Premier League Betting: Bruce 5/1 to do the double over former club Aston Villa

Steve Bruce's arrival at Newcastle United has seen the bookmakers price up several specials ahead of the new Premier League season getting underway.

The appointment combined with a comprehensive Premier League Asia Cup defeat to Wolves in Beijing has seen bet365 cut the Magpies from 11/4 (3.75) to 9/4 (3.25) for relegation in a matter of hours.

Despite ending last season in 13th place, it’s been a tough summer for Newcastle fans with the departure of Rafael Benitez and the odds compilers have adjusted their prices accordingly.

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The new Magpies boss will come up against once of his former clubs after Aston Villa secured a return to the top-flight thanks to their play-off final win over Derby County.

bet365 have a market on how many points Newcastle will take from their pair of league meetings with the newly-promoted Midlands club.

It's 5/1 (6.0) that Bruce oversees a double, taking six points in the process. The online bookmaker also offer 5/1 (6.0) that the Magpies are pointless after the two games, the first of which is scheduled for November 23. With all six options quoted, the favourite is currently the 9/4 (3.25) about Newcastle taking exactly three points.

There's also a season-long match bet available on the two clubs, this relates to which side will finish higher in the Premier League table after 38 games.

bet365 are struggling to split the pair with 10/11 (1.91) available on either team at the time of writing.

The departure of Ayoze Perez to Leicester City plus Salomon Rondon’s return to parent club West Bromwich Albion leaves Bruce with few attacking options to work with. The pair were responsible for 23 of Newcastle’s 42 Premier League goals last term - 54.76 per cent of the club's strikes for the campaign.

With the transfer window for Premier League clubs closing in just three weeks, the new Magpies boss will have to work quickly if his side are to bolster their attacking options for the season ahead.

Odds correct at the time of publish. Please gamble responsibly.

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