Free tips Who will win the Premiership this year?
When Leicester City won the league in 2015 with starting odds 5000/1, this led more and more supporters to believe their own team could repeat The Foxes’ incredible feat.
Even fans of newly-promoted Huddersfield Town, Newcastle, and Brighton and Hove Albion have been tempted to bet money on their team to win the league, regardless of how unlikely that may be.
But who are the bookmakers’ real favourites and is there any money to be made?
Chelsea – third favourites
Despite being the defending Premier League champions, it’s telling that just 1 of 40 BBC sports journalists believe the Blues can repeat the feat. In fact, very few fans or pundits expect Antonio Conte’s men to retain their crown this season.
Chelsea have signed some great players this summer, with Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko all adding strength to the squad. It also speaks volumes that Conte has expressed displeasure at the sale of Nemanja Matic to a close rival in Manchester United. The Diego Costa saga also shows no sign of abating.
Chelsea started the season badly with a 3-2 loss at home to Burnley. Nevertheless, the Blues have fought back; their four wins on the trot showed they will not surrender the title so easily. When Betfreds opened its Premier League book at the start of May, Chelsea were joint favourites with Manchester City at 11/4. Now they are third favourites at 5/1.
After their resurgence, we wouldn’t bet against Chelsea, and the football predictions from the expert tipsters are inclined to agree
Manchester United – second favourites
Once-dominant Manchester United haven’t won the league title in four years. But after prising a deal for prolific striker Romelu Lukaku from the hands of the champions and also taking Matic off their hands, United are real contenders to win the prize for the first time since 2013.
After four wins and one draw in five games, United are level in every respect with City. Their consecutive 4-0 drubbings of West Ham and Swansea show they are a force to be reckoned with.
The 2-2 draw at Stoke exposed weaknesses in their defence, but another 4-0 win over Everton on September 17 showed United can win without playing well. They may have started the betting as third favourites at 7/2 on Betfred, but now the Red Devils are 11/4 on Bet 365, while Hills offer odds of 13/5, all of which show you could make some money by backing them.
Manchester City – favourites
With arguably the strongest squad in the league, Pep Guardiola has little excuse for not bringing the Premier League to the Ethiad for the first time since 2014. When City were 4-0 up against Watford, they amount of talent they were able to bring off the bench was mind blowing. In most other top teams, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane would make the first 11 every time.
However, they do have a weakness in John Stones, with the central defender proving unreliable at times last season. On September 9, Nicolas Otamendi was targeted by Liverpool frequently before the Reds capitulated following the sending off of Sadio Mane. And with Vincent Kompany unavailable, it’s clear the Catalan’s men are far from invincible.
At evens to win the league with several bookies, there isn’t much money to be made by betting on the Sky Blues. Considering the aforementioned weaknesses, you could even lose your stake.
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