EPL Betting Picks and Game Previews for Matchday 35: English Premier League

May 2, 2025

Jamie Steed previews EPL Matchday 35 of the 2024-25 season, starting on 5/2/2025. He previews each game from the English Premier League, picking bets and providing predictions for each game.

The EPL season enters its final month. We're bringing you our weekly article, which looks at betting picks and game predictions. Matchday 35 kicks off on Friday, May 2, with Wolves visiting Manchester City. It culminates on Monday, May 5, when Crystal Palace hosts Nottingham Forest.

Every week, we'll offer a preview of all the games. We'll predict the outcome, give a score prediction, and pick our favorite play for all fixtures. Before you read on, remember these essential things: betting on sports should be fun. If you aren't having fun with it, stop. Also, never bet what you can't afford to lose.

We're bringing you more soccer content than ever before at RotoBaller. There are FPL, UCL, and DFS articles every week, along with our weekly betting picks and game previews article, all of which can be found here. Follow the team on X (@EuanFPL, @TheFPLManual, @df_solutions, @BellRoto, and yours truly, @Baseball_Jimbo), and reach out to any of us if you ever have any soccer questions.

Matchday 34 Recap

We head into May on the back of a winning parlay and our best weekend of the season. In the abbreviated seven-game slate, we went 6-for-7 on our moneyline, total goals, and both teams to score picks. Unfortunately, it only led to one parlay.

Red cards ruined what could have been a clean sweep. Ipswich being reduced to 10 men in the first half all but ended their chances of scoring. Bournemouth controversially had a man sent off. That resulted in them being unable to hang on to the win, ultimately conceding in injury time.

Still, the winning 'total goals parlay' put us back into profit on the season.

Friday, May 2, 2025

Manchester City (-280) vs. Wolves (+700) - 3:00 p.m. EDT

Score prediction: Manchester City 2 – 1 Wolves

City has found form in the closing weeks of the season. They have been unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions and scored 11 goals in their previous four matches. Wolves have been in excellent form themselves, having won their last six EPL games.

Wolves are the only team on a six-match winning run in Europe's top five leagues! 😮‍💨

They've moved away from relegation danger and up to 13th, 20 points clear of the drop zone ⬆️

Will they make it seven at Man City on Friday? 🔜 pic.twitter.com/xOfKmHHU74

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 29, 2025

I can certainly see Wolves causing an upset on Friday. However, the safer option is to play both teams to score. We've mentioned City's recent glut of goals, with two goals scored in seven of their last eight games. Wolves have scored in 13 consecutive games in all competitions.

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Aston Villa (-130) vs. Fulham (+340) - 7:30 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Aston Villa 2 – 1 Fulham

Villa's FA Cup exit means they just have the league to focus on. They will likely need maximum points from their last four games to secure a top-5 finish and qualification for the Champions League next season.

Fulham's late comeback against Southampton kept them in the hunt for Europa League qualification. It also meant they avoided a fifth defeat in six games. Villa won the reverse fixture 3-1, and I expect this game will be similar, with the hosts taking a much-needed three points.

Everton (-195) vs. Ipswich Town (+550) - 10:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Everton 1 – 0 Ipswich Town

Everton has won just once in its last nine games but has only lost twice. Goals have been hard to come by lately, with the Toffees scoring just five goals in their last eight games. They failed to score more than once in any of them, and there haven't been more than two total goals in any of those matches.

Ipswich's relegation was confirmed last weekend. We have seen in the past that teams relax and play better once they have been relegated. But this year's trio of relegated sides have been poor for much of the season, and an away win doesn't look likely. We'll play under 2.5 total goals.

Ipswich are going back down to the Championship 👋

It's the first time in Premier League history all of the relegations were confirmed with as many as four games to play.

It's also the first time all three promoted teams went back down in consecutive seasons 😬 pic.twitter.com/Pb4NcS2uRS

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 26, 2025

Leicester City (+130) vs. Southampton (+205) - 10:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Leicester City 2 – 3 Southampton

Speaking of relegated sides, two of them battle it out. You need to return to February 1 to find when either of these last won a game. It's difficult to back either team to win, but we should expect goals. Leicester beat Southampton 3-2 earlier in the season, and we'll be backing both teams to score here.

