Match week two of the Premier League season features a pretty diverse selection of games for bettors to dissect. There are some projected mismatches (Man City vs Ipswich, Liverpool vs Brentford and Tottenham vs Everton), but there are also a number of tightly-lined contests like Southampton vs Nottingham Forest and Brighton vs Man United.
As usual, there's a smorgasbord of options for bettors to sink their teeth into but in this article we've ventured off the board to find a couple of long shot props worth a sprinkle.
Brighton vs Man United: Brighton -1.5 (+390 via bet365)
A season-opening win for Manchester United quieted the noise around Old Trafford, but a 1-0 win over Fulham isn't enough to fool anybody into believing that things are fixed for the Red Devils. Manchester United were abject defensively in 2023-24 and they didn't do all that much to improve in that department over the summer, so manager Erik ten Hag still has his work cut out for him to get his side organized without the ball.
Nobody can claim to have a great idea of what to expect from Brighton under new manager Fabian Hurzeler this season, but it feels safe to suggest they'll be a handful going forward. It feels even safer to suggest that after a 3-0 win over Everton in match week 1.
United were able to keep a clean sheet against Fulham, but this Brighton attack should cause loads of problems for a defense that I want to bet against as often as possible this season. Brighton are a tempting price on the moneyline, but alternate spreads are certainly worth looking at in this matchup.
I've landed on Brighton -1.5 at +390, but a sprinkle on the -2.5 (+1120) is also a fun shout.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Under 0.5 (+1340 via FanDuel)
This is the most tantalizing matchup of the weekend and it gets the Island Game treatment with the standalone 12:30 p.m. ET kickoff. And what better way to spend a couple of hours on a summer afternoon than by betting there to be zero goals in a match between two Champions League outfits.
Arsenal are an odds-on favorite to win this match, but this price feels a little flattering considering that Villa are at home and had the Gunners' number last season. Not to mention that Unai Emery's side was the most impressive outfit in the Premier League last year compared to preseason expectations.
But what really makes this an appealing bet at the price is the contrasting styles that will be on display.
Villa want to introduce chaos into matches, while Arsenal do everything they can to control matches and keep them tidy. That could lead to a long feeling-out process where chances are few and far between.
