Arsenal vs Coventry Predictions

• Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield
• Promoted Coventry have signed 14 new players
• The Gunners won five of their six games against promoted teams last season (D1)

Arsenal kick off against promoted Coventry

The new Premier League season kicks off this weekend as champions Arsenal open their defence at home to Coventry City, who won promotion by landing the Championship title last season.

The Sky Blues have invested heavily over the summer and look to have put together a squad that has a decent chance of avoiding an immediate return to the second tier – but they are starting the new season with what is on paper the toughest possible test.

Arsenal have largely kept their squad intact with a few key additions, including Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, and they should win this opening fixture fairly comfortably.

Gunners can cover the handicap

The standout bet here looks to be backing Arsenal to cover a -2 handicap at around 7/5. The Gunners suffered Champions League final heartache at the end of last season but look to have recovered from that blow after brushing Manchester City aside 3-0 in the Community Shield final, and they can lay down a marker in their opening league game.

Coventry have a new-look side and have made some strong signings, such as Frank Onyeka, Taiwo Awoniyi and re-signing Gustavo Hamer, but it could take their squad a few weeks to gel as Frank Lampard figures out his best starting XI and they are facing the best side in the division.

Arsenal won 15 of their 19 home games last season and outscored their opponents by 30 goals in total across those games. The Gunners also kept clean sheets in their final five home games across all competitions and only shipped 11 Premier League goals at the Emirates, if they can deny Cov a goal they should be able to win by at least three goals.

Arsenal could reach four

Arsenal weren’t necessarily huge scorers last season as they averaged a comparatively modest 1.9 goals per game in the league, but they may be a bit more ruthless this term.

New recruit Tzolis had 17 goals and 23 assists in 36 games in Belgium’s top tier last season so he adds a further threat to their attack. Former Coventry man Viktor Gyokeres is entering his second season at the Emirates and will feel capable of improving on his 14 goal haul from last season, while Kai Havertz should feel a bit like a new signing after a disrupted campaign last time out. After beating City 3-0, Arsenal can go one better and record a 4-0 success against Coventry.

Players have a habit of haunting their old clubs so there is some appeal in backing Gyokeres to score but Havertz offers a bit more value. The German forward had a reasonable World Cup with three goals in four games and he’s been scoring in the summer for Arsenal with two in five, including an effort in the Community Shield