The mouth watering prospect of a new Premier League season becomes a reality at the weekend, with a full complement of fixtures over the two days. It’s early days and will take a few games for teams to show their true colours – but scouring through the fixtures there’s one we reckon is worth following.

Stoke v Burnley

Stoke’s home record was fearsome last season, bettered only by the Big Four. The Brittannia is an intimidating venue for visiting teams – and Burnley will experience a baptism of fire. It’s one of the toughest opening fixtures they could ask for, and Stoke are rightly favourites. However, they are still slightly odds against – which represents cracking value against a promoted team, and one with a porous defence to boot.

Stoke @ 2.02 (Betfair) – 1 point

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Here are your subscription selections from the midweek fixtures:

Ipswich v Southampton

Southampton are a team on the up, with Marek Saganowski’s return the catalyst. They have secured excellent wins over Preston and Cardiff, and new manager Mark Wotte is now seeing a revival of their fortunes after the departure of Jan Poortvliet. Encouraging draws in his first two games in charge were tempered by two defeats, but now consecutive wins have got confidence levels up and they can continue their good form against Ipswich. The home side’s form is patchy, with just two wins from six, and with playoff hopes beginning to fade they could slip into complacency. Ipswich are odds on, a definite lay, and it is worth a small stake on Southampton also.

LAY Ipswich @ 1.82 (Betfair) – 1 point liability
Southampton @ 17/4 (William Hill) – 0.5 points

Plymouth v Watford

We advised Plymouth at the weekend, and they gained an excellent win over Wolves at 7/1. However, Wolves are hugely out of form, and Watford, rejuvenated and going into this game on the back of three consecutive wins, are a wholly different proposition. Brendan Rogers is dragging them to safety, and against what is essentially a poor Plymouth side, their strong form should carry them through. There is not a huge difference in quality across the Championship and any team can beat any other with form and momentum, both of which Watford have. It should be enough here.

Watford @ 2/1 (Betfair) – 1 point

Bristol Rovers v Brighton

Brighton are in disarray, manager-less and out of form, coming into this match on the back of a 4-0 defeat to lowly Crewe. Bristol Rovers, on the other hand, have suffered only two defeats in ten and have three wins from five. With home advantage, the 4/6 available on them is worth following – particularly considering Brighton have an incredible 11 players missing through injury or suspension.

Bristol Rovers @ 4/6 (Widely Available) – 2 points

Crewe v Carlisle

As discussed Crewe won 4-0 against Brighton last time out, continuing their impressive form under Gudjon Thordason with their fourth successive win. From being adrift at the bottom they are now outside the relegation zone for the first time in six months. Confidence is high and various players have been lauding the impact of the manager – they’ll be keen to continue repaying his influence here. With home advantage, against a Carlisle side with only one win in eight (against Brighton) the odds against looks great value.

Crewe @ 13/10 (Extrabet) – 2 points

Swindon v Cheltenham

Swindon are erratic, but have found a semblance of form under Danny Wilson, with five games undefeated prior to their two recent losses. However of those, one was to Tranmere, who have a fantastic home record, and the other was a last minute defeat at the hands of Hartlepool. What makes them appealing here, even at a short price, is the trouble and strife at Cheltenham. The entire squad has been put up for sale (see here) and after their defeat to Northampton at the weekend, which made it seven consecutive defeats and no win in fourteen, manager Martin Allen was in resigned mood:

“I thought Saturday was a very poor performance. I’ve backed the players unequivocally since I’ve been here but on Saturday is was flat.

“There were a lot of things going on at this training ground last week. It was a very difficult few days managing the players.

“If you don’t have good players you don’t win football matches. You have to be realistic.”

This is the bleat of a downcast and despondent man managing a downcast and despondent club – and with Swindon’s desperate need for points, they are certainly worth following here.

Swindon @ 8/11 (Totesport) – 1 point

Leicester v Stockport

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson has started to believe Leicester can go a season unbeaten – which is dangerous. They’ve shown fighting qualities to bring a couple of recent games back from the brink, but there are signs they are becoming a little complacent. Stockport have a decent manager in Jim Gannon, and will fancy their chances of taking something from the Walkers Stadium. Perhaps a win would be too much, but they’ll be targeting a draw, and with the home side drawing four of their last five matches the 3/1 available seems big. It’s difficult to pick between Stockport at 6/1, the draw at 3/1, or Laying Leicester at 1.6; for value, we’ll play the draw.

Leicester v Stockport Draw @ 3/1 (Ladbrokes) – 1 point

Middlesbrough v Wigan was a predictable bore-fest – we are regretting not going on 0-0, but still a nice 2 point winner on under 2.5 goals – and Wolves only just managed to snatch a draw against Cardiff, making them a good lay.

Swansea bounced back in style against Doncaster – but the 4-1 that was available on the away side still represented good value (Doncaster did take the lead, but suffered an injury that threw their momentum).

Overall, a small profit for the weekend.

This week sees Hull v Spurs tonight, a game we will stay away from, before Champions League this midweek – along with a wealth of lower league fixtures. Our selections for those games will be up in plenty of time for you to get your bets on before kick off.

Because we all need brightening up in January here is another free bet for you to consider…

Burnley v Swansea

After their disappointing 4-1 defeat to Spurs, which will have knocked the stuffing out of them, and their forthcoming second leg – plus an FA Cup replay against QPR – there is a real danger that Burnley will take their eye off the league; or equally suffer from fatigue. Swansea, who are a good footballing side and capable of pushing for the playoffs, could take advantage, and are available at a decent 3.8 on Betfair.

Burnley have lost their last two league games, including one at home, and there are signs the wheels are wobbling. We all know Swansea’s remarkable run – 8 consecutive draws – but go with them to break that here.

Swansea @ 3.8 (Betfair) – 1 point