EPL 2012-13: Complete Guide and Betting Tips for the First Week of the Season

The big day is here.

After what seemed like the shortest offseason ever—thanks to Euro 2012 and the London Olympics—the Premier League season kicks off tomorrow.

Over the summer, a few key moves have changed the complexion of the league. With two weeks to go in the transfer window, a few more players are still holding out for a move, making it difficult to see what might happen in these first few matches.

So what should we expect from the first week of the Premier League season?

Here is a guide to all the action over the next seven days, complete with some betting tips to help line your pockets.

Arsenal vs Sunderland: Saturday, 10:00 EDT, Emirates Stadium

Where they finished last season

Arsenal finished third in the league on 70 points.

Sunderland finished 13th on 45 points.

Last season's meetings

The teams met three times last season.

Arsenal won both of the two Premier League meetings 2-1. However, the Gunners' match-winning goals were scored by Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry, neither of whom are signed with the club anymore.

Their third meeting was in the FA Cup fifth round. In that match, Sunderland defeated Arsenal 2-0 in the Stadium of Light.

Important Transfers

Arsenal:

(in): Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla;
(out): Robin van Persie, Carlos Vela

Sunderland:

(in): Carlo Jimenez Cuellar, Louis Saha
(out): Asamoah Gyan, Nicklas Bendtner (return from loan)

Biggest questions

How will Arsenal cope in their first match without van Persie?

Where will the goals come from for Sunderland?

Odds

Arsenal: 2/5

Draw: 7/2

Sunderland: 7/1

Prediction

Arsenal 2-1 

Fulham vs Norwich City: Saturday, 10:00 EDT, Craven Cottage

Where they finished last season

Fulham finished in ninth on 52 points.

Norwich City ended in 12th at 47.

Last season's meetings

The teams met twice in the Premier League last season.

Their first match was a 1-1 draw in Norwich, while their second was a 2-1 victory for Fulham at Craven Cottage.

However, Clint Dempsey scored in both matches, yet is apparently refusing to play with the club.

Important transfers

Fulham:

(in): Hugo Rodallega, Mladaen Petric
(out): Dickson Etuhu, Andrew Johnson, Danny Murphy

Norwhich:

(in): Robert Snodgrass, Jacob Butterfield, Steven Whittaker
(out): Adam Drury, Aaron Wilbraham, Zak Whitbread

Biggest questions

How will Fulham cope without top scorer Clint Dempsey?

How will Norwich look with manager Chris Hughton now that Paul Lambert is gone?

Odds

Fulham: 4/5

Draw: 13/5

Norwich: 7/2

Prediction

1-1

Queens Park Rangers vs Swansea: Saturday, 10:00 EDT, Loftus Road

Where they finished last season

QPR barely hung on to Premier League football at the end of the season, finishing 17th on 37 points.

Swansea impressed, tallying 47 points en route to 11th.

Last season's meetings

QPR got the better of the two clubs' meetings last season, fighting to a 1-1 draw in Wales and thumping Swansea 3-0 in the return.

Important transfers

QPR:

(in): David Hoilett, Park Ji-Sung, Andrew Johnson, Ryan Nelsen, Robert Green
(out): Patrick Kenny, Heidar Helguson, Joey Barton (suspension, possible loan)

Swansea:

(in): Chico, Michu
(out): Joe Allen, Gylfi Sigurdsson (returned from loan)

Biggest questions

How big is the QPR upswing after their summer signings?

How far will Swansea fall after Brendan Rodgers's departure?

Odds

QPR: 1/1

Draw: 12/5

Swansea: 13/5

Prediction

QPR 2-1

Reading vs Stoke City: Saturday, 10:00 EDT, Madejski Stadium

Where they finished last season

Stoke finished last season in 14th place in the Premier League.

Reading, on the other hand, won the Championship to gain promotion into the Premier League.

Previous meetings

The two clubs have never met in the Premier League.

Important transfers

Reading:

(in): Pavel Pogrebnyak, Danny Guthrie, Chris Gunter, Adrian Mariappa
(out): Michail Antonio 

Stoke:

(in): Michael Kightly
(out): Jonathan Woodgate, Danny Collins

Biggest Questions

How much of a fight can Reading put up in the big league?

Can Tony Pulis keep his team together despite some key losses?

Odds

Reading: 11/8

Draw: 9/4

Stoke: 21/10

Prediction

Stoke 2-1

West Brom vs Liverpool: Saturday, 10:00 EDT, Hawthorns

Where they finished last season

West Brom ended up making a nice push up the league table, finishing in tenth place on 47 points.

Liverpool, on the other hand, ended up eighth with 52 points.

Last season's meetings

Liverpool and West Brom split their two Premier League encounters last season, as each won on the road.

Early in the season, it was Liverpool with a 2-0 victory at the Hawthorns, while West Brom got it 1-0 at Anfield in April.

Important transfers

West Brom:

(in): Markus Rosenberg, Ben Foster, Claudio Yacob
(out): Simon Cox

Liverpool:

(in): Fabio Borini, Joe Allen
(out): Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez, Fabio Aurelio, Alberto Aquilani, Craig Bellamy

Biggest Questions

Just how big of an effect does Roy Hodgson's departure at the end of last season have on West Brom?

Can Brendan Rodgers return Liverpool to glory?

Odds

West Brom: 16/5

Draw: 5/2

Liverpool: 11/10

Prediction

Liverpool 2-0

West Ham vs Aston Villa: Saturday, 10:00 EDT, Upton Park

Where they finished last season

West Ham made it through the Championship playoffs after finishing third to find their way into the Premier league.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, had a terrible run to end the season and finished 16th in the Premier League.

Previous meetings

With West Ham in the Championship last season, these two did not play each other.

