Who will take the honors between Arsenal and Aston Villa in the big-ticket matchup of the Premier League weekend? Can Brighton build on their drubbing of Everton with a win against a much tougher opponent in Manchester United? And will Tottenham get back to winning ways against a reeling Everton after dropping points to newly-promoted Leicester City?
Here are the score predictions for Saturday’s Premier League clashes on Matchday 2 of the 2024/25 season.
Tottenham vs. Everton
On paper, Everton are one of the worst teams in the Premier League and will be among the favorites to face relegation, having done nothing to immediately change the narrative with a lackluster display against European hopefuls Brighton.
Tottenham will present an even tougher task for the Toffees, though Spurs could only muster a 1-1 draw with Leicester City. Despite the poor showing, new striker Dominic Solanke looked good in combination with stars James Maddison and Son Heung-min, showing the all-around quality that made Spurs gamble on him by recording five combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn.
After coming fifth in Ange Postecoglou’s first season at the helm, Tottenham have aspirations of returning to the Champions League, and while it will take more time for the attack to gel with a new face at the 9 in Solanke, there’s a lot of upside in North London if Maddison can stay healthy and Solanke can build a rapport with Son.
Everton are ripe for the picking, so expect Tottenham to win this one handily without being challenged much defensively, as the Toffees have one of the most underwhelming attacks in the English top flight.
Score Prediction: Tottenham 2-0 Everton
Brighton vs. Manchester United
Brighton had a dream start to the 2024/25 Premier League season with a demolition job of Everton, and it was wonderful to see both Kaoru Mitoma at his best after last season’s injury and Danny Welbeck closer to his 2022/23 form when Brighton qualified for the Europa League.
Perhaps no team in the Premier League will be as intriguing as Brighton going forward because of the new pieces they brought in after a surprisingly aggressive offseason in the aftermath of Roberto De Zerbi’s departure to Marseille.
Brighton will be competing for Europe again, as Matts Wieffer, Brajan Gruda, and Georginio Rutter are immediately three of the best young talents in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have a new-look squad of their own after bringing in some top players in defenders Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui, as well as Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee.
Yoro is still out with an injury to start the season, but Man United’s expected starting XI for this big-ticket Saturday clash on the road with Brighton looks significantly better than last season’s outfit, particularly from an attacking perspective.
If there is one key man to watch in this matchup, then it isn’t actually a new signing. But he is like a new signing. Promising Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has shown his potential whenever he’s played, and against a Brighton defense that still has a lot of question marks, Diallo could be the key to Man Utd making a statement.
Ultimately, Brighton and Manchester United will share the points, and, as the cliche goes, neutral fans will be the real winners, treated to another all-out display that has been so common when watching the Seagulls – the new irresistible showstoppers of the Premier League.
Score Prediction: Brighton 2-2 Manchester United
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal
Aston Villa and Arsenal both won their opening fixtures, though the Lions’ 2-1 triumph over West Ham was more impressive due to the caliber of opposition. New signing Amadou Onana was as-advertised for Villa, but Jhon Duran and Youri Tielemans were also exceptional, looking like “new signings” for the Champions League newcomers.
There are few bigger tests in the Premier League than Arsenal, who have come as close as it gets to winning the title over juggernaut Manchester City in each of the past two seasons.
Furthermore, Arsenal are potential Champions League contenders, making the Gunners a good early litmus test for the Lions in terms of their readiness for the 2024/25 Champions League season.
Aston Villa are at home, and nobody should be surprised if they register an upset victory, with Unai Emery always looking to get a little revenge on the fanbase and club that arguably treated him with the least respect of any of his stops.
The serial Europa League winner at Sevilla is already turning Aston Villa into a Premier League powerhouse in their own right, but he’s going to need his fullbacks to step up against the elite winger duo of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on Saturday.
Saka is one of the clear Premier League Player of the Season favorites and quietly gets more exceptional in every single season, absolutely tearing Wolves apart last weekend to the tune of five key passes with a goal and an assist.
The safe choice is to call this a draw or give Arsenal the advantage, but I have a feeling Ollie Watkins pulls a rabbit out of the hat late to make a Premier League Player of the Season statement of his own and reminder the Gunners that they still have work to do in order to be the best in the league.
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.