Punters Panel: Expert football betting tips ahead of the weekend
Fri, 15 Aug 2025
Fri, 15 Aug 2025
The new football season is upon us and although we have another week to wait for the start of the Premier League, there’s plenty of action both at home and abroad for bettors to get stuck into this weekend.
So, there’s no better time to reassemble our Odds Now Punters Panel, comprising of five football tipsters enlisted to arm our readers with some strong angles and betting tips ahead of the action.
Before we dive in, here’s a quick line on our five-man team:
Matt Hill - As well as being Odds Now’s Head of Content, Matt is a vastly experienced tipster specialising in football and darts. His betting on the beautiful game has a strong lean towards the lower leagues.
Adam Drury - A regular football tipster for Odds Now, Adam enjoyed a hugely successful campaign in 2024-25, including landing three 50/1+ winners on his weekly EFL accumulator column alongside countless other top tips.
Gab Sutton - Widely renowned as one of the best football journalists around, Gab’s encyclopedic knowledge of the EFL makes him well equipped to offer up unique betting angles for punters.
Felix Morson-Pate - Working as a trader in the industry, Felix offers up his meticulously refined data-driven insights to Odds Now readers both here and on his regular World of Wagers column.
Scott Redfearn - Veteran punter and value hunter. Scott runs a paid Telegram service dedicated to outright betting markets, but also offers some of his nuggets to Odds Now readers.
MH - Over to the glamorous Scottish League Two for my first best bet of the season, where I’m happy to snaffle the EVS available on Spartans to get a home victory over Dumbarton.
The hosts kicked their season off in style last weekend, securing a dominant 3-1 victory over title favourites East Kilbride, and there’s no reason to think they won’t follow up here against a visiting outfit who were quite fortunate to sneak a 2-1 win over Clyde a week ago.
AD - I'll take MK Dons draw no bet at Barrow at 10/11 with a few firms. It's not a sexy price, but the overwhelming League Two favourites being such a big price here doesn't sit right.
The Dons are yet to concede in five matches under Paul Warne – four of them finishing 0-0, admittedly – and continuing that run would mean this bet can't lose.
GS - Southampton to beat Wrexham at 8/11 looks generous to me.
The visitors aren't priced as huge underdogs because they're a global name, and they've made some eye-catching additions like Josh Windass and Lewis O'Brien, but it'll take a few transfer windows at this level for them to catch up with that on the pitch.
For now, I think Southampton have far superior quality and should be closer to 4/11 than 8/11.
FMP - I like Coventry to get off to a flying start at home to Hull at 3/4.
Frank Lampard’s side will want to shake off that nearly men tag and lay down an early marker in what looks like a hotly contested Championship.
SR - PSV kick off their defence of their Eredivisie title this weekend. Peter Bosz’s team will look very different to last season, however, their style will remain the same – shots, chances and possession aplenty, but also giving up a few opportunities at the other end.
Evens with Unibet for BTTS in their clash with Sparta looks rock solid.
The Odds Now Punters Panel NAPs pay out as a 20/1 five-fold with BetMGM
MH - I watched Luton limp to a 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon last Friday night and didn’t see anything to make me want to back them at odds-on away to Peterborough this weekend.
The Hatters’ squad strength should have them bang in title contention this year, but I’m not convinced they are fully tuned up yet, so give them a wide berth at London Road.
I also think Crawley are perilously short to beat Newport. The Welsh side have been the masters of a smash and grab in the last 12 months or so, and I’m not sure you’d want to be hanging your hat on the hosts at the moment, regardless.
AD - Crawley are as short as 1/2 and generally 4/7 to beat Newport County, which is a price I want nothing to do with.
Newport held Notts County to a 1-1 draw last week, while Crawley were spanked 3-0 at Grimsby. I can't say I have huge hopes for the Welsh side either, but I'm amazed to see them such big outsiders.
GS - Well, Swindon lost to 10 men on the opening day, going down 2-1 at Walsall. Their upcoming opponents, Cambridge, beat Cheltenham and could've scored more than one based on their second-half performance.
Swindon might have better individual attacking players than Cambridge, slightly, but I also think they're likelier to self-combust. Whereas Cambridge have steady hands across the board, and are going to be on quite a smooth trajectory.
