitive contest rather than a dominant display from either side, or it might mean Palace edges it. Either way, this one will be close, although a slight edge goes to Palace.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Crystal Palace

Option #1

• Bet: Double Chance (Everton / Crystal Palace)

• Odds Range: 1.18-1.39

Option #2

• Bet: Crystal Palace Victory

• Odds Range: 2.30-2.55

⚽ Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest
🏟 English Premier League
Sunday 05 Oct; 15:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Some decent value odds on both plays here, even if this isn’t the most certain prediction this week.

• CXSports says: Right now, Newcastle is tied for the lowest goals scored tally this season with just 4 goals so far this season. With that said, Forest, with just five goals scored, hasn’t exactly done much better, either. Making matters worse for Forest is their abysmal goals conceded tally, with a whopping 10 goals slipping through vs. just 5 conceded by Newcastle. That should speak volumes about the home side’s defense — a defense which managed to limit the damage to a respectable 1-2 loss to Arsenal — and the low chances Forest has of getting anything on the board here. Combining that with their home advantage, Newcastle should be able to come out on top in this game. Just don’t expect it to be in spectacular fashion.

• Score prediction: 2-1 for Newcastle

Option #1

• Bet: Newcastle Victory

• Odds Range: 1.57-1.70

Option #2

• Bet: Double Chance (Newcastle / Draw)

• Odds Range: 1.15-1.27

⚽ Wolves vs Brighton
🏟 English Premier League
Sunday 05 Oct; 15:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Huge odds available on a high-probability Brighton victory. Maybe our top pick all week as far as the perfect risk-reward balance goes.

• CXSports says: If we were to describe the Wolves’ chances in this game in a single word, that word would probably be “lol”. So far, they’re winless in the Premier League (1D, 5L), and have some of the worst stats in the league. Brighton, on the other hand, have been a reasonably solid mid-table contender that’s managed to post a fairly balanced mix of results with some half-decent stats to back them up. That might not mean all that much against a strong side, but against a side like the Wolves, that more or less sets up a scenario where a Brighton victory becomes an extremely likely scenario.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Brighton

Option #1

• Bet: Brighton Victory

• Odds Range: 1.84-2.05

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.56-1.75

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Since we’re on the topic of Gianfranco Zola this week, here’s a quick hit of inspiration courtesy of the man himself.

Want to learn more about Gianfranco Zola?

Masters of Trivia is the only trivia app where every player is rewarded. Play all the trivia quizzes you can handle and earn real rewards simply for participating.

Take Masters of Trivia for a spin with the Gianfranco Zola Trivia Quiz today.

PS: The answer to this week’s question was [C] — Zola famously built his inimitable reputation while playing with Chelsea Football Club. Discover more trivia like this with the Gianfranco Zola Trivia Quiz.