Football fans can soon rejoice after a long and tedious summer without any footballing action as another Premiership season is almost upon us. Excitement is reaching a fever pitch: supporters are desperate to see their clubs’ big name signings take to the pitch and show what they can do, while punters are itching for some serious matches to bet on. The wait is almost over, but in the two-week build up to the big day futures betting will dominate. Most of the action is going on favourites Man City to win the title at 19/10, followed by Man Utd at 7/2 and then Arsenal at 12/1, with 10Bet offering the best odds on all three outcomes. But any bettors do not want to wait until next May to be paid out, so an interesting line to look at is who will be top at the end of August, i.e. who will get off to the best start this season.
Man City are predictably the favourites, particularly as they started so well last season before falling away and finishing third. Paddy Power has 16/5 on Pep Guardiola’s men and the same price on Man Utd, who finished sixth last season after drawing far too many games. It is a little surprising to see Man Utd at that price, but they are actually seeing more action than Man City or anyone else. City look the better option of the two after their extravagant summer spending, but that price still looks a little low and there is a lot of value further down the field.
Many punters are placing speculative bets on newly promoted Huddersfield at 100/1, but you would be better off burning your money than entertaining that option. Far more sensible options are Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal, particularly when you learn the odds being offered on them. It is ludicrous to see Chelsea as third favourites for the title with some bookmakers when they won the league at a canter last season, have sold none of their stars and have bolstered their squad with superb signings, with more expensive recruits in the pipeline. Would it be outrageous for the champions to carry their form into the new season and be top on September 1?
Green listed bookmakers are offering 6/1 on that outcome, which seems a hugely attractive price. Spurs and Liverpool are both 5/1 and of the two Tottenham look the better option. They will have to adjust to playing at a new stadium, but they were in phenomenal form towards the end of the last campaign, simply blowing teams away and racking up enormous scorelines, so that 5/1 looks good.
Another team that could come flying out of the blocks is Arsenal. They are unlikely to sustain a title challenge across the entire season, but Arsene Wenger’s teams often either start a season really well or end it really well, and if this is the former then the 14/1 on offer at Paddy Power and 188Bet looks amazing, all the more so when you remember that Wenger’s teams often enjoy a really strong start to the season when there has been no major international tournament that summer.
And if you really want a long shot Leicester City, crowned Premiership champions but 15 months ago, is a better shout at 100/1 than Huddersfield. Or how about Everton? The Toffees have been extremely ambitious since Farhad Moshiri purchased the club and spending money like it is going out of fashion this summer. They too finished last season in strong form and you can get 66/1 on them topping the table on September 1 at Betfair.
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