One week into the Premier League season and the trading teams are already on their toes with a few opening weekend stunners, and punters are getting some big ideas.

Bet365 saw a lot of movement on the opening weekend, and Steve Freeth, the company’s Sports and Trading Expert, says that one surprise market in particular has already stood out.

“Nothing says knee-jerk reaction more than a big price move in the PFA Player of the Year Award market after just one game, but Tijjani Reijnders backers holding 66/1 vouchers will be licking their lips after his goal and assist at Molineux,” he said.

“Admittedly, the Dutchman will have tougher games than his easy introduction in South Staffordshire, but we’ve seen enough to cut his PFA price into 12/1.”

Never rule out Man City

Reijnders’ team, Manchester City, are always a punter’s favourite. Although the club had a disappointing 2024/25 season, finishing trophy-less for the first time since 2016, they remain one for both punters and trading teams to keep a close eye on.

Part of the reason for this is not necessarily the club’s ability to get results but actually the players it has in its roster – most significantly some formidable goalscorers and an overall team not lacking in depth.

This played out during the opening weekend when the Citizens cruised to a 4-0 win away against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a team some bettors may have chucked a few quid on to go down the Championship in May 2026.

“Our worst result was Manchester City’s victory at Wolves,” says Freeth, who also took note of Nottingham Forest’s home win against Brentford as dealing a blow to bet365’s pocket.

“Ordinarily, backers of a Haaland hat-trick (14/1 best) would’ve been frustrated at the sight of the two-goal Norwegian being replaced by Rayan Cherki, but the Frenchman’s strike on 81 minutes meant we paid over a thousand wagers that would’ve been settled as losers thanks to the Sub concession and the Citizens scoring four goals tells its own story.”

“Forest may have struggled for goals in pre-season but they were backed into 9/10 from 11/10 by kick-off to beat Brentford and we paid out before half-time as they sailed into a 3-0 lead on the banks of the River Trent.”

Sunderland bucking the trends

Of course we’re only a week into the new season but this never stops football fans from getting ahead of themselves – this author being a Forest fan we’re all too aware of this emotional battle after the club’s solid run last season.

This year, the biggest shock so far has come from Sunderland. The promoted Macems have spent many years in the wilderness, although they did get a good Netflix documentary out of it, but has their first game at the season hinted at them reversing the so-often-seen trend of newly promoted sides going back down to the second tier?

“Sunderland were the best backed team in our pre-season handicap market with their price shortening from 15/1 into 8/1 with a whopping 52-point start,” Freeth remarks.

“Their Top Newcomer price tumbled from an opening show of 4/1 into 9/4 in pre-season and they were punted from 33/1 into 16/1 for a top-half finish before a ball was kicked – they’re now trading at 12/1.

“£170m of new talent and a manager that has signed a new contract has Black Cats backers purring.”

Premier League 2025/26 – one for the history books?

The 2025/26 Premier League season is set to be a big one for the betting industry, in more ways than one. Obviously, the league remains a huge revenue and engagement driver for operators.

Football has been the best bet on sport in the UK since it took over from horse racing in 2019, and the excitement, unpredictability, star scorers and ever-shifting dynamics of the top-flight has been crucial to this.

This season will be significant in another way, however – regarding regulations and marketing. It will be the last one in which front-of-shirt sponsorships are permitted, with bookmaker branding relegated to the shirt sleeves from 2026/27, though LED advertising can also continue.

It will still likely be a victory for the bookmaker trading, finance and marketing teams, however, regardless of restrictions. Manchester City’s long-held dominance may be broken, but the team are still a punter favourite, while Liverpool seem to be on track for their own leadership era.

Meanwhile, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Forest still have solid teams who deliver a result, maybe even trophy contendership, on a good day – but as the opening weekend shows anyone can have a bad day. This will make the tournament just as tantalising for both punters and traders as ever.

“The return of the Premier League had punters jumping for joy as odds-on favourites Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Arsenal all obliged,” says Freeth. “We had some respite in the form of Aston Villa, Brighton and Chelsea dropping points, but the opening weekend belonged to the punters.”

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