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Wednesday marks the highly anticipated return of the Premier League as Project Restart has an attractive doubleheader in store for fans and bettors.

In the first game back following a 99-day layoff that felt more like 300, Aston Villa will attempt to kick-start their quest for survival when they play host to a Sheffield United side hoping to cap off a remarkable season to date with a top-six finish.

Following that match, all eyes will shift to the Etihad as Manchester City – hoping to secure a top-four finish sooner that later – welcome a reeling Arsenal side sitting in ninth place and desperate for a fresh start.

Let’s break down both of these fixtures with odds courtesy of theScore Bet.

Sheffield United (+125) at Aston Villa (+200), Draw (+220)

When the full-time whistle sounded on Leicester City’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium on March 9, no one would have expected that to be the final match in the Premier League for more than three months.

But this break could serve as a much-needed reset for Villa, losers of five straight at the time the season was suspended. The timing was miserable for Sheffield United, though. Chris Wilder’s side were in quite a groove, ticking along excellently with their eyes fixated on a top-six finish. The Blades had won five of six, with one draw, at the time of the stoppage.

Wilder’s side had developed a reputation as road warriors this season. In 13 matches away from home, they had lost just twice – to Manchester City and Liverpool. Seven of those matches had ended level, with four resulting in victories.

Points are crucial for Villa at this stage of the season with relegation looming, and while they’re going to need to have an honest go at three points, a draw would suit them well. Dean Smith will be content with a positive result here to kick-start their final push to safety, while the Blades – a well-organized, difficult side to beat under Wilder – love a nice stalemate away from home. All signs point to a share of the spoils at Villa Park.

Pick: Draw (+220)

Arsenal (+650) at Manchester City (-300), Draw (+425)

Manchester City will be a curious case over these final 10 matches, as their title aspirations are all but dashed, and a top-four finish is close to a certainty. They’re essentially locked into a second or third-place finish, so motivation could prove a bit of an issue down the stretch.

That won’t be the case on Wednesday, as Pep Guardiola will be eager to put these last few months behind him and get the stretch run started on a winning note. Arsenal are desperate for three points here, and that will prove the case for the remainder of the campaign with the Gunners sitting eight points and five spots back of fourth place.

A major factor I’ll be looking for down the stretch – something we’ve come to learn from the Bundesliga and La Liga – are which clubs have an abundance of depth. With so many matches in such a short period, and teams allowed five substitutes per match instead of three, depth will be a massive advantage over these final 10 fixtures.

It just so happens to be an area where City are especially spoiled. Guardiola has the luxury of starting a front three of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, and Kevin De Bruyne, and then replenishing in the second half with the fresh legs of Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, and Bernardo Silva. That doesn’t even include David Silva, Phil Foden, and Riyad Mahrez. Constantly replenishing their attack with fresh legs poses a nightmare scenario for opposing sides.

Guardiola has indicated his players are not yet fully in match shape ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Arsenal, but the same is true for every club. With an abundance of options to turn to, City will have too much for the Gunners in this match, making it difficult to recommend anything other than the hosts at -300.

Instead, I would look to the total for a play here, which is sitting at 3.5, with the over and under both juiced at -115. Given the lengthy layoff and the fact both fitness and match sharpness will be lacking, I have a strong lean to the under here as my top play for this match.

Lean: Under 3.5 (-115)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.

That was awful.

The only luck during the first weekend back in Spain’s top flight was of the bad variety, as four late goals and a red card relegated us to a winless Matchday 28. After the first few, I just became numb to it.

Let’s hope for some better luck on Matchday 29.

Granada (+320) at Real Betis (-115), Draw (+255)

Granada impressed in the first match back, coming from behind to beat Getafe – a result that has breathed life into their hopes of a top-four finish. Diego Martinez’s side leave the friendly confines of Nuevo Los Carmenes for this match, and while they’ve struggled on their travels, the circumstances surrounding this trip to Seville are much different given the absence of fans.

Real Betis rely heavily on the atmosphere at Estadio Benito Villamarin, but won’t have that crutch on Monday. Rubi’s side was dreadful going forward against Sevilla in the derby, but we can expect a more spirited performance here on home soil, where they have scored 27 times in 14 matches. They’ve struggled defensively though, failing to keep a single clean sheet this season at home.

Granada showed no signs of rust in their first match back, getting after a stingy Getafe side. They’ve struggled away from home but the result will give them plenty of confidence as they get set to face a Betis side that will undoubtedly produce a positive response following their derby loss. With the visitors pushing for the top four and the hosts hoping to avoid being dragged into the relegation scrap, a draw would be a positive result for both of them.

Pick: Draw (+255)

Espanyol (+335) at Getafe (+100), Draw (+210)

These sides experienced different fates in their first matches back. Espanyol ran out 2-0 winners at RCDE Stadium – the beneficiaries of an early Alaves red card – while Getafe uncharacteristically squandered a lead, losing to Granada.

Jose Bordalas is a terrific manager and we can expect him to get quite a reaction out of his players following that defeat. Bordalas’ Getafe play a miserable brand of football – long balls and a high press – and are an incredibly frustrating side to play against as a result.

