EPL Weekly Wrap | All the Premier League Headlines – Gameweek 1

The opening weekend of the 2026-27 Premier League delivered chaos across the board. 

Only Arsenal looked comfortable among the title contenders. Two promoted clubs collected all three points while Tottenham got taken apart again. It’s safe to say there hasn’t been a more entertaining opening round in years. 

Here’s a breakdown of all the Premier League action you may have missed.

Arsenal opened their defence with a 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City at the Emirates on Saturday morning NZT. 

Kai Havertz finished smartly in the 15th minute after pouncing on sloppy play from Milan van Ewijk. Bukayo Saka tapped in eight minutes later when Carl Rushworth parried a cross into his path, and Martin Odegaard added a third early in the second half. Coventry managed one shot on target all game. 

I thought it was about as routine as a season opener gets.

Manchester City left it far later. Trailing to Marcus Tavernier’s 36th-minute opener for Bournemouth, Enzo Maresca’s side were six minutes from losing their first league game until Marc Guehi headed home a Rayan Cherki corner in the 84th minute. Josko Gvardiol then slotted home the winner from Cherki’s pass in the 91st. 

For anyone hunting football betting tips this season, I’d note that City looked short in midfield after losing Rodri and Bernardo Silva this summer.

Liverpool needed even longer. Anthony Elanga gave Newcastle the lead inside five minutes, and Joe Willock restored it two minutes after Cody Gakpo had equalised. Dominik Szoboszlai rescued a point from the penalty spot in the 99th minute. Eight yellow cards were dished out across the two sides. Alexander Isak was facing his former club for the first time since his summer move to Liverpool, and Newcastle’s young squad under Matthias Jaissle gave as good as they got for most of the afternoon. 

I’m not reading too much into one result, but that’s a concerning way for Andoni Iraola to begin.

This was the result of the weekend.

Brighton put four past Aston Villa in the opening 31 minutes at the Amex. A Victor Lindelof own goal in the eighth minute got it started after Maxim De Cuyper’s shot cannoned off the post and back off the defender. De Cuyper then scored one of his own 10 minutes later, before Jack Hinshelwood struck twice in the space of 60 seconds to complete the rout on the half-hour.

Villa arrived without a recognised striker and it looked like it. Ollie Watkins was absent, and Joao Gomes was sent off on his debut for kicking out at Georginio Rutter. I’m not sure what the plan was going into this one, but the summer player exodus has gutted that squad. 

Four goals conceded and a red card before the break is a brutal way to begin defending a European title.

Tottenham are on course to spend upwards of £300 million this summer. On the evidence of their 3-0 loss at Brentford, it hasn’t been money well spent.

Keane Lewis-Potter opened the scoring in the 12th minute after a one-two involving new signing Mamadou Sangare. Vitaly Janelt added a second when Antonin Kinsky failed to deal with Mathias Jensen’s effort, and Michael Kayode lashed in a third shortly after the break. Tottenham failed to register a first-half shot on target. I’ve seen this one before with this club.

Hull City produced the other major upset. 

Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy scored first-half goals from set pieces as the promoted side beat Manchester United 2-0 at the MKM Stadium. United had 72% possession and 20 shots but couldn’t find a way through. Leeds also won away, with Anton Stach’s 88th-minute free kick enough to beat Nottingham Forest 1-0. 

Of the three promoted sides, two won and only Coventry left empty-handed.

Everton opened their second season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with a comfortable 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall broke the deadlock before the break with a left-footed finish, and Thierno Barry headed in early in the second half. New signing Hayden Hackney controlled the midfield on his debut. Jean-Philippe Mateta clipped the post for Palace in the first half but Everton were well worth the three points.

Fulham host Chelsea on Tuesday at 7:00am NZT to close Gameweek 1. Gameweek 2 kicks off on Saturday, with Crystal Palace vs Manchester City at 7:00am NZT. Punters using NZ betting sites should look at that early kickoff, plus Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest later that night. 

Plenty of value around for free bets across an unpredictable opening fortnight.