Sean Dyche is set for problems

Premier League football betting tips from Sky Bet

Football

Tue August 08, 2017 · 7y ago

We've got tips and opinions from Sky Bet's Jack Abbott and Richard Evison for the new Premier League season.

The new Premier League season starts on Friday night with two former champions meeting as Arsenal take on Leicester at the Emirates Stadium.

Sky Bet have priced up a mountain of Premier League markets to give you the best chance to find some value ahead of the big kick-off.

We've got the verdicts from Sky Bet's Jack Abbott and Richard Evison on the best Premier League selections for the new campaign...

Let’s start with the obvious question, who is the pick to win the Premier League title?

Jack Abbott: I can’t see past Manchester City at 7/4. They have strengthened at the back with the signings of Ederson, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker and Danilo, which was their main weakness last season. They’ve also added a little flair going forward with the signing of Bernardo Silva from Monaco.

Richard Evison: I can’t see beyond favourites Manchester City. Pep Guardiola will have learnt a lot from his first season in the Premier League and he’s addressed the problems at full-back by signing three quality players. The competition for places in attacking midfield positions is frightening. Chelsea have European football to contend with and they don’t have the biggest of squads but I still think they will be the main threat to City.

Kevin de Bruyne and Leroy Sane can help City land the title

Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal are all odds-on for a top-four finish and Liverpool are an even-money chance. Which two clubs miss out?

JA: I’m going to say Chelsea and Tottenham miss out on the top four. I think European football for Chelsea will be a real hindrance this season. They were able to field their strongest XI almost every game last term but with the extra fixtures, they will have to rotate. With regards to Tottenham, not only will visiting sides relish playing at Wembley, but the larger pitch may leave Spurs more exposed when they lose possession as they like to play with their full-backs high up the pitch.

RE: All the questions around Arsenal with so many players going into the last year of their contracts makes me doubt them. If they get off to a bad start, the pressure will soon mount again on Arsene Wenger. It’s really hard to call but I think Tottenham will struggle to adapt to their Wembley surroundings and could be another side to miss out.

Give us something to relish in the top-three exact order betting…

JA: Manchester City 1st, Manchester United 2nd and Arsenal 3rd at 33/1. As previously mentioned, I can’t see past Manchester City winning the title and Manchester United have improved with the signing of Romelu Lukaku, although I believe they will just fall short. Regarding Arsenal, Alexis Sanchez now looks likely to stay (currently 1/3) so with the new addition of Alexandre Lacazette I expect them to do better than last season’s fifth-placed finish.

RE: As I touched on earlier, I fancy Manchester City and Chelsea to be the two main contenders for the title. In third, it is a tight call for me between Liverpool and Manchester United but I will go for the Merserysiders to just edge this. The Reds are full of goals and if they can sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton before the window shuts, he will be a massive addition to tightening the defence up. I’m going Manchester City 1st, Chelsea 2nd, Liverpool 3rd at 40/1.

Is there any chance of a team from outside last season’s top-six cracking that market this term?

JA:I think the obvious contender would be Everton but this clearly hinges on finding a replacement for Romelu Lukaku. Southampton for a top-six finish at 11/2 looks a good price under the management of Mauricio Pellegrino. A full season for Manolo Gabbiadini could provide the goals for Southampton to break into the top six.

RE: No! I cannot see anyone getting near the top six – Everton are the obvious candidates but their new signings could take a long time to settle and they will find it hard to compete without the guaranteed goals that Romelu Lukaku provided. With this in mind, Southampton could be worth a bet at 9/2 without the big six as they have potential to improve from last season.

Give us your best bet in the top goalscorer odds…

JA: Jermain Defoe at 50/1 each-way looks a good bet. He has scored 15 Premier League goals in each of the last two seasons in a struggling Sunderland side. Playing in an attack-minded Bournemouth team means that chances will be plentiful and he should have a good shot to at least place.

Jermain Defoe can lead the way for Bournemouth

RE: I’ll plump for Leicester’s new signing Kelechi Iheanacho at 33/1. He has a great minute-to-goal ratio in the Premier League and if he can get a regular starting place, he should score plenty. Another one to keep an eye on is Olivier Giroud. If the Frenchman gets a move away from Arsenal with Everton interested, the 40/1 on offer will soon disappear.

Where’s the value in the betting to go down and let’s have your bottom three in exact order?

JA: Burnley, Brighton and Huddersfield all to be relegated at 14/1 looks the bet for me. Burnley will struggle to maintain the home form that kept them up under Sean Dyche last term. Regarding Huddersfield and Brighton, I’m not sure that they have made significant improvements to last season’s squads. Furthermore, I can see other ‘relegation candidates’ such as Watford doing well under Marco Silva and there were positive signs for Swansea since Paul Clement took the helm. Overall, I cannot see past Burnley (19th), Brighton (20th) & Huddersfield (18th) to be relegated at 14/1.

RE: I think newly-promoted Huddersfield will be competitive but ultimately they will lack the quality to stay up so I will go with them to come bottom. Burnley really struggled away from home last season, teams may adapt better this term to playing at Turf Moor, and their signings have been far from inspiring so I think they will go down. To finish third bottom I am going to go for Stoke. The old guard of players that were gathered under Tony Pulis is coming to an end the squad seems to have gone a little stale. The spirit they seemed to once have seems to have gone and I think it will be a difficult campaign for Mark Hughes’ side. Huddersfield bottom, Burnley 19th, Stoke 18th at 150/1 is my selection.

Give us your best ante-post wager for the new campaign…

JA: Under the management of Marco Silva, Watford (+41) in the Premier League Handicap Winner market at 16/1 looks a good bet. The Portuguese revitalised Hull City when he took over in January and could well do the same at Watford this season.

RE: As I mentioned before I like the look of Liverpool and I think the 10/11 for them to finish in the top four is a great bet.

Phil Neville on Liverpool

Finally, what’s your best bet for the opening set of Premier League fixtures?

JA: I’m going to go with Huddersfield to pull off an opening day victory (19/5) against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Huddersfield will be confident and will look to carry the momentum from gaining promotion via the play-offs. On the other hand, Frank de Boer may need some time to find his feet managing in English football following a poor reign at Inter Milan.

RE: Everton to beat Stoke at 8/11. Everton will be fit after already having two competitive matches in the Europa League and Stoke’s squad looks very thin with their signings likely to come very late in the window.