EPL Betting Picks and Game Previews for Matchday 38: English Premier League

May 24, 2025

Jamie Steed previews EPL Matchday 38 of the 2024-25 season on 5/25/2025. He previews each game from the English Premier League, picking bets and providing predictions for each game.

We've made it! After nine months and 37 matchdays, we have reached the final weekend of the EPL season. As always, we're bringing you our weekly article, which looks at betting picks and game predictions. Matchday 38 sees all 10 games kick off at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

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 37 Recap

We head into the final matchday on the back of a winning weekend. In a strange quirk of fate, we hit our moneyline parlay, with all four of our picks winning. They were our only four correct results out of the 10 games!

We could have hit even more profit if it wasn't for David Raya's heroics to keep Newcastle United at bay. West Ham United's consolation goal against Nottingham Forest meant little to either team. But it did end our total goals parlay.

What's at Stake?

Here's how the standings look with one game to go.

The top five will all qualify for next season's Champions League. Liverpool and Arsenal have already secured their spots. Despite sitting one place above the relegation zone, Tottenham Hotspur have qualified for the Champions League as well, courtesy of their Europa League triumph.

The team finishing sixth will qualify for next season's Europa League. Crystal Palace's FA Cup final victory last weekend ensured they have also qualified for the competition.

The team finishing seventh will qualify for next season's Europa Conference League. Newcastle United have already done that by winning the EFL Cup earlier this season. If Newcastle finish in the top five, they will enter the Champions League instead.

Eighth place could be enough for Europa Conference League qualification. That means there are European implications for six of the 10 fixtures. This is where it gets complicated.

The team finishing in eighth will enter the Europa Conference League if Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League final. Or, if Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League final, while Newcastle finish seventh.

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Bournemouth (-275) vs. Leicester City (+650) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Bournemouth 3 – 0 Leicester City

Back-to-back defeats ended Bournemouth's chance of European qualification. They could still finish in the top 10 and should have no problem beating Leicester. The Foxes are unbeaten in their last three games, but the two wins in that run came against fellow relegated teams.

🚨🔵 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 | Ruud Van Nistelrooy set to LEAVE Leicester after final game of the season, reports @skysports. 👋

He has been in the job for around 6 months. pic.twitter.com/GEHmwUM7FY

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) May 22, 2025

Leicester will be set for a big overhaul this summer. Along with a new manager, they will need to replace Jamie Vardy (who won't be playing this game). They also have possible disciplinary action being taken over alleged financial irregularities. The Cherries will end their season with a win.

Fulham (+425) vs. Manchester City (-170) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Fulham 1 – 2 Manchester City

Fulham can't qualify for Europe, but could still leapfrog rivals Brentford in the standings. They'll need a win to do that. A draw is all Manchester City needs to secure a top-5 finish. Theoretically, they could still finish second with a big win, but they'll be happy to just secure Champions League football.

Both teams have scored in 14 of Fulham's 18 home games this season. Four of the last five matches between these two have seen both teams scoring, which will be our play. If the game is level late on, City won't push for a win and risk losing, so I'm not confident enough to back an away win.

Ipswich Town (+200) vs. West Ham United (+120) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Ipswich Town 1 – 1 West Ham United

Arguably the most interesting game of the weekend. Neither team has anything on the line, and this could very well end up in a goalless draw, or we see a nine-goal thriller. We'll back a goal at both ends with the expectation that some players will be more focused on their summer holidays.

Liverpool (-250) vs. Crystal Palace (+550) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Liverpool 3 – 1 Crystal Palace

The EPL winners meet the FA Cup winners in what will be a preview of the Community Shield in August. Since securing the title, Liverpool has failed to win. But the three games have all seen at least four goals. Palace followed up their memorable cup victory with an emphatic 4-2 win against Wolves.

🏆 93 years - Go Ahead Eagles
🏆 70 years - Newcastle
🏆 51 years - Bologna
🏆 31 years - Harry Kane
🏆 FOREVER - Crystal Palace
🏆 17 years - Tottenham

2025 has been the year of the trophy drought ENDING. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/W4sabNjWbW

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 21, 2025

Liverpool will likely play a strong lineup as they'll want to end the season with a win. For Palace, they too will probably have a strong starting XI after resting some key players in midweek. This could be an exciting game, which the home team should win. We'll back Liverpool and over 2.5 total goals.

