The Premier League returns this weekend with a London derby as Arsenal host West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium. While the footballing world is looking forward to the clash, punters are equally eager and the betting buzz around this match is already heating up.

Arsenal Heavy Favourites

Arsenal go into the match as clear favourites with bookmakers pricing their win at short odds of 1.20–1.30. That translates to an implied probability of over 80% that Mikel Arteta’s men secure all three points. The Gunners’ strong home form and deeper squad make them the obvious pick for most betting slips.

West Ham as Outsiders

West Ham, by contrast, are being given little chance by the markets. With odds floating between 12.00 and 15.00, the Hammers are viewed as massive underdogs, carrying just a 6–8% implied chance of victory. However, bettors with a taste for long shots will point to the fact that West Ham have beaten Arsenal at the Emirates before a reminder that upsets do happen in football.

Key Betting Markets

1X2 Market: Arsenal win is the most popular choice, while very few are backing West Ham straight up. The draw, priced around 6.40–7.00, is attracting some attention from value hunters.

Both Teams to Score (BTTS): This market is split. Some punters back “Yes” given Arsenal’s occasional defensive lapses, while others lean toward “No” as Arsenal are capable of keeping clean sheets at home.

Over/Under Goals: The consensus leans toward Over 2.5 goals, expecting Arsenal to score at least twice and possibly more if West Ham leave gaps in defence.

Anytime Goalscorer: Arsenal stars like Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyökeres, and even set-piece threat Gabriel Magalhães are popular picks to find the net.

Win to Nil: A higher-risk, higher-reward option is backing Arsenal to win without conceding. This market offers better odds and aligns with their defensive strength at home.

What Could Shake the Markets?

Despite Arsenal’s dominance on paper, bettors are wary of certain risks:

Injuries and absentees may weaken Arsenal’s attack.

West Ham’s counterattacking threat through Bowen and Summerville could exploit open spaces.

Recent history shows West Ham have pulled off surprises at the Emirates, meaning cautious bettors might hedge with a double-chance bet.

Final Word

The betting buzz is clear: Arsenal are overwhelming favourites, with punters stacking their bets on a home win. Still, the long odds on West Ham or a draw provide tempting value for those who believe in an upset. For most, however, the smart plays lie in Arsenal to win, Over 2.5 goals, and anytime goalscorer markets featuring Saka or Gyökeres.

This clash is not just a London derby it’s shaping up to be one of the weekend’s biggest betting fixtures.

Benfica appointed Jose Mourinho as their coach on Thursday, with the Portuguese returning to work in his homeland, 21 years after leaving Porto for Chelsea.

The 62-year-old, who also coached Real Madrid and Manchester United among other clubs, was sacked by Turkish side Fenerbahce in August after Benfica beat them in the Champions League play-offs.

Mourinho has signed a contract “to run until the end of the 2026/27 season”, Benfica said in a statement, with an option for either party to end the deal at the end of the current campaign.

The two-time European champions sacked Bruno Lage after a shock defeat in their Champions League opener against Azerbaijani minnows Qarabag on Tuesday.

Mourinho will soon face reunions against former sides Chelsea and Porto, in the Champions League on September 30 and in the Primeira Liga on October 5 respectively.

After starting out his coaching career as an assistant to Bobby Robson and then Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, Mourinho made the step up to head coach at Benfica in September 2000.

He quit after just 11 matches and then, after impressing at Uniao de Leiria, he joined the Eagles’ fierce rivals Porto and guided them to back-to-back league titles and the Champions League crown in 2004.

That set him on the path to a successful career coaching Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid before his fortunes dived after joining Manchester United in 2016.

More modest stints then followed at Tottenham, Roma and Fenerbahce.

Jose Mourinho is on the verge of returning to management, with Benfica expected to appoint him as their new head coach before the weekend. The move follows the dismissal of Bruno Lage after the club’s shock Champions League defeat to Qarabag.

The Lisbon giants had initially considered Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, but reports from Portugal indicate that a deal with Mourinho has already been struck, with only final contractual details to be agreed.

Mourinho, 62, briefly managed Benfica at the start of his career in 2000, taking charge of 11 matches before departing. He went on to achieve major success with Porto, where he won both the UEFA Cup and Champions League, before moving to Chelsea and later managing Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma and, most recently, Fenerbahce.

Benfica president Rui Costa confirmed the urgency of the club’s decision after their European collapse. “Regarding the next coach, we expect to have the new one on the bench at Vila das Aves next Saturday,” Costa told Portuguese media.

Lage came under fire for throwing away a two-goal lead at home to Qarabag, with the result seen as a major blow to Benfica’s ambitions of re-establishing domestic dominance.

If confirmed, Mourinho’s appointment would mark a homecoming for one of Portugal’s most decorated coaches, as Benfica seek to steady their season and reassert their place among Europe’s elite.

Bomb Squad lead singer João Félix recently spoke of his not-so-secret desire to move back to Benfica, the club where made his breakthrough, to try to rekindle his career under manager Bruno Lage, but the financial realities of the situation continue to make that a difficult proposition.

Even if Félix were to agree to cut down his wages significantly, Benfica are having trouble coming up with a transfer fee large enough to get Chelsea to the negotiating table in the first place. Reports earlier this week even claimed that Benfica would somehow try to acquire just a percentage of the player’s rights, which is not allowed under FIFA regulations, strongly opposed by UEFA (though not banned outright), and most pertinently, fully outlawed in English football.

More recently, A Bola have claimed that Benfica could scrounge €25m together, which they are hoping that Félix’s agent, Jorge Mendes could somehow convince Chelsea to accept. If anyone can do that, it’s probably Mendes, though getting Chelsea to take a 50 per cent loss on Félix in just 12 months could be a beyond even his abilities.

The report then adds that even if somehow the two teams could agree a deal, the wage issue would be another massive hurdle to overcome. So it doesn’t sound like we’re making much, if any progress in this situation. This move certainly would benefit all involved, but at the moment there isn’t enough goodwill to just let it happen. (The report also insinuates that after the Enzo Fernández saga, Chelsea are not exactly bending over backwards to accommodate Benfica ... and rightly so.)

Newly-appointed FC Porto coach Francesco Farioli said on Monday he wanted to restore his new team to where they belonged and deliver the 30-time Portuguese champions their first title since 2022.

The 36-year-old Italian, who resigned as Ajax coach in May after they finished runners-up in the Dutch league having let slip a nine-point lead with five matches remaining, replaces Martin Anselmi.

Porto finished a disappointing third in the title race last term, 11 points off champions Sporting Lisbon, winning just 10 of their 21 matches under Anselmi.

Farioli said his “desire was to restore Porto to the place they belong”.

Porto president Andre Villas-Boas said Farioli is “a young coach, but extremely ambitious” and he had “exploded onto the European football scene”.