Football Betting: The Barclays Premier League kicks off on the 14th August; Chelsea and Manchester United are head to head but can Man City upset the party? Chris Hutcheon previews.
Once again the Premiership title tussle is considered a two-horse race between champions Chelsea, a 9/5 chance at Betdaq and Manchester United, quoted at 11/4 by Victor Chandler. The latter finished just a point behind the former last season but they looked more vulnerable than they had done for a while and with the likes of Paul Scholes another year older and Rio Ferdinand increasingly injury prone, United may have to settle for second behind the Blues.
Big-spending Manchester City, and Arsenal, are quoted at 5/1 (Jaxx.com) and 7/1 (Stan James) respectively to clinch top spot but will probably scrap it out for third while Liverpool, who were seventh last term and are set to lose Javier Mascherano amongst others, could realistically be far higher than Betfred’s unappealing 16/1.
Roy Hodgson’s side will also struggle to finish in the top four , as could Tottenham who are 3/1 with Stan James to repeat last season’s feat. Manchester City’s probable improvement suggests that they’re a better bet at 4/7 (Betfred) while the Gunners (4/6, Stan James) can also pip Harry Redknapp’s troops, whose European distractions could affect domestic form.
At the bottom, it’s hard to see Blackpool competing and they’re a tempting evens (bet365) to finish rock bottom. Promoted West Brom are evens for the drop courtesy of 888Sport but the eye catching relegation candidate are Wigan at 9/4 with Ladbrokes. The Latics conceded an astonishing 55 times on the road as they finished 16th last time out and if they don’t plug their glaring defensive leaks they will end up a couple of places lower. Victor Chandler’s 5/1 shots Bolton meanwhile, might find themselves dragged into danger if they don’t start well.
Finally, Didier Drogba (11/2, Paddy Power) and Wayne Rooney (6/1, Victor Chandler) dominate the top scorer betting but at 25/1 with William Hill, Emmanuel Adebayor may be worth an interest. Settled in at City now, the Togolese marksman can form a prolific partnership with Carlos Tevez and improve on last season’s 14-goal haul, in a side likely to be a touch more consistent.
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