It’s that time of the year again! The beginning of the English Premier League!
The start of the 2019-20 campaign is slated for August 9, and with the kick-off being just right around the corner, Bovada has provided us with a set of odds. As far as the favorite is concerned, it should be no surprise that Manchester City is listed as a heavy -185 favorite to win a third consecutive title for a three-peat.
Not only is City coming off of a championship season, but they’re also coming off of a year that saw them tie their own EPL win record at 32. This would put them at first place on the table to finish a point over Liverpool. After putting up 100 points to win the 2017-18 championship, they would place just two points under with 98 total to win last season’s title.
And the rich get richer: That would describe the Citizens’ offseason. They would go out and improve their midfield, and in a big way. They would sign Rodri from Atletico Madrid in a power move, and he’ll now join their superstar talent of Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Kevin De Bruyne. With nothing but improvement heading into the new campaign, Manchester City is the obvious selection to be the favorite, and with the exception of Liverpool, there’s no other team that can realistically beat them. The back-to-back champions will be better this season than last, and that’s scary.
For De Bruyne in particular, he’s entering the new season off of a campaign that saw him hit with injuries left and right that saw him just in action for 19 matches. He’s hoping the new year will result in a repeat of 2017-18, where he would win the Premier League Player of the Year. For Sterling and Silva, they were on point last season. Sterling would tally 17 goals in EPL play, while Silva would score 13 goals combined in all competitions.
AFTER WINNING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, LIVERPOOL WANTS PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE
They would win the most prestigious tournament in European soccer last season in the Champions League, but they’re still looking for their first Premier League championship since the launch in 1992 — that’s where Mohamed Salah and company come into play. On the odds-board, the Reds sit in the No. 2 position with a figure of +275.
Liverpool would nearly claim that first EPL title last season, however, they would fall just one point behind Manchester City. They would come up just short, but would still tally an incredible 30 wins and 97 points, both franchise records — they would suffer just one loss the entire season. The Reds would also take a share of the Golden Boot through their star striker Salah, who would post up 22 goals en route to sharing the award with teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Coming into the new season, Salah is currently at the top of the odds alongside Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane to be the top goalscorer. As you see, the resources are still there for repeated success.
Speaking of the Spurs, they’re currently third in the odds placed at +1800, while Chelsea and Manchester United are tied for the fourth position at +2500. Arsenal sits in the No. 6 spot with a +4000 figure.
CAN TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR DO IT AGAIN?
Without a doubt, Tottenham Hotspur overachieved last season, and in multiple competitions. In the English Premier League, they would finish in the fourth position with a total of 23 wins and 71 points, but their biggest success came in the Champions League. There, they would go all the way to the final for the first time in club history — they would get dropped to EPL rival Liverpool, 2-0.
Now the question is: Can they do it again? The end of last season, they would crumble quite a bit, only winning three out of their last 12 matches. So with that being said, we’re about to find out if 2018-19 was a fluke or not for the Spurs.
AROUND THE REST OF THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Both Chelsea and Manchester United would end their seasons on a dismal note. For the Blues, they would take just one victory out of their last five matches. During that same stretch of five games, the Red Devils wouldn’t take a single win at all.
Another club that would end their season off on a bad note was Arsenal, particularly throughout the entire last month. Things would start out great for the Gunners, winning 14 consecutive matches at one point in the season that would lift them to the top of the Premier League table. However, things got sticky at the end, with Arsenal just claiming two W’s out of seven matches.
On the rest of the odds-board provided by the best Premier League betting sites, all three teams of Leicester City, Everton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers come in a multiple team tie at +15000. West Ham United comes in at a distant +50000. As for the rest of the table, the remaining clubs and their odds are either +75000 or higher. The biggest long shot of the bunch is Sheffield United placed at +250000.
As previously mentioned, Manchester City had an amazing season in 2018-19, compiling a record of 32-2-4 for a total of 98 points to secure the Premier League championship. They would also end their season on a perfect note as well, going 6/6 in their last stretch of matches. And why shouldn’t they do it again? They’re the most potent offense in the EPL, tallying 95 goals last season. and their defense is top-notch as well only allowing 0.6 goals-per-game against them last year. Going back to their offense real quick, they even have three different players in double-digit scoring: Sergio Aguero (21), Raheem Sterling (17) and Leroy Sane (10). With no losses and the acquisition of Rodri, Manchester City is sitting pretty for three straight Premier League titles.
