Tottenham (-1) @ 5/6
From a famine last summer, to a feast this year. Tottenham fans had to endure a barren 12 months where no new faces came into the club, but that was all put right with the signings of Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso – and that’s not to mention the signing of Jack Clarke, who could go on to do great things in the future when his loan spell at Leeds comes to an end.
Spurs have improved on a squad that made a Champions League final last year, so it stands to reason that they will expect to compete in the league this year.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, have also been busy in the transfer window this summer, signing a dozen players and, while comparisons with Fulham’s spending are wide of the mark, it will still take them time to gel.
On paper, they have a squad that will comfortably remain in the division, but then so did Fulham last season. Villa’s recruitment seems to be borne out of a thorough scouting of players who fit identity that Dean Smith wants to build, so the chances of Villa doing a Fulham and conceding goals like they’re going out of fashion are relatively slim.
Having said that, they face a baptism of fire against Spurs on Saturday and should come up well short.
Lucas Moura to score anytime @ 11/8
Harry Kane is a notoriously slow starter to a Premier League season. The English striker has never scored on the opening day of a league season and only last season scored in a league game in August for the first time.
With Kane unlikely to find the back of the net and Son Heung Min suspended, the goalscoring responsibility falls on the shoulders of Lucas Moura, who flourished last season in a Tottenham shirt.
With new signing Ryan Sessegnon carrying an injury and Christian Eriksen clearly looking for the exit door at White Hart Lane, Lucas is almost certain to get the nod on Saturday. His 10 league goals last season was his second best return in a league season and considering the 12 league goals he scored in 2016/17 were scored with PSG in a poor French league, last season was arguably his best yet.
His heroics in Amsterdam have already made him a Tottenham legend and he is set to pick up where he left off on Saturday.
Corner handicap: Tottenham (-3) @ 10/11
Aston Villa have a promising squad with an abundance of attacking players and will certainly rip lesser teams apart over the course of the season. However, playing against Tottenham away will result in them sitting deep and hanging on in there, lest they want to get ripped apart by a far superior team.
Tottenham’s already strong midfield and attack have been bolstered in the summer and it would be tactical suicide for Villa to go there all guns blazing.
Like any newly promoted or bottom half club, they will have to pick their moments to get forward. That will result in spells where they are camped in their own territory and the likelihood of them conceding a plethora of corners is high.
Find a full range of odds on Spurs-Villa over on paddypower.com