The 2017-18 Premier League season kicks off this week with one game Friday and the rest of the schedule playing out Saturday and Sunday. In anticipation of the new campaign, our footy experts Andrew Avery and Rob Trites break down some of the more popular season-long wagers to help find you some good betting value.
Andrew: Chelsea (+325)
Looking at the way the squads shape up, it feels like the title will come down to two sides: Manchester City and last season’s Sportsbooks, Chelsea. Considering the price on the defending champs just days away from the beginning of the season, you have to like them to repeat at the betting window.
Gone are John Terry, Nemanja Matic and, potentially, Diego Costa. In are Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger. If Costa and his 20 goals exit, Morata should be more than able to fill the void nicely.
The Blues were exceptional wire-to-wire last season without European football so we’ll see how Antonio Conte and crew will do now that they’ll be playing Champions League. The price is right for a Chelsea futures bet, though.
Rob: Manchester City (+185)
Yeah, it’s the chalky play but my esteemed colleague stole Chelsea from me and my inner contrarian won’t allow me to simply follow suit.
I foolishly took the Sky Blues in this spot a season ago and it wasn’t long before I realized there were some leaks in Pep’s ship. While there’s still some crack-filling to be done up the middle, Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danillo should give City that pace on the wing they lacked in Year 1 under Pep.
City is a team that’s now better equipped to take on the best clubs in England, something it struggled with last season, going 0-2-4 in league matches against the other top three finishers.
Like Andrew, I believe that Man City and Chelsea will be the No. 1 and No. 2 clubs when all is done and dusted and if you don’t like the value on the Citizens to win the league, a bet on that exact finishing order will pay +900.
- Manchester City +175
- Chelsea +325
- Manchester United +325
- Tottenham Hotspur +900
- Liverpool +1100
- Arsenal +1100
- Everton +6600
- Leicester City +20000
- Southampton +35000
- West Ham +35000
- Bournemouth +50000
- Crystal Palace +50000
- Newcastle +50000
- Stoke +50000
- West Brom +50000
- Swansea +75000
- Burnley +100000
- Watford +100000
- Brighton and Hove Albion +150000
- Huddersfield Town +150000
Bet on the Premier League today at Sportsbook
Andrew: Harry Kane (+275)
Not the sexiest pick on the board, but hey, he scores when he wants.
Kane has notched 75 goals in the last three Premier League campaigns and his Tottenham Hotspur side has held firm throughout the transfer window with little to no turnover, save for the departure of Kyle Walker to Man City. Still, the players featured in Mauricio Pochettino’s attack (Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, etc.) are as good as it gets in the league, evidenced by the club’s league-leading 86 goals for.
I feel strongly that Romelu Lukaku (+400) won’t score as much for Manchester United as he did for Everton and City’s duo of Sergio Aguero (+550) and Gabriel Jesus (+800) will spend a lot of time on the injured list. Morata looks good at +1000 as does Dele at a staggering price of +3300, but this is Kane’s prize.
Don’t be surprised to see him get off to a slow start (it’s what he does) but come season’s end, he – and the folks who back this futures bet – will be rewarded.
Rob: Romelu Lukaku (+400)
We’ve got a conflicting pick, ladies and gentleman, adjust your seats to the upright position and fasten your seatbelts – this could get turbulent.
Not returning to Chelsea as was speculated, the Belgian Beast will take over the goal-scoring reins at Old Trafford after his offseason transfer to Manchester United and he’s the second favorite to win the Golden Boot behind two-time incumbent champ Harry Kane.
Lukaku is a dynamic talent who’s in for a major boost in the delivery department. Many of the 25 goals he scored last season were self-created but with the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan now feeding him, it’s not ridiculous to think he breaches the 30-goal mark.
While Hurricane Harry is a strong candidate to defend his title for a second consecutive season, I fear Wembley will be his demise. Kane scored 17 of his 29 league goals at White Hart Lane in Tottenham’s final year at the historic stadium but given Spurs’ inability to put the ball in the net at London’s marquee sporting venue, a serious drop in production could be in the offing.