We are also going to back an away win. The Saints have been more resilient recently, scoring in five of their last six EPL games. The Foxes' last home goal came on December 8. Their nine-game streak without scoring at home is an EPL record, so Southampton will fancy their chances of a win.

Arsenal (+115) vs. Bournemouth (+245) - 12:30 p.m. EDT

Score prediction: Arsenal 1 – 0 Bournemouth

Arsenal's focus will be on overcoming a 1-0 deficit in their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday. However, they can't afford to completely ignore the league with multiple teams breathing down their neck. Three draws in their last four games have offered hope to the chasing pack.

Despite being unbeaten in their last four league games, Bournemouth have won just once in their previous nine. Last week's unfortunate draw was their third consecutive game in which fewer than three total goals were scored. And that is what we will be playing in this encounter.

After a successful claim of wrongful dismissal, Evanilson will no longer serve a three-match ban for his red card against Man Utd, so he is available to face Arsenal this weekend.

The red card remains as an official match event, therefore Evanilson's FPL points remain at two for…

— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) April 30, 2025

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Brentford (-155) vs. Manchester United (+400) - 9:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Brentford 3 – 0 Manchester United

Brentford kept their hopes of European qualification alive with an impressive win at Nottingham Forest. After scoring just once in their prior five games at home, the Bees scored four last time at the Gtech Community Stadium.

United will likely play a weakened team as they seek to secure their spot in the Europa League final. In the league, United has taken just two points from its last five games, and it has only scored two goals in that winless run. We'll back the hosts to continue their recent form with a home win.

Advantage United! ✅#MUFC || #UEL

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 1, 2025

Brighton (+180) vs. Newcastle United (+135) - 9:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Brighton 1 – 2 Newcastle United

Brighton's late comeback against West Ham ended their five-game winless run in the league. It was also the sixth straight EPL game in which Brighton conceded at least two goals. The Seagulls scored two or more goals in their last three matches.

Newcastle will need to win to keep their stranglehold on a top-5 finish. A 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa is the only blemish on their record since March 1. That performance does make me worry about the Magpies winning, so we'll take over 2.5 total goals. That's happened in Newcastle's last six games.

West Ham United (+130) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (+195) - 9:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: West Ham United 2 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur

West Ham cannot buy a win right now. They've alternated wins and draws over their last seven games. Tottenham's league form has also been poor as they focus on reaching the Europa League final. Spurs have conceded 11 goals in their last three games. All of which they lost.

I have no confidence in either of these two teams winning right now. But I expect goals, as the recent history of this fixture suggests, there will be. Both teams have scored in seven of the last nine league meetings. We'll be playing that to continue and over 2.5 total goals.

Victory in the first leg! 👊 pic.twitter.com/UiBjMOuSxf

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 1, 2025

Chelsea (+120) vs. Liverpool (+210) - 11:30 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Chelsea 1 – 2 Liverpool

Chelsea rounds off the EPL sides with a European semi-final second leg to look forward to in midweek. However, they also have a real battle to qualify for the Champions League and are the one side that will play a stronger starting XI this weekend than they would in Europe.

However, just because Liverpool has nothing on the line, don't expect them to take their foot off the gas. The Reds are the better side, and history is on their side. Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 10 games against Chelsea, last tasting defeat in March 2021. We'll take the generous odds for an away win.

Monday, May 5, 2025

Crystal Palace (+135) vs. Nottingham Forest (+205) - 3:00 p.m. EDT

Score prediction: Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest

Matchday 35 ends with a Forest side desperately trying to fight for a top-5 place, visiting a Palace side looking forward to an FA Cup final. Three defeats in their last four league games have left Forest with an uphill task to qualify for the Champions League.

Palace will be looking to rotate their squad over the remainder of the league campaign. They'll want to ensure they make it to the Wembley showpiece without any injuries, so this is a challenging game to call. We'll back both teams' scoring, which has happened in each of Forest's last five away EPL games.

CRYSTAL PALACE ARE EMIRATES FA CUP FINALISTS. pic.twitter.com/9zSAXDc0lg

— Wembley Stadium (@wembleystadium) April 26, 2025

Betting Picks

The table below gives the odds for each game's three main plays (moneyline, total goals, and both teams to score). My favorite pick from each game is highlighted if you want to build a parlay (which I will be playing and tracking). Good luck with those FPL teams and EPL bets. Remember to bet responsibly!

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