I don't see them losing more than 10 games this year as long as Neil Harris is in charge, and therefore, you might have to get used to me backing them via the Double Chance as I will this weekend!
FMP - In the same early time slot as Coventry, I’d be taking a watching brief on Southampton.
Nobody really knows how well Wrexham are going to take to the second tier, so I’d suggest steering clear until the picture is less hazy.
SR - Sorry Matt, but I don’t think Carlisle will have it all their own way on the opening day of their National League campaign!
A tricky trip to Woking awaits, and I wouldn’t be risking odds on for an away win. The Cards finished the season with only four defeats in their final 29 games, and Neal Ardley will have them well organised for this opening-day challenge.
MH - I’ll admit, it’s been a rotten two years to be a Carlisle fan after back-to-back relegations from League One into non-league – but there’s good reason to think the Blues will be in the mix for an immediate return to the EFL this year.
All the attention in pre-season has rightly surrounded new signing Regan Linney (2/1 second favourite for the National League Golden Boot), but Elliot Embleton could also be ready for a huge season.
The ex-Sunderland midfielder looked disinterested at times last season but has looked surprisingly sharp in pre-season, deployed as the No. 10 in Mark Hughes’ 4-2-3-1 system – a big vote of confidence from his boss.
With technical ability way above this level, Embleton carries a goal threat in behind the striker and also should be on penalties, making 15/4 at Bet365 for him to net anytime vs Woking look a bit big.
AD - I like the look of Millwall this season, but Josh Sargent to score for Norwich against them at Carrow Road at 11/5 with Unibet stands out.
The striker has turned down interest from Wolfsburg this summer and looks set to play, having topped the league for goals per game last season and netted eight goals in his last 10 home matches.
GS - Grimsby's Jaze Kabia is 11/4 to score anytime after his brace and star performance against Crawley on the opening day. He's offering a real threat with his running in behind, after an injury-hit start to the campaign.
For comparison, Jamie Reid of Stevenage is 15/8 to score anytime after an opening day brace, probably because he's a more established name who got a lot of goals at this level in 2023-24.
But that's a big discrepancy for me, and I think it shows there can be value with going for an up-and-comer because the name doesn't carry the same weight with the traders, so maybe they can sleep on them a bit.
FMP - Joe Hugill is 11/5 to score for Barnet at Bromley, which appeals to my eye.
The Manchester United loanee has looked lively in their two competitive games so far and has been on the end of ample chances. I expect Barnet to push hard for the playoffs this year; he’ll need to fire if that’s to be the case.
SR - Caleb Watts stood out for Plymouth last weekend vs Barnsley.
He racked up 0.70 XG en route to scoring and having another ruled out – taking eight shots in total if you count the disallowed effort.
Watts – usually a midfielder – finds himself playing further forward, and I can’t ignore a 15/2 quote for him to get on the scoresheet again, despite it being a tough game at Bolton.
MH - Sheffield Wednesday are in a real mess off the pitch, and Leicester are no bigger than 1/6 to pile more misery on the Owls come Sunday afternoon.
As of earlier this week, Wednesday only had 15 players left on their books, with most exercising their right to leave having not received their wages, while talented boss Danny Rohl has also walked.
We don’t really know yet just how big a mess this is. if Leicester’s pacy and direct forwards are anywhere near their best, this opener could theoretically be a bloodbath. So, I’m chancing small stakes on the 5-0, 6-0 and 7-0 correct scores at 14/1, 28/1 and 75/1 respectively.
AD - With my Watford hat on, I want to flag Moussa Sissoko to score at 10/1 with Sky Bet.
The Frenchman has shortened a hell of a lot with other firms, and it's clear to see why – if he starts here, it will be as an advanced midfielder, often picking up centre-forward positions, and he finished last season with five goals in 11 matches.
GS - I predict AFC Wimbledon will keep approximately 14 clean sheets this season. It's something I would've said before the campaign, and their gallant opening effort at Luton reinforced that for me.
On that basis, I'm saying that in any given game, there's a 30% chance they'll record a shut-out.