- Harry Kane +275
- Romelu Lukaku +400
- Sergio Aguero +550
- Gabriel Jesus +800
- Diego Costa +1000
- Alvaro Morata +1000
- Alexandre Lacazette +1100
- Alexis Sanchez +1200
- Marcus Rashford +2500
- Sadio Mane +2500
- Javier Hernandez +2800
- Sandro Ramirez +3300
- Daniel Sturridge +3300
- Olivier Giroud +3300
- Dele Alli +3300
- Eden Hazard +3300
- Manolo Gabbiadini +4000
- Michy Batshuayi +4000
- Jamie Vardy +4000
- Anthony Martial +4000
- Christian Benteke +4000
- Kelechi Iheanacho +4000
- Divock Origi +4000
- Mohamed Salah +5000
- Jermain Defoe +5000
- Roberto Firmino +5000
- Heung-Min Son +5000
- Tammy Abraham +6600
- Leroy Sane +6600
- Charlie Austin +6600
- Danny Welbeck +6600
- Josh King +6600
- Andy Carroll +6600
- Callum Wilson +6600
- Philippe Coutinho +6600
- Wayne Rooney +6600
- Kevin De Bruyne +6600
- Dwight Gayle +6600
- Fernando Llorente +8000
- Andre Gray +8000
- Jose Salamon Rondon +10000
- Pedro +10000
- Saido Berahino +10000
- Theo Walcott +10000
- Riyad Mahrez +10000
- Benik Afobe +10000
- Jay Rodriguez +10000
- Raheem Sterling +10000
- Troy Deeney +15000
- Andre Ayew +15000
- Glenn Murray +15000
- Gylfi Sigurdsson +15000
- Henrik Mkhitaryan +15000
- Islam Slimani +15000
- Marko Arnautovic +15000
- Aleksandar Mitrovic +15000
- Mesut Ozil +15000
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain +20000
- Dominic Solanke +20000
- Anthony Knockaert +20000
- Nahki Wells +20000
- Nathan Redmond +20000
- Peter Crouch +20000
- Sam Vokes +20000
- Shane Long +20000
- Wilfried Zaha +20000
- Tomer Hemed +20000
- Elias Kachunga +25000
- Sam Baldock +25000
Bet on the Premier League today at Sportsbook
Andrew: Swansea (+225)
The Swans are fifth on the oddsboard here and this bet really hinges on the Gylfi Sigurdsson saga. If the Icelandic maestro departs for greener pastures – which looks probable – this is as close to a lock as you can get in my estimation.
Swansea was bad for the majority of last season – like really bad – but closed with four wins and one draw in its last five matches to finish seven points clear of relegation.
If Gylfi (and young defender Alfie Mawson, for that matter) departs, then this will be a disastrous season for the Welsh outfit. Hell, even if they stay, Swansea is going to have a tough go of things in a league that gets better every year.
Rob: Watford (+150)
Putting together one of the worst stretches of football the Premier League has seen in some time, the Hornets failed to earn a single point in their final six contests last year and they narrowly missed relegation.
Many, including myself, had positive feelings regarding the Yellow Jackets after they managed six points out of two fixtures against West Ham and Man United in their fourth and fifth matches. Those happy thoughts – obviously – didn’t last long. The Hornets went on to achieve just eight more points away from Vicarage Road and the four goals they got out of their final eight matches helped them accumulate the league’s third-worst goal differential.
Watford management didn’t do enough in the window to shave some age off the second-oldest club in the Prem and I’ll be stung if the buzzards of North London do anything but toil in the league’s basement.
- Huddersfield Town -175
- Brighton and Hove Albion +120
- Burnley +125
- Watford +150
- Swansea City +225
- Newcastle Utd +300
- Crystal Palace +450
- West Bromwich Albion +550
- Bournemouth +575
- Stoke City +700
- West Ham Utd +1000
- Leicester City +1400
- Southampton +2500
- Everton +10000
- Tottenham Hotspur +10000
- Arsenal +100000
- Liverpool +100000
- Manchester United +150000
- Chelsea +200000
- Manchester City +250000
Bet on the Premier League today at Sportsbook
Andrew: Arsenal (+110)
Look, the Premier League’s Champions League spots are a battle between six teams: City, Chelsea, United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal. Therefore, I’m taking the Gunners here at +110 since they have the best value out of the six aforementioned clubs.