On home soil they’re at their best with this approach, and it will give fits to an Espanyol side that really struggles outside of Barcelona. The Periquitos have lost seven of their last nine away matches, and have also tasted defeat in each of their last four trips to Getafe. The hosts have been dominant this season on home soil against clubs in the bottom half of the table, and we can expect more of the same here.

Pick: Getafe (+100)

Celta Vigo (+160) at Real Valladolid (+205), Draw (+195)

The threat of relegation looms large for Celta, while Valladolid are still far from safety – though a win at Leganes on Saturday certainly helped matters.

This has all the makings of an ugly match with both sides looking to maintain a cushion between them and the bottom three. A draw would suit Valladolid excellently here, keeping Celta six points back, while every point is precious at this stage for the visitors.

Valladolid have lost just three times in 13 home matches this season – all against clubs in the top half of the table – and are a strong bet to avoid defeat again here at Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla. Of those 13 home games, seven have ended in a stalemate, while four of Celta’s last five away matches have ended level. A point would suit both sides well here, and feels like something of an inevitability.

Pick: Draw (+195)

Full card:

• Levante/Sevilla draw (+290)
• Real Betis/Granada draw (+255)
• Getafe (+100)
• Villarreal/Mallorca BTTS (-130)
• Valladolid/Celta draw (+195)
• Eibar/Athletic draw (+210)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.

The Premier League will officially return June 17. England’s top flight mapped out its plans for Project Restart, which unveiled a bottomless buffet for bettors with 92 matches set to be played over the next 40 days to complete the 2019-20 season.

Here’s a guide to wagering on the Premier League – diving into the more popular markets – for bettors looking to join in on the fun, using the Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United match as a point of reference.

Three-way moneyline

There are three possible outcomes to every soccer match – home win, away win, draw – and thus three different moneyline bets that can be made. In this case, you can bet on Aston Villa to win, Sheffield United to win, or the match to end in a draw.

Asian handicap

More commonly known to North American bettors as the spread, this can be one of the trickier markets. A spread of -0.5 is straightforward, and means a bet on the team favored by -0.5 needs to win the match by a goal or more, while betting on a team at +0.5 would require them not to lose. Spreads of -1/+1, -1.5/+1.5, and so on, are also self-explanatory.

But in the case of this match, things get a bit trickier. If I were to bet on Aston Villa +0.25, half the stake of my bet would be on Aston Villa +0.0 (or pick ’em), and the other half would be on them at +0.5. If they were to lose the match, I would lose the full bet; if they were to win the match outright, I’d win the full bet. Where it becomes confusing is if the match ends in a draw. In that instance, I’d win half the bet and push the other half, because the part of my stake that was on them at +0.5 would cash, but the other half of the stake on pick ’em (PK) would push with the match ending in a tie.

The same logic can be applied to betting on Sheffield United -0.25. A bet of $100 on that would result in $50 being placed on them at +0.0, and the other half at -0.5. We can also apply this logic to other half spreads like -0.75, but in that case, half the stake would be on -0.5 and the other half on -1.

Double chance

The bets in this market are self-explanatory. A bet on “Aston Villa or draw” means you’re betting on Aston Villa to win or the match to end in a draw. The only way you lose this bet is if Sheffield United wins. Easy, right? A bet on “Aston Villa or Sheffield United” means you’re betting on one of those two teams to win. If the match ends in a draw, the bet loses.

Draw no bet

This market is exactly as described. In the event of a draw, all bets push. So betting Sheffield United draw no bet means you need them to win the match to win your bet, but should they tie, the bet is refunded. The only way you can lose in this market is if the team you bet loses outright.

Total

This refers to how many goals will be scored in the match. If there are three goals or more, a bet on over 2.5 would be a winner. If there are two goals or fewer, a bet on under 2.5 would cash.

Where it can get a bit harder to understand is when we’re dealing with totals such as over/under 2.25. In that case, the same logic regarding Asian handicaps can be used. Betting over 2.25 means half your stake is placed on over 2 and the other half on over 2.5. If the match were to end 1-1, the half of your bet on over 2 would push, while the half on over 2.5 would lose.

BTTS

If you didn’t know this market before, you do now. BTTS stands for “Both Teams To Score.” This is a simple yes/no market. Either you want to bet that both teams will score in a given match, in which case you bet yes, or you think at least one of the two sides will fail to score, in which case you’d bet no.

You can also combine the BTTS market with the result of the match. This isn’t as tricky as it might appear. If you think Aston Villa will win the match and both teams will score, you’d bet “Aston Villa, Yes,” which is offered at +500. If you think Sheffield United will win and keep a clean sheet – otherwise known as “win to nil” in soccer speak – you’d bet “Sheffield United, No,” which is offered at +275. If you think the match will end 0-0, you’d bet “Draw, No,” which can be had at the attractive price of +850.

First, last, and anytime scorer

This one is also straightforward, but it usually includes a longer list of players. I’ve shortened it for the sake of this example.

Here, you can bet on a given player of your choosing to be the game’s first scorer, last scorer, or to score at any time in the match. If you think Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi will score the game’s first goal, you’d find his name, and bet him under the “First” column, which is offered at +800. If you’d like to bet him to score at any point in the match, regardless of whether his goal is first, last, or somewhere in the middle, you’d bet him under the “Anytime” column, which is offered here at +275.

Handicapping matches

You can find information on how to cap matches here.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.