EPL 2021/22 Matchweek 5 preview, best bets & top odds

The opening month of the 2021/22 English Premier League season is behind us and all eyes have moved to the top quarter of the table, where pre-season favourites Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool fill out the top three and Manchester City sit a point back in fifth. There is plenty of value to be found in Matchweek 5, and our soccer expert presents his top EPL betting picks for this weekend’s games.

Wolverhampton v Brentford

Saturday, September 18 at 9:30am AEST

Wolverhampton and Brentford are set to clash at Molineux Stadium on Saturday night (AEST), and we expect Wolves to build on their 2-0 win against Watford last time out. Despite that being Wolverhampton’s first victory of the season, they’ve shown throughout the opening month that they have what it takes to fight for a spot in Europe come season’s end.

Wolverhampton’s three losses have been 1-0 defeats to Manchester United, Tottenham and Leicester, who all finished in the top seven last term. Now Wolves come up against a Brentford side who have shown plenty of heart throughout the opening month, but the trip to the Molineux will not be an easy task. Expect to see the home side walk away 1-0 or 2-0 victors.

Manchester City v Southampton

Sunday, September 19 at 12am AEST

Manchester City did just enough to defeat Leicester 1-0 last weekend, but they should be too powerful for a Southampton side who look poised for a relegation battle. Despite the Saints tasting defeat on just one occasion and sharing the points with Manchester United and West Ham, City at home is a different beast altogether. With 10 goals scored and none conceded at the Etihad, the Citizens clearly save their best performances for their home crowd. We expect City to have the -2.0 handicap covered by half-time, and who is to say they cannot put another five goals past a side languishing in the bottom half of the table?

Brighton v Leicester City

Sunday, September 19 at 11pm AEST

Brighton have been one of the surprise packets to begin the EPL campaign, winning three of their opening four matches. Leicester will be their biggest challenge of the season thus far, but in front of a home crowd at the American Express Community Stadium, we expect the Seagulls to tame the Foxes. With Leicester missing Ayoze Perez through suspension, Brighton look well placed to cause somewhat of an upset. This will not be a high-scoring match, but we are backing Brighton to walk away with the three points.