We have gone through the top end of the Premier League and the goalscorers so before the season begins on Saturday afternoon there is just enough time to have a look at some of the other markets that have been priced up for the division.
We have markets on things like top and bottom half finish, relegation, highest and lowest scoring teams and even who will top the league at Christmas. Having looked at them all we’ve picked out bets in three of them to give us further long-term interest in the season.
Relegation
The obvious starting point when assessing the relegation markets is to look towards the three teams that got promoted although this year I don’t think it is quite as easy as to say the three coming up will go straight back down. Last season only one team that went up went back down and I certainly don’t expect Leeds to go down. Fulham and West Brom perhaps but there are goals in Fulham so they might be alright too.
That means in my head we have at least one open spot for the drop if not too. You then look at the clubs who struggled but just stayed up last season and you have Aston Villa, West Ham United, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United. Villa, Palace and Newcastle have all added a goalscorer to their ranks which I always feel is important so I’m letting them go and while West Ham look like a mess going into the season I suspect they might have enough to stay up, while Brighton are getting better.
That means we might be looking for someone to fade more than initially thought and it is Sheffield United that I fear for. They did brilliantly last season but they struggled for goals. They only found 39 of them and of the teams still in the division this season only Crystal Palace and Newcastle failed to match that tally, and as I’ve highlighted both have signed a good quality striker in Michy Batshuayi and Callum Wilson respectively. Dean Henderson won Sheffield United a lot of points last season and he isn’t around this term either. The Blades struggled in the main after the restart and I fear for them this season.
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Lowest Scoring Team
This is a market I was one away from landing with Crystal Palace last season but sadly Norwich barely scored in the last 10 games and that did for me. I’m not going with Palace again this season though because they created a lot of chances last season but just had nobody to put the ball in the back of the net. That should change with the move for Batshuayi though so they might be better for it. Newcastle were low scorers too and they have also added a striker.
Sheffield United could be value in this market at 11/1 and I might talk myself into getting involved in it at the last minute but right now it doesn’t make much sense to back them to go down and to be the lowest scorers so instead I’ll take the 5/1 on West Brom being the lowest scoring team. Fulham were the lowest scoring team of the three that came up but they might be better suited to the Premier League challenge than the Baggies. My big concern with West Brom is that they lack a potent goalscorer at this level and if Matheus Pereira doesn’t like up the Premier League they could struggle for creativity and goals. I’m expecting West Brom to struggle this season so the 5/1 on them to be the lowest scorers feels right to me.
Top Half Finish
The other market that I am interested in is the top half finish one where the 13/8 on Southampton just looks too big to me. Southampton were only one place off the top 10 last season and there is no doubt in my mind that they are a team on the up who have so much improvement still to come from them. They have still struggle to pick up points at home but when they crack that issue they are going to be some side because they are brilliantly suited to playing away from home.
Southampton visibly got stronger and more confident defensively last season and they have reinforced in that area ahead of this campaign and they have a goal machine up front. They have pace, trickery and a calmness about them in the middle of the park and a boss in Ralph Hasenhuttl who is so underrated it is untrue. There are one or two who finished in the top half last season who I don’t expect to be there this season and the Saints can take their place.
Tips
WON – Back Sheffield United to be relegated for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with William Hill
Back them here:
Back West Brom Lowest Scoring Team for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with Betfair
Back them here:
Back Southampton Top Half Finish for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Bet365
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