The first weekend of the Premier League is complete, and what entertainment it was. Title contenders Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal all won, alongside two of the newly promoted teams in Sunderland and Leeds. There were plenty of goals and VAR controversies as we completed matchweek one of the 2025-26 season.
The second week of the new league campaign will start on Friday, as London rivals West Ham will host Chelsea at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Chelsea open as -150 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook for this one, with a draw available at +310. Fancy a Hammers upset? West Ham are +380 on the moneyline. Below is my favorite bet for Friday’s match.
West Ham vs. Chelsea Prediction, Pick
I am going to be keeping it simple for this game, taking Chelsea to get their first win of the season. The Blues have beaten the Hammers in each of their last three Premier League games, including a 3-0 win last season at London Stadium.
As for how these teams looked in the opening week of the season, it’s fair to say that both squads will be disappointed with their start. Chelsea drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace at home, and were lucky to get away with a draw as Eberechi Eze had a stunning free kick ruled out by a controversial VAR decision. Although the decision was correct in terms of what the law is, Crystal Palace fans will feel hard done by that they didn’t collect all three points.
Despite Chelsea’s shaky start, this is still the same team that was just crowned world champions and finished in the top four a season ago. While you could argue they did get lucky with the VAR call against Eze, the Blues still dominated the match in possession, shot attempts and expected goals. If they were a little more clinical in front of goal, they could’ve stolen the points.
For West Ham, it was even worse, losing 3-0 to newly promoted Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. The Hammers had more shot attempts and possession, but Sunderland finished with more shots on target, expected goals and goals. A performance like that against a team playing in their first Premier League game since 2017 will have alarm bells ringing in East London. Graham Potter will be hoping for a bounce-back performance against his old club in their home opener under the lights, but I don’t see it playing out that way. West Ham are coming off a 14th-place finish, and as it stands after one week, they look worse than they did a season ago.
This is a crucial game for both sides to get their season off and running with a win, but Chelsea should have too much quality in this one for a West Ham team that could potentially find themselves in a relegation battle this season.
