English Premier League Best Bets: Matchweek 8 (Oct. 18, 2025 - Oct. 20, 2025):

Aaron Bainbridge
1 day ago
4 min read

Welcome to English Premier League Best Bets, a Bettor in Green Article Series where we break down the latest action in the English Premier League (EPL) and my favorite bets for the upcoming matchweek.

For an overview of what to expect in this Series, check out my 2025/26 EPL Season Preview and Futures article here.

Recap:

At long last, the October international break is over and club football is back! I know it’s been a long 2 weeks so let’s recap what happened in matchweek 7.

In the Friday match, Fulham took the lead against Bournemouth, until one of the standout performers of the season thus far, Antoine Semenyo, brought the Cherries back with 2 goals and an assist. He’s been brilliant this season and now is the 3rd most-owned player in Fantasy Premier League.

On Saturday, the big headline was Chelsea’s late winner against Liverpool, with Estêvão netting the winner in the 90+5th minute. However, Chelsea got another red card, their 4th in 5 matches, only this time it was for manager Enzo Maresca.

Also on Saturday, both North London clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham, got wins to move into 1st and 3rd, respectively, in the table.

On Sunday, Everton handed Crystal Palace their first loss since their Community Shield win in August, ending an 11-match unbeaten run.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest got another loss, as pressure mounts on the new manager to get his first win with Forest.

We went 2-1 for Best Bets, winning with Arsenal and on Crystal Palace to Win Either Half, despite them losing the match outright. Across the Globe we went 2-3, with another disappointing draw from Atlético Madrid and from PSG.

Upcoming Matches:

Matchweek 8 starts on Saturday morning with another tough test for Ange Postecoglou as Nottingham Forest host Chelsea.

The marquee match of the weekend is Liverpool hosting Manchester United on Sunday.

The weekend wraps up on Monday as West Ham hosts Brentford.

Let’s get to the bets:

Best Bets:

Pick #1: Chelsea Moneyline -110 (Oct. 18, 2025; 7:30 a.m. EST):

For our first Best Bet, I’m predicting another rough match for Ange Postecoglou and Nottingham Forest.

As discussed a bit above, Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Forest has not been easy. He’s had 5 losses and 2 draws for his 7 matches in charge of the club, crashing out of the Carabao Cup to 2nd-tier Swansea and losing their recent Europa League match to FC Midtjylland.

Forest this season are 2nd to last in goals per match in the EPL and, while they’ve looked a little better at home, Forest have lost each of their 2 home games under Postecoglou, to Sunderland and Midtjylland.

Chelsea are coming off a big win to Liverpool and currently sit in 7th in the EPL, only 3 points outside of the top 4.

Chelsea are 3rd in goals per match and are 2nd in average possession. Moisés Caicedo has been in stellar form, leading the team offensively in goals, and defensively, having the most interceptions per 90. He’s arguably the best defensive midfielder in the EPL right now and has been the glue to keep Chelsea together with Cole Palmer out injured.

Chelsea play Ajax in the Champions League this week and will be without Enzo Maresca on the touch line, though they’ll need a win in the EPL get into the top 4, so I still stand behind this bet despite those concerns.

While both teams are possession based squads, Forest have been struggling to put the pieces together under Postecoglou and Chelsea have the depth to hand him another loss.

Pick #2: Crystal Palace v Bournemouth Both Teams To Score -135 (Oct. 18, 2025; 10:00 a.m. EST):

For our 2nd Best Bet, I’m looking at an exciting matchup between Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

Each of these teams has impressed this season, with Crystal Palace sitting in 6th and Bournemouth sitting in 4th.

As far as BTTS goes, both teams have had BTTS hit in 4 of their 7 EPL matches this season.

Crystal Palace, who are at home, are tied for 2nd fewest goals conceded, only conceding 5 in the EPL this season, adding some risk to this bet. On the attacking front, however, Palace are 8th for goals per 90, but 2nd for expected goals and 1st in shots on target per match.

Bournemouth have been playing well, particularly Antoine Semenyo, who has 6 EPL goals, 2nd in the league only to Erling Haaland. While on the road, they’ve scored 5 and conceded 6, compared to their home form where they’ve scored 6 and only conceded 2. They are scoring well but are still conceding quite a few on the road.

This should be a fun match to watch with at least a goal from either side!

Pick #3: West Ham Moneyline +150 (Oct. 20, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):

For my final bet, I’m backing 19th-place West Ham to turn things around under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo and get the outright win against Brentford.

This bet is a bit of a risk, as West Ham have only won 1 match in the EPL this season, against Nottingham Forest. They’ve had 1 draw and 5 losses, and are winless in their last 4.

However, Nuno has only been in charge for 2 matches, a rather convincing 1-1 draw on the road to Everton, and then a 2-0 loss away at Arsenal. He now has an opportunity to get a good result for his first home match in charge.

West Ham’s star man, Jarrod Bowen, got some minutes with the England squad over the international break, getting an assist after coming off the bench in their last match against Latvia to officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Brentford, while starting the season better than I had predicted after losing several key players and their manager, have lost all 3 of their EPL matches while on the road.

Feeling nervous? Take West Ham to Win Either Half -130.