Premier League Matchday 7 Odds & Picks: Watford and Villa to Push On This Weekend

• Wolves and Watford go head-to-head on Saturday
• Canaries looking for first away point of the season
• Villa looking to bounce back from Emirates defeat

The new English Premier League season is already approaching Matchday 7 and the table is starting to take shape. The top two are as expected and even at this early stage, it’s looking like a repeat of last season’s two-way battle between Liverpool and Man City.

In terms of value, it’s unlikely either of these two will offer any, so we’ll be looking further down the table to see if we can find some.

Premier League Matchday 7 Odds

*All odds taken 09/26/2019

EPL Pick 1: Wolves vs. Watford

19th meets 20th at Molineux on Saturday as the Premier League’s bottom two scrap it out for points that could take them out of the bottom three. A team yet to win at home meets a team yet to win away, so there’s plenty to play for in what already comes under the heading ‘basement battle’.

Wolves, in particular, didn’t expect to be here given their tremendous 2018/19 season – they finished seventh and earned a place in the Europa League – but their early-season foray into Europe for Europa League qualifying has hit them hard. The grueling Thursday-Sunday routine has stretched their resources, as it did Burnley’s last season, and hindered what they hoped would be a good start to the Premier League season.

Nuno Espirito Santo urges his Wolves players to trust in him after winless start to new campaign https://t.co/O7lV3ESPBb pic.twitter.com/fpXnYveGHH

— SportsGridUK (@Sportsgriduk) September 20, 2019

As a result, Wolves are in the midst of a mini-crisis and, incredibly, manager Nuno Espírito Santo finds himself under pressure from some quarters; incredible because under his stewardship, the club has been transformed from Championship also-rans to top-six contenders.

Watford, meanwhile, are already on their second manager of the season having dispensed with the services of Javi Gracia after just four games. Crucially though, they ended last season on a horrible run of form, which included that horrific FA Cup Final defeat to Man City. This season has been a continuation.

OFFICIAL: Quique Sanchez Flores has been appointed new head coach of Watford following Javi Gracia’s dismissal. pic.twitter.com/PHdD1KfxbP

— GOAL (@goal) September 7, 2019

So, a difficult one to call at Molineux and worth noting is that despite an 8-0 shellacking by a fired-up Man City, they did perform well in Quique Sánchez Flores’s first game against Arsenal. And in the way City were reacting to a disappointing defeat, the Hornets will be looking for a reaction.

Pick: Watford to win (+280)

EPL Pick 2: Crystal Palace vs. Norwich City

Norwich’s return to the Premier League has been a tough one, with three games against the top six in their opening six games. Their outstanding home win over Man City was quickly forgotten at the weekend, however, as they lost their third consecutive game on the road – going down 2-0 at Burnley.

Three away defeats on the spin – at Liverpool, West Ham and Burnley – have given City head coach Daniel Farke plenty to ponder, and he needs to solve the riddle of earning away points if City are to survive this season. He’ll be hoping that leading scorer, Teemu Pukki, adds to his solitary away goal, scored on opening day at Anfield.

📸 Better from the lads over the last 10. Enjoying more possession in the final third but Burnley are standing firm at present. #ncfc #BURNOR 2-0 (38) pic.twitter.com/xGIhrsk3m0

— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) September 21, 2019

For Roy Hodgson’s Palace, two wins, two defeats and two draws represent a steady start to the season, yet things are unsettled at Selhurst Park, with star player, Wilfried Zaha rocking the boat at the weekend.

“I do my job, but everyone else needs to do theirs”, was Zaha’s response to their weekend draw with Wolves, exposing a less-than-settled dressing room. Norwich will need to exploit this.

While a Canaries win is a big ask, I can see them heading back to Norfolk with a point.

Pick: A draw (+250)

EPL Pick 3: Aston Villa vs. Burnley

Villa came within a whisker of an upset at the Emirates at the weekend but were undone by two late Arsenal goals. Their record of three defeats from three on the road will be of concern to manager Dean Smith going forward, but he’ll be confident the familiar surroundings of Villa Park will offer them a platform for three points against Burnley.

Some pictures from todays stressful win over Aston Villa at Emirates. #arsenal #afc pic.twitter.com/cG30phDegR

— Stuart MacFarlane (@Stuart_PhotoAFC) September 22, 2019

So far, Villa have won just a single home game but performance levels have been such that, Smith will be confident the wins will eventually come.

Burnley’s away form in the Premier League has been a problem ever since they got promoted back in 2016/17 and shows little sign of abating, with no wins this season in three attempts.

So, a Villa win here has to be favorite for me.

Pick: Aston Villa to win (+138)