However, they played two matches in the Premier League in 2010-11. Villa won both fairly convincingly.

Important transfers

West Ham

(in): Mohamed Diame, Alou Diarra, Jussi Jaaskelainen, James Collins
(out): Robert Green, Pablo Barrera

Aston Villa:

(in): Ron Vlaar, Brad Guzan, Karim El Ahmadi
(out): James Collins

Biggest Questions

Is West Ham ready for the Premier League?

How will Aston Villa respond to new manager Paul Lambert?

Odds

West Ham: 11/10

Draw: 12/5

Aston Villa: 5/2

Prediction

Aston Villa 1-0

Newcastle vs Tottenham: Saturday, 12:30 EDT, St James' Park

Where they finished last season

Tottenham barely edged Newcastle in the two clubs' race for fourth, with 69 points to Newcastle's 65.

In the end, though, it didn't matter.

Last season's meetings

The two clubs' first meeting early last season saw Tottenham blow two leads to draw Newcastle at St James' Park.

In their second meeting in February, though, Spurs breezed to a 5-0 victory.

Important transfers

Newcastle:

(in): Vurnon Anita
(out): Leon Best, Danny Guthrie, Fraser Forster

Tottenham:

(in): Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jan Vertonghen
(out): Niko Kranjcar, Vedran Corluka, Ryan Nelsen, Steven Pienaar, Emmanuel Adebayor (return
        from loan), Luka Modric (soon to leave)

Biggest questions

Was last season's incredible just a mirage for Newcastle?

How will the addition of AVB and the loss of Modric affect Spurs' performance on the field?

Odds

Newcastle: 13/8

Draw: 12/5

Tottenham: 13/8

Prediction

1-1

Wigan vs Chelsea: Sunday, 8:30 EDT, DW Stadium

Where they finished last season

Wigan's incredible form at the end of the season saw them finish 15th in the Premier League at 42 points.

Chelsea, on the other hand, finished their league season on a low note, ending up sixth. They did, however, win the FA Cup and Champions League.

Last season's meetings

The two Premier League matches between Chelsea and Wigan last season were very competitive.

In both, Chelsea took a lead at about an hour before Wigan scored an equalizer with about 10 minutes to go. At the DW, that was good enough for a draw, but Juan Mata got the 90th-minute winner for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Important transfers

Wigan:

(in): Mauro Boselli, Ivan Ramis, Arouna Kone
(out): Mohamed Diame, Hugo Rodallega, Chris Kirkland

Chelsea:

(in): Eden Hazard, Oscar, Marko Marin
(out): Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Romelu Lukaku (loan)

Biggest questions

Will Wigan get off to another slow start due to their transfer losses?

How will Roberto di Matteo have Chelsea play with a full offseason to work and a few good transfers in?

Odds

Wigan: 5/1

Draw: 11/4

Chelsea: 8/13

Prediction

Chelsea 3-1

Manchester City vs Southampton: Sunday, 11:00 EDT, Etihad

Where they finished last season

Manchester City had that whole Premier League title thing.

Southampton finished second in the Championship to get into the Premier League.

Recent meetings

City and Southampton haven't met in quite a while.

In fact, their last meeting was in the 2007 FA Cup, when Gareth Bale was playing for Southampton.

Important transfers

Manchester City:

(in): Jack Rodwell
(out): No important

Southampton

(in): Jay Rodriguez, Nathaniel Clyne, Paulo Gazzaniga
(out): Dan Harding

Biggest questions

Will the saying "heavy sits the crown" be true for City?

Can Southampton hang with the Premier League winners enough not to be embarrassed?

Odds

Man City: 1/6

Draw: 6/1

Southampton: 16/1

Prediction

Man City 4-0

Everton vs Manchester United: Monday, 15:00 EDT, Goodison Park

Where they finished last season

Everton finished seventh with 56 points.

Meanwhile, United came seconds away from the title.

Last season's meetings

In October of last season, United won 1-0 at Goodison.

However, the two teams' 4-4 draw in April was instrumental in costing United the title.

Biggest transfers

Everton:

(in): Steven Pienaar, Steven Naismith
(out): Jack Rodwell, Tim Cahill, Joseph Yobo

Man U:

(in): Robin van Persie, Shinji Kagawa
(out): Park Ji-Sung, Paul Pogba

Biggest questions

Can Jelavic continue in the same great form he had last season?

Will RvP put United over the top for the title?

Odds

Everton: 10/3

Draw: 13/5

Man U: 5/6

Prediction

United 3-1

Chelsea vs Reading: Wednesday, 14:45 EDT, Stamford Bridge

Where they finished last season

Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League last year, but won the FA Cup and Champions League.

Reading won the Championship.

Recent meetings

Given Reading's run in the Championship, the two clubs haven't met in the recent past.

Important transfers

Chelsea:

(in): Eden Hazard, Oscar, Marko Marin
(out): Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Romelu Lukaku (loan)

Reading:

(in): Pavel Pogrebnyak, Danny Guthrie, Chris Gunter, Adrian Mariappa
(out): Michail Antonio 

Biggest questions

Can RDM get the Blues off to a flying start?

Is Reading one and done in the Premier League, or are they a dangerous new side in the league?

Odds

Chelsea: 1/4

Draw: 9/2

Reading: 12/1

Prediction

Chelsea 2-1

Tips

Here are my thoughts of the best six picks, based upon likelihood and value:

Manchester United over Everton (5/6)

Chelsea over Wigan (8/13)

Liverpool over West Brom (11/10)

QPR over Swansea (1/1)

Upset pick: Aston Villa over West Ham (5/2)

Prop of the week: David Silva to score anytime (7/5)

Season totals

Predictions: 0-0-0

Props: 0/0

Money off of props (based on 5 bets on each): £0

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