Manchester United (+330) vs. Aston Villa (-135) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Manchester United 0 – 1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa could miss out on Champions League football even if they win. However, a draw could be enough, depending on other results. They will focus on getting the job done and then waiting for favors elsewhere, and this might end up being something of a procession in the latter stages.

BREAKING: There is no threat to the position of Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim despite defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final 🔴 pic.twitter.com/Ru5UrIia4W

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 22, 2025

Manchester United's miserable season was compounded by their Europa League final defeat. Normally, we should expect to see a response and a strong United showing. But their squad is bereft of talent, so that seems like a long shot. Because of all of that, we'll be playing under 2.5 total goals.

Newcastle United (-310) vs. Everton (+750) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Newcastle United 2 – 0 Everton

Newcastle can end what has been a memorable season by qualifying for the Champions League with a win. A draw, or even a defeat, could be enough depending on other results. It's highly unlikely it'll reach that point, and the Magpies should run out comfortable winners.

Everton expended a lot of energy last weekend when saying farewell to Goodison Park. They won't have the same levels this weekend. Although they won't be pushovers, they have lacked quality for much of the season. We'll just play it safe and back a home win.

Nottingham Forest (+205) vs. Chelsea (+120) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Nottingham Forest 1 – 1 Chelsea

The game of the weekend takes place at The City Ground. A Chelsea win will ensure they qualify for the Champions League, and Forest would finish seventh. A Forest win would mean they leapfrog Chelsea, but would only qualify for the Champions League if Newcastle or Villa fail to win.

A draw is when it gets really interesting. If neither side manages to win, Forest would miss out on the top-5. But Chelsea would still finish in the top-5 if Newcastle loses and Villa fails to win. If that duo win their respective games, both sides here would miss out on Champions League football.

We keep building. 📈 pic.twitter.com/JoVOSpSbzR

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 20, 2025

It's rare for all the favorites to win, and for there to be no changes in the standings. A draw here wouldn't be a shock. We won't be backing that, though. Only a win is enough for either side to achieve a top-5 finish. At some point, the game will open up. Because of that, we'll play both teams scoring.

Southampton (+800) vs. Arsenal (-320) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Southampton 1 – 4 Arsenal

Arsenal could see Manchester City overtake them for second place. For that to happen, they'd need to lose, City to win, and an eight-goal swing. Even though Arsenal will have a weakened side starting, that won't happen. I expect the opposite. Arsenal's fringe players will have too much for Southampton.

The Saints will be relieved to have avoided a record-low points total and offered very little against Everton last weekend. We normally see a big win for someone on the final day of the season, I suspect this could be that game. We'll take a Gunners win and over 2.5 total goals.

Tottenham Hotspur (+300) vs. Brighton (-135) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 2 Brighton

Tottenham's 17-year trophy drought was ended on Wednesday when they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final. The game was hardly a classic and was indicative of where the two teams are right now. Spurs have only one once in their last 11 EPL games. And that was against Southampton.

⚪️ Tottenham are your 2025 Europa League champions 🏆#UELfinal pic.twitter.com/m4HFhxrZxY

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 21, 2025

We shouldn't be expecting Spurs to magically be good, so an away win is likely. However, Brighton's been too inconsistent to back. As mentioned in the introduction, the teams in eighth place could still qualify for Europe, and Brighton only needs a point to secure that spot in the table.

We'll instead play for a goal at both ends. Both teams have scored in 13 of Spurs' 18 home games. And Brighton's 18 away games have seen both sides score 12 times. The last four meetings between these two have seen both sides score, so that seems like the likeliest outcome.

Wolves (+165) vs. Brentford (+140) - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Score prediction: Wolves 2 – 3 Brentford

If Brighton loses at Tottenham, Brentford would finish eighth with a win. Last Sunday's home defeat against Fulham could ultimately prove costly if they fail to qualify for the Europa Conference League. They won't want to slip up again and end their slim chances due to two crushing losses.

As well as backing the Bees to win, we'll play both sides scoring, and for there to be at least three goals in the game. Wolves have followed up six wins with three defeats, and they appear to have lost some focus. But their 4-2 loss at Palace on Tuesday was a reminder that they can still score goals.

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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