A week after the English domestic season got underway, the Premier League 2024-25 campaign begins on Friday night as 20 sides line up looking to achieve their dream of winning the so called biggest league in the world.
Manchester City remain the team to beat after winning the title for a fourth successive time last term but a number of sides are strengthening in the hope that this is the season where City are vulnerable. It makes for an exciting season.
Recent Winners
2023-24 – Manchester City
2022-23 – Manchester City
2021-22 – Manchester City
2020-21 – Manchester City
2019-20 – Liverpool
2018-19 – Manchester City
2017-18 – Manchester City
2016-17 – Chelsea
2015-16 – Leicester City
2014-15 – Chelsea
The Favourites
Manchester City remain the favourites to win the league for what would be an unprecedented fifth time in succession but the days of them being odds on to win the division look to be long gone. One reason for that is the perception that they are an aging side while even if they aren’t the loss of Julian Alvarez feels like a big one. There is also the many charges hanging over their heads and it appears that is getting resolved this term. 6/4 could look a very big price come May but there are probably more reasons to oppose them this time.
Arsenal pushed Manchester City all the way to the final day of last season before finally going down in the title race but they are 15/8 to reverse the positions this time around. It must be said that Arsenal were very fortunate with injuries last term and it remains to be seen if they can avoid issues this time around. They have strengthened with the signing of Riccardo Calafiori and if they can continue to improve in forward areas then Mikel Arteta and his men shouldn’t be too far away.
Liverpool begin a new era this season as Jurgen Klopp has left the club and Arne Slot has come in looking to continue the incredible work of the German. It has to be said that there are shades of the next man up after Sir Alex Ferguson down the road at Manchester United about whoever would replace Klopp regardless of their quality. That is something Liverpool need to show they can overcome but if a fresh voice in the dressing room has the right effect then 7/1 for them to win the title might be interesting to some. Their defence remains a concern.
Manchester United are the fourth best team in the market and their FA Cup win last season shows that when they get it right in individual matches they can be a match for anyone but over 38 games it might be a different story. They have surprisingly kept with Erik ten Hag and you get the feeling that remains an accident waiting to happen. Signings are beginning to arrive at Old Trafford but there are still one or two areas which remain a concern and could ultimately see their ceiling being a return to the top four rather than a title tilt.
The Contenders
Chelsea remain a bit of an impossible club to call but they are 25/1 on the best prices to win the title. You would imagine that would be a big jump from where they were under Mauricio Pochettino to winning the league under a manager who is yet to take charge of a single Premier League match. Chelsea have more players than they know what to do with and while some positive signings have arrived at the Bridge they were a work in progress under Poch and are probably vulnerable to sides who have more stability about them.
Tottenham Hotspur are around 28/1 to win the league this season. That is probably a bit of a reach still even though they have added Dominic Solanke to their strike force. I don’t think there is enough depth in the heart of their defence for a title challenge but even with Europa League football to contend with this term there should be an improvement in Tottenham, who shouldn’t have to contend with the injury list they did last season. If Ange can get James Maddison back to the form he started last season in then Spurs are genuine top four challengers at the very least.
Newcastle United are 33/1 to win the league this term. The enormous positive around them is that there is no European football for them to juggle this season. You would imagine that they will target the cups a bit more as the desperation to win a trophy continues but even then their schedule is going to be a lot lighter than those around them. If Alexander Isak stays fit then the Toom Army should certainly be getting their passports ready for another season of European football but perhaps not an open bus tour for a title party.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for the Premier League! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Best of the Rest
Aston Villa finished fourth in the table last season but they are 70/1 to win the league this time around. You could easily make the argument that they are going to be a better side in terms of strength this term given the recruitment that they have made with the likes of Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Jaden Philogene and Lewis Dobbin all brought in to add competition for a club who now have Champions League football to contend with. That might be their undoing but there is no reason why they will drop off completely.
Just one other team are worthy of note in the outright market and that is West Ham United at 250/1. I don’t think they are title challengers but they were probably always going to improve without European football and a more progressive manager anyway but some really appealing signings have made their way to the London Stadium and if they gel relatively quickly then the Hammers are certainly ones to keep an eye on in the side markets in this league if not the upper echelons of it.
Betting
I actually think this could be the season that Arsenal win the title but I wouldn’t want one of those scenarios to play out where everyone thinks that Manchester City are going to get deducted a bunch of points because of the number of charges levelled against them and then that doesn’t happen and they do what they always do and kill the second half of the campaign and pip the Gunners at the post again so rather than take the 15/8 on Arsenal to win the league, I’ll play the 9/4 on them being top of the pile on Christmas Day, something they have achieved in the last two seasons even though they haven’t gone on to lift the title. City do start slowly under Pep Guardiola and with Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle in their opening six matches there are fixtures where a weaker start could have come anyway without them having to deal with having five players playing in the Euro 2024 final just five weeks before their opening Premier League assignment, some of whom will naturally need to be nurtured back to full fitness after their summer break. Arsenal did most of their transfer activity earlier in the summer and only had Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka in that Euro final. I still think these are the two who will dominate the league so the 9/4 on Arsenal to be top at Christmas not only gets a payout five months earlier at a better price but probably offers more security in the campaign.
As I said above, I think the title race will be between Arsenal and Manchester City but there are reverse tricast markets out there and it might just be worth taking Liverpool on for third spot. While it must be said that the Reds haven’t lost anyone of any huge significance since last season, they haven’t brought anyone significant in yet and have lost a giant figure of a manager so there has to be some initial doubts over the Anfield outfit and were things to take the sort of downturn that they did at Manchester United when Fergie left, and they could do given that Klopp has left Slot without a defence and not much of a midfield, then someone could burst the top three and take advantage and while I wouldn’t be completely comfortable if Tottenham Hotspur begin the season with the centre-back options they currently have, there is still more than two weeks for them to bring another in and they could be the springers because I think Dominic Solanke ticked the hole left by Harry Kane and only injuries denied Spurs a top four finish last season anyway. Some good signings are being made in North London and so the 17/2 on Spurs to break the top three feels acceptable to me.
Tips
Back Arsenal to be top on Christmas Day for a 3/10 stake at 3.25 with Coral
Back Arsenal/Man City/Tottenham Dual Tricast for a 1/10 stake at 9.50 with Spreadex
