The new football season has started - don't miss the verdicts of our expert tipsters.
The new football season is here so it’s time to publish our in-depth preview package.
Our experts are bringing you their ante-post betting verdict on the 2017/18 campaign, including the Premier League and Sky Bet EFL.
We have a historically-strong ante-post football record with last season’s picks including Chelsea to win the Premier League at 13/2. In 2015/16 we won on all three EFL divisions, while the 2014/15 pre-season picks reaped more than 70 points of profit.
So can you really afford to miss what we’ve got to say?
To ensure you don't miss any of our verdicts, bookmark www.sportinglife.com/football, while links to our previews are posted on our Twitter accounts - @SportingLife and @BettingZone - which is a great way of guaranteeing you see the selections before any prices go.
Here’s what’s already published and coming your way:
EFL Championship - Our EFL expert Nick Hext, in profit in each of the last eight calendar years, kicks things off with his look at England’s second tier. He backed Newcastle for last season’s title and Middlesbrough for promotion the year before. He knows his stuff.
EFL League One – In two of the last three seasons, Nick Hext has picked out a successful 11/2 promotion bet (MK Dons in 14/15 and Barnsley in 15/16). Don’t miss this season’s advice.
EFL League Two – Last season Exeter earned promotion for Nick Hext 7/2 and were also placed in his handicap bet – they missed out on winning it by a single point.
EFL team-by-team guide – Nick Hext delivers team-by-team verdict for all three divisions of the EFL – 72 teams in all. Find out which teams his giving the thumbs-up to and which should be worried.
EFL Traders’ View – We get the views of the traders at our betting partners Sky Bet. Who do the layers think are the teams to beat and what are their best bets?
Season divisional multiples – Everyone likes a 5,000/1 pre-season Yankee don’t they? Our tipsters will pick out their winners of the top four English divisions as they look to hit the jackpot (before handing in their notice).
SPFL Traders’ View – The Sky Bet traders give us the inside track on what’s likely to happen in the Scottish Professional Football League this season. Will Celtic go unbeaten again and who’s the value in Division Two? All will be revealed.
National League – Again, it’s two promotion winners in three seasons (Barnet 14/15 and Grimsby 15/16) for Nick Hext in the top flight of non-league football, with Tranmere going close to completing a hat-trick last term (losing in the play-off final). Make sure you read his verdict to grab the best value.
EFL opening weekend – A busy week for Mr Hext will end when he delivers his views on the opening weekend’s games in the EFL.
Community Shield – The other big game on the opening weekend of the domestic season sees Chelsea face Arsenal at Wembley in a rematch of last season’s FA Cup final. David John will assess the ‘traditional season curtain-raiser’. Wanted to get that in.
Premier League title – Last season Matt Brocklebank advised Chelsea at 13/2 and they romped home. His preview yielded a profit of more than 30 points. Don’t miss what’s he’s got to say about 2017/18.
Premier League team-by-team guide – Our team assess each of the 20 Premier League clubs as they prepare for another exciting season. We’ll highlight a bet for each of them too.
Premier League golden boot – Will Harry Kane make it three in a row in this market? Ben Coley will deliver his in-depth verdict on who will hit the target in 2017/18.
Premier League Traders’ View – The trading team of our betting partners Sky Bet give their view on how the top-flight campaign will unfold.
Premier League relegation – You won’t want your team to feature in this preview but there could well a route to profit in it. Our resident doom-monger David John picks out those you should back to struggle.
European Traders’ View – Gambling shows Brexit little respect with more money than ever being placed on continental football. The Sky Bet traders look at what they believe will unfold in Europe’s leading leagues in 2017/18.
Premier League specials – Has there ever been a wider range of bets available ahead of a Premier League season? Andy Schooler will wade through them in a bid to unearth the pearls. Last year’s included Alexis Sanchez to better his goal line – which he did in early January.
Premier League opening game – For the first time, the Premier league season will kick-off on a Friday with Arsenal hosting Leicester in front of the TV cameras. We’ll preview all 380 games this season with David John the man looking at the very first.
Premier League opening weekend – David John returns with his match-by-match look at Saturday’s games, including all the relevant Opta stats. Sunday’s verdicts will be added to the site later in the day.