Liverpool would nearly snag their first EPL title last season, falling just short behind Manchester City by only one point. Regardless, it would still be an unbelievable season with just a one-loss record of 30-7-1 and 97 points. On top of that, they would end things on a hot note winning all six of their last stretch of games. In offensive rankings, they take the No. 2 position placed six goals behind the Citizens, and like City, they also have three strikers in double-digits: Sadio Mane (22), Mohamed Salah (22) and Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira (12). It’s a pretty similar offense as the current champions of Manchester City, but then when you look at defense, the numbers are identical: The Reds also allowed just 0.6 goals-per-game against them last season. Just more powerhouse numbers from a powerhouse club — you can expect for of the same the upcoming campaign.
According to the odds-makers, we have arrived at our first long-shot of the board with Tottenham Hotspur placed at +1800 — this tends to happen when you’re up against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. Another thing that explains the distant odds is how depressing the end of the season was for the Spurs. They would accumulate a successful 23-2-13 record that saw them finish fourth on the EPL table, but in their last six, they would only win two of those matches, losing three and drawing one. However, the Spurs have the tools to have another successful season, but there will just be too much inconsistency for Tottenham to take them seriously, hence the odds. Their offense is very potent, holding the No. 4 ranking in goals scored with a total of 67. On the defensive side, they’re not too shabby either with an average of 1.0 goals-per-game against them. With no losses and still being led by Harry Kane, Mauricio Pochettino’s squad is sure to be among the top five once again, but don’t expect a championship — that’s either going to Manchester City or Liverpool.
Chelsea would have a typical Chelsea season in 2018-19, posting up a tally of 21-9-8 with 72 points to go along with it. However, momentum would fall off at the end, with just two wins in six matches. They would lose one of those and draw the other three. Statistically, things went well for them as usual, posting a top 10 offense ranked in the No. 6 position with 63 goals scored. When you look at the defensive side, it was the same thing, but it could have been better going by the Blues’ standards — still, a solid season with an average of 1.0 goal-per-game against them. With their offense, however, I’m a bit concerned about the fire-power. Last season, they would rely heavily on Eden Hazard and his 16 goals, the next most was Pedro with eight total. With that being said though, they would make a power move replacing Maurizio Sarri with Chelsea legend Frank Lampard as manager. I would expect a very well-improved Blues club this year, and I would even place them over Tottenham Hotspur, personally.
The struggle was real for Manchester United last season. After leaking confidence more and more under Jose Mourinho, they would finally make the move to United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Under his leadership, the Red Devils (19-9-10, 66 points) would start out great, winning match after match. However, the end of the season would cause them to lose momentum, dropping three out of their last six, and only winning one of them — they would draw the other two. Their offense would provide the numbers, placing fifth overall in the league with a total of 65 goals scored. On the defensive side though, it’s a bit problematic, with their average of 1.4 goals-per-game against them being just a bit too high for Red Devils branded soccer. If they clean that up, Man United could have a very successful season this year. As I said, there’s no issues with the offense, especially considering their four strikers in double-digits: Paul Pogba (13), Romelu Lukaku (12), Anthony Martial (10) and Marcus Rashford (10). If the defense improves, expect Manchester United to be in the hunt.
Arsenal would have a successful campaign in 2018-19, posting up a record of 21-7-10 cracking the 70-point threshold at 70. However, like rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Manchester United, they would crumble in their last six, losing three matches, drawing two and winning just one. Their offense was massively potent last season, posting No. 3 in the EPL just behind Manchester City and Liverpool with a total of 73 goals. A lot of that is courtesy of the power coming from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, particularly Aubameyang who scored 22 goals for the share of the Golden Boot. Lacazette would add 13. Their defense allowed 1.3 goals-per-game against them, so like Manchester United, if Arsenal can clean it up on goal protection, the Gunners could have a huge season this year. They have the offense to do it, now they just need the defensive side to step up the game. They do that, Arsenal is sitting beautifully.
For their standards, Everton would have a pretty successful season last year, tallying a winning 15-9-14 record that would place them with 54 points. Also for their standards, they wouldn’t end the season too bad either, winning three out of their last six matches, drawing two and only losing one. They would also post a top 10 offense with a total of 54 goals scored, with two of their strikers placing in double-digits with scoring: Richarlison (13) and Gylfi Sigurdsson (13). Pretty solid numbers, and it doesn’t end there. They would also have a tally of 1.2 goals-per-game against them, which again, isn’t bad by their standards. The main issue for Everton is that they just don’t have the kind of talent and transfer budget to compete with the powerhouses of the league, which explains their +15000 odds, but for the kind of club they are, they’ll have another successful season with their previously mentioned standards.
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