RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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English Premier League soccer returns on Friday, Aug. 21, with defending champions Arsenal welcoming Coventry City to the top flight in the season opener. The Gunners snapped a two-decade title drought last year, while Coventry won the EFL Championship title to gain promotion. Arsenal have made some big moves to bolster their roster, adding Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis to a team that returns key contributors like Martin Odegaard , Gabriel , Bukayo Saka , Viktor Gyokeres and Declan Rice . USA soccer fans will recognize Haji Wright , who tallied 17 goals for Coventry in last year's EFL Championship season. Goalkeeper Carl Rushford is another name to be familiar with as he kept 17 clean sheets for the newly promoted side in last year's campaign.
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Arsenal are massive -475 favorites (wager $475 to win $100) on the money line in the latest Arsenal vs. Coventry odds, while the visitors are +1300 underdogs (wager $100 to win $1300). A draw is priced at +550 and the total is 2.5 (Over -175, Under +140). The SportsLine Projection Model , which simulates every EPL game 10,000 times, has Arsenal winning in 88% of simulations and Over 2.5 goals hitting in 64% of simulations. We'll dive into some of the best bets you can make at top sports betting apps for Arsenal vs. Coventry on Friday. Check out our guide if you're new to soccer betting .
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The Gunners covered this line in 12 of their 26 wins last year, and they have the edge on Coventry at every position. Manager Mikel Arteta will be without starting center back William Saliba, but Arsenal have plenty of capable replacements on the back line and can even slot Rice at the back if needed. Coventry were the top scoring team in the Championship a year ago, but this is a big step up. Arsenal were 15-2-2 at home last year and will be motivated to welcome their fans this season with an easy win.
While I'm expecting an easy win for Arsenal, I'm not necessarily expecting a high-scoring game. Arsenal weren't particularly strong down the stretch of last season with four of their five wins coming by one goal. They only scored more than 2.5 goals in one of those matches. While that can be chalked up to end-of-season pressure to win the league, there is some turnover in this attack. Leandro Trossard is gone, and we could see substantial rotation from Arteta if it becomes Coventry aren't a threat to get a goal. The Gunners should dominate from a possession standpoint, but I don't expect it to translate to more than two goals for the home team.
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EPL fans are familiar with Coventry manager Frank Lampard, who was a longtime midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He returns to the Premier League after managerial stints at Chelsea and Everton , but this is unlikely to be a fun re-introduction to England's top flight. Arsenal registered 19 clean sheets a season ago and had 10 matches with only one goal allowed. This defense simply doesn't let opponents score, and even with Saliba out, Arsenal are competent enough at home to shut down Coventry on Friday.
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