Save for the signing of Alexandre Lacazette, the North London club hasn’t done much to bolster the squad (though Saed Kolasinac on a free could be some seriously good under-the-radar business) which could be a tad disconcerting considering the potential departures of Alexis Sanchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and some others who have worn the red shirt down the years.
They might be sixth on the board but the Gunners will always have a shot here. Spurs (-140) are playing in Wembley and if last season’s Champions League fixtures are any indication, they could very well struggle there. Liverpool (-120) could be on the verge of losing Coutinho if the insane transfer rumors are to be believed and those will be some big shoes to fill at Anfield.
Liverpool (-120)
With Chelsea and both Manchesters in a de facto arms race, cracking the top three won’t be easy and it’s likely that Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool are left fighting for fourth. Of those clubs, it’s Liverpool that could have the easiest row to hoe.
Jurgen Klopp, outside of being the quirkiest character in the EPL, is an excellent manager. His uptempo style of football has translated well to England and it should only get better with time. Expect Liverpool’s second full season with Klopp at the helm to be a good one.
This pick, though, is as much about Liverpool as it is the doom I feel is destined to haunt North London in the forthcoming campaign.
As a fan of Tottenham, I’m realistic about their ceiling in 2017-18. White Hart Lane was a fortress for Spurs which Wembley has no chance of being. As for Arsenal? Come on. Arsene Wenger is still drunk at the wheel and while his acquisition of Lacazette turned some heads, it’s not going to turn this club in the right direction.
However, if Coutinho does indeed punch his ticket out of town, Tottenham is my contingency pick to finish fourth. The Brazilian engine was one of the EPL’s five best players last year and Liverpool has no suitable replacement for him at the moment.
Top 4 Finish
- Manchester City -550
- Chelsea -350
- Manchester United -300
- Tottenham Hotspur -140
- Liverpool -120
- Arsenal +110
- Everton +1000
- Leicester City +1600
- Southampton +1600
- West Ham Utd +3300
- Crystal Palace +5000
- Bournemouth +6600
- Stoke City +6600
- West Bromwich Albion +6600
- Newcastle Utd +8000
- Swansea City +8000
- Burnley +15000
- Watford +20000
- Brighton and Hove Albion +30000
- Huddersfield Town +50000
Bet on the Premier League today at Sportsbook
Andrew: Newcastle (-165)
No real surprise here. I went a bit under the radar one year ago in this column, taking Middlesbrough, who promptly went back down to The Championship finishing with 28 points. So, this year, I’m going with the chalky Magpies.
Newcastle won the league with 94 points (one ahead of Brighton) as the joint top-scoring club (85 goals for) and they featured the joint lowest goals allowed (40 goals against).
Experienced manager Rafa Benitez is more than enough to help guide this club to safety in 2017-18 but an injection of quality via the likes of Spain under-21 international Mikel Merino from Borussia Dortmund should bolster a squad that already features decent players like Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic in attack and Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie in the middle of the park.
Chalky price but considering they’re up against Brighton (+200) and Huddersfield (+450) in this prop, it shouldn’t be much of an issue for the Magpies.
Rob: Newcastle (-165)
This is the only correct take and as much as it pains me to ride Andrew’s coattails, he’s got me handcuffed.
Seeing Newcastle go down is always a shocker and a second demotion this decade has got to have this club motivated to stay in the Premiership by any means necessary. The Geordies’ first-place finish in the club’s lone championship season helped show Newcastle’s true colors and a very achievable mid-table finish should be more than enough to keep them ahead of their promotion partners.
At -165, this kind of feels like stealing candy from an Arsenal fan (because they’re babies).
- Newcastle Utd -165
- Brighton and Hove Albion +200
- Huddersfield Town +450
Bet on the Premier League today at Sportsbook
