With the new season underway on Saturday, we look at the betting as Man City remain title favourites and Leeds are backed to make a splash.
Pep Guardiola's side made a storming finish to last season post-lockdown, winning eight of their ten games and scoring 31 against just four conceded - although they did manage to lose two games and then crashed out of the Champions League against Lyon.
City came home a distant second to Jurgen Klopp's side, 18 points behind (just one point off City's record margin of victory) but punters believe they can strike back this season.
They're the 4/5 favourites to win a third title in four years, with Liverpool out to 15/8 to defend their title - something which has proven to be a difficult undertaking in the Premier League.
Manchester United and Chelsea, who of course have added are adding Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner to their team, have been well backed in the market after securing Champions League places on the final day of last season. That could be crucial for their transfer window plans - and punters have responded accordingly.
Premier League outright odds 2020/21
- 4/5 - Man City
- 15/8 - Liverpool
- 10/1 - Chelsea
- 14/1 - Man Utd
- 33/1 - Arsenal
- 50/1 - Tottenham
- 150/1 - Leeds
PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEWS
City worthy favourites?
Don't let that European exit fool you, City are worthy title favourites - their game is ideally suited to football without fans - as opposition teams are robbed of the adrenalin needed to chase them down. They also play exactly how they train under Pep Guardiola.
Teams have had no answer at times to City's liquid football and attacking threat, and they're only going to get better with new signings Nathan Ake and Feran Torres coming in, and maybe more before October's deadline - all aimed at winning back that Premier League trophy, and in search of that elusive Champions League title.
The case for the defence
Liverpool have signed a back-up left-back but nothing else and Jurgen Klopp, who knows he'll be in for a fight, doesn't expect to spend too much in the window.
There's a small squad at Anfield and injuries would really hurt this group, but after scoring 196 points in two seasons there's no reason why they can't go close again. They know they can do it now so they should again be part of at least a two-horse race.
It's whether anyone else can muscle in on that two-horse race that is the big question. Chelsea and Man Utd are obvious candidates with obvious flaws - Frank Lampard's side are an attacking force that's added even more attacking force with Timo Werner, Hakim ZIyech and Kai Havertz.
Defensively they've got Ben Chilwell as a solid left-back and Thiago Silva breaks experience in the heart of that defence - things are looking good and they've been backed into third favourites as a result.
Man Utd signed Donny van de Beek and are still chasing Jadon Sancho but maybe their attentions would be better focused elsewhere on the pitch.
As the table showed, the rest of the bunch were a million miles away. Tottenham and FA Cup winners Arsenal have shown flashes, but both of their aims next season are merely to close the gap and somehow get back into the top four.
Premier League top four odds
- 4/11 - Man Utd
- 8/13 - Chelsea
- 11/4 - Tottenham
- 3/1 - Arsenal
- 13/2 - Wolves
- 7/1 - Leicester
The north London duo wil be hoping that Champions League football works as a distraction for United and Chelsea next season in order to leave the door open to gategrash the top four.
They both have Thursday night football to deal with in the Europa League, but as United showed this year that doesn't have to be so draining if you use your squad correctly. Leicester may be hardest hit by Europa League football given the size of their squad - which showed as they collapsed down the stretch last season.
Premier League relegation odds
Two promoted sides Fulham and West Brom are favoured to go right back down again, in what must be the strangest and possibly the toughest season to ever try and establish yourself in the Premier League.
A home crowd can be a huge boost and winning home games has often been key to a team surviving in the top flight. Hats off to Scott Parker for getting Fulham right back into the big time following relegation - something that is always a tough ask - but the odds suggest it'll be an even bigger achievement to keep them up.
Premier League relegation odds
- 10/11 - Fulham
- Evens - West Brom
- 7/4 - Aston Villa
- 15/8 - Newcastle
- 9/4 - Crystal Palace
- 11/4 - Burnley
- 7/2 - Brighton | West Ham
Villa stayed up by the skin of their teeth but there's not a great deal of confidence behind them doing much better this season, while Palace catch the eye after their awful run post-lockdown and still the prospect of Wilfried Zaha leaving in this transfer window.
A common thread among the likes of Palace, Newcastle and even Villa and Burnley is their strong home form - again the lack of fans would seriously hamper these teams in particular.
Big things expected of Leeds
You'll notice Leeds don't appear on the list above, with Marcelo Bielsa's side being backed to make more than a decent go of things in their first Premier League campaign for 16 years.
They're 4/1 to go down, the same odds as Brighton and only marginally shorter than West Ham, while they're mixing it with the Hammers and Southampton at around 9/4 to finish in the top half of the table.
The top half and top six markets are a little more reflective of Leeds' true standing, and in truth money from excited supporters may even have them shorter than they should be given their squad.
They do, however, have Bielsa at the helm, who is undoubtedly one of the more interesting managers we've seen in the top flight - he's certainly hugely respected by the likes of Pochettino and Guardiola.
Leeds fans' hopeful money looks to have impacted the Premier League outright market though, with Leeds actually sitting as seventh favourites! Albeit at 150/1, they're sat alongside Wolves and Leicester in the betting.
Odds correct as ot 1550 on 10/9/20
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