Premiership fans are facing up to the slog that is a summer without the beautiful game and are already gearing up for next season. Green Listed Bookmakers have released odds in a range of markets, and with transfer gossip abound the excitement surrounding the 2017-18 campaign is reaching a fever pitch. There are more futures betting options in the Premiership already than any other league in the world, and he we analyse the crucial ones:
Winner
Chelsea won the Premiership at a canter last season and will be surprised that the bookmakers have made Man City favourites for 2017-18 (2/1 with 10Bet). Pep Guardiola struggled to adapt to English football, and City were well off the pace in third, but bookies are expecting them to splash the cash this summer and close the gap. They have forked out for a new goalkeeper, which is a good start as Claudio Bravo was a disaster, but they need to seriously strengthen their defence if they are to have a chance. They look too risky by a long stretch. Man Utd (7/2 with William Hill and Sky Bet) could be a greater threat as they defend well and will kick on if they bolster their attack, which they will, but they have lacked ambition going forwards and could be distracted by cup competitions again. You would expect Liverpool to be stretched a bit thin given the demands of the Champions League and fall short. Chelsea look the most likely to win it as they will also strengthen and the 7/2 available on them at Sky Bet looks good. Tottenham looked the only team likely to pip Chelsea to the post last season. They may struggle with the move to Wembley while their new stadium is being built – they have been poor when they have held Champions League games there – but they have a young and improving side and look a good each-way option at 9/1 with Bet365.
Top Four Finish
Arsenal will be desperate to break back into the top four and Arsene Wenger looks set to spend big this summer on established players in their prime as he bids to win over angry sections of the fanbase. They look a good bet at even money with Bet365 to do it, because they will not be burdened by playing in the Champions League, something that could affect the other five contenders for those top four spots.
Top Half Finish
The top six spots are nailed on, but seventh to 10th are very much up for grabs. West Ham now have a year at the new stadium under their belts and will seriously strengthen a squad that finished 11th this summer due to the increased revenue the stadium brings in. Manuel Lanzini has committed his future to the club, and with a couple of signings they could well break into the top eight, let alone the top half, so the 2/1 at Bet Victor on them doing so looks great.
Relegation
It is hard to see Huddersfield, the smallest club to play Premiership football since Barnsley in 1997-98, stay up, but the other two spots will be battled over tooth and nail. Generally two promoted teams stay up, which could be good news for Newcastle and Brighton. They just need to invest properly and they should be able to harness the
winning mentality generated by excelling in the Championship to gain enough early season points to beat the drop. Watford were in freefall towards the end of last season and have appointed Marco Silva to try to turn things around. He did a decent job at Hull after he was parachuted in towards the end of the campaign, but they were still relegated, and Watford look an interesting option at 7/4 with William Hill to go down.
Top Goalscorer
It is impossible to look past Harry Kane here. He has won it for the last three seasons in a row, and snatched it late last season despite playing far fewer games than his rivals due to injury. He is the deadliest striker in the Premiership and everything at Tottenham goes through him, so he looks a really good bet at 11/4 with Paddy Power to win another Golden Boot.
Calculators