Seeing as this is a home game, against a team without much financial clout, I'd probably go a bit higher than 30%, so I'm happy to take the 9/4 on them not conceding against Lincoln
FMP - I like the 7/2 about Bolton to win both halves against Plymouth. They played well without reward against Stockport, and I fear Tom Cleverley may need a while longer to fix Argyle’s porous tendencies that were on display against Barnsley.
SR - Nothing else for me this weekend. Still getting a feel for things early on! I was hoping someone might price up Watts’ shot line, but no luck there.
MH - I see the case for Ipswich as favourites, but with talk of Omari Hutchinson possibly on the move, I find myself gravitating towards Southampton at 11/2.
It’s hard not to be impressed by Will Still’s body of work, and I could see a world where they are into favourites by early September.
They probably represent the value too, to be honest – though each-way players could do worse than siding with Coventry at 12/1, who finished last season like a train and are poised to kick on again under Frank Lampard.
AD - It's boring but Ipswich are deserved favourites, for me. The Tractor Boys are very settled, even if they lose one or two more key players this summer, and have star quality on the pitch and in the dugout.
They are short enough, though, so I'll take Leicester each-way at 11/1 with Sky, who are offering four places. A points deduction could come for the Foxes, but it would not rule them out of a top-four finish with the quality of their squad and a good head coach in Marti Cifuentes.
GS - Ipswich. I often find that whatever the most obvious title pick in the Championship is before the season, it tends to play out that way, and I don't think you can get me to look any further in that market – even if that 3/1 might seem a trifle short.
If you fancy an outside runner, Millwall could be a nice little earner for you at 10/1 for promotion.
One of the form sides from the second half of last season, it is an exciting young group playing under a reliable Championship manager in Alex Neil, with high squad retention and top goalscorer Mihailo Ivanovic also hanging around.
They're a team you'll want onside, and they could put some real value onto your accas in the early weeks.
FMP - I can’t see past Ipswich myself, 3/1 looks a very fair price.
Tough to say there’s value outside of that, but an each-way poke on Millwall at 28/1 is the closest I’ll get.
SR - It’s always hard to look past the relegated Premier League trio, but with a potential points deduction heading Leicester’s way, they’d be my ones to avoid.
A toss-up between Ipswich and Southampton, who would be most people’s fancy to hit 90+ points. I’d personally take the 11/2 on the Saints as the value play vs the 3/1 on offer for Ipswich. I think the chasing pack will do well to get to 90+ points.
MH - Obviously, a lot of the fancy prices have gone in these markets now, so you almost have to approach them with fresh eyes once the season gets going!
Right now, I think you could do a lot worse than back Cole Palmer each-way in the Premier League top scorer market at 20/1. There are four places available at quarter odds; he should be getting 15+ again this season for a Chelsea side who are improving by the week.
With Erling Haaland an injury risk, Mo Salah facing an extended trip to AFCON over the winter and Alexander Isak’s future up for debate, I think he’s a solid play to at least place.
AD - I'm very sweet on Colchester and struggle to see how 9/4 on them to finish in the top seven of League Two won't give you a very good run for your money.
The Cowley brothers have properly got their teeth stuck into that project, and after a decent season of progression last season, I think they're ready to properly challenge.
GS - Millwall to finish in the top 6 at 4/1. If you want to go a bit safer. I also like PNE for relegation at 9/2, so either of those, but I'll go with Millwall.
FMP - Brighton to finish top half. You can still get 4/5 in some places.
They improved with time under Hurzeler, and with so many clubs in and around them committed to European football, I think they’ve a great chance of getting the job done.
For those who aren’t keen on locking up money at short prices, then Pompey +34 on the season handicap makes a lot of sense to my eye, though be aware the price may have gone in a few places!
SR - A lot of the value has now been cut. Farnham at 12/1 was a lovely opening price (most people got 10/1) for the Southern Premier South. Sheffield Wednesday to finish bottom at 7/2 also seems a distant memory.
But York to win the National League has to be up there. An opening 3/1 now into 7/4, a team that finished on 96 points last season and has strengthened further, cannot be ignored.
The Odds Now Editorial team are the people who make OddsNow.com tick, publishing all the crucial content that helps you become a better bettor.
The Odds Now Editorial team are the people who make OddsNow.com tick, publishing all the crucial content that helps you become a better bettor.
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