Wigan vs Chelsea

For the past fortnight the British public have endured hours of volleyball, diving and judo in order to survive the close season. The heart ache of the Euros was forgotten by a golden August, but now is the time to lay the gold medal mentality to one side and focus on the silverware. And a resurgent Chelsea are under analysis here.

Best Current Odds:

Wigan – 13/2 Stan James: bet £10 here, get a free £10 bet

Draw – 3/1 Sportingbet: get a risk free £50 bet here

Chelsea – 8/13 Bet Victor: get a free £25 bet

Hazard-gate seems a lifetime ago yet if it wasn't for that transfer on Wednesday it would still be the highlight of a rather dull transfer window. The Belgian winger arrives at Chelsea with a big reputation despite never being seen by human eyes before it seems. Whilst prolific in Ligue 1, the transition to the hard hitting EPL may be harder than some expect. The Blues strengthened further with the addition of Olympian Oscar to make RDM's midfield selection that much harder. Teenage forward Lucas Piazon could feature this season due to a scarce forward line.

Chairman of the hosts, Dave Whelan seemed more focused on holding onto his coach than adding to the squad, welcoming Arsenal winger Ryo Miyiachi, who impressed at Bolton last year; and that's about it. The loss of Hugo Rodallega north of the border shouldn't upset the side too much, they survived without him in the very difficult run in and despite his talent, he won't be missed.

Should this game of occurred in the tail end of the 2012 season, Bet365 may have been more generous in Chelsea's price, but what with new starts and all that, the away side are priced at 8/13 and it's hard to picture any other outcome. The Community Shield showed Chelsea are definite contenders this campaign despite a 10 man defeat. The always controversial Drogba has departed and RDM is left little option but Fernando Torres. A strong summer at the Euros has bought the Spaniard's price for top goalscorer into 8/1 and few would be surprised should he discover his Liverpool form. The midfield is almost impossible to predict so first goalscorer backers have to be looking at Torres at 4/1 (188bet – click here for a risk free £50 bet). Value hunters could look at form man Frank Lampard at 17/2 (Bet Victor – get a free £25 bet) who'll be standing over penalties.

Despite the heroics of survival last year, Wigan have lived on borrowed time for seasons now and this is not the easiest way to start proving bookies wrong, who price them at 6/4 to be playing a division lower next year. A goal at home on opening day would be a lot to ask for and Bet365 price only Chelsea to score at 6/4, a sounder price than 8/15 for the inevitable win.