With the football season turning for home as we head into 2025, we take a look at some of the bets the bookies are actively cheering back for the remainder of the campaign.
All of the top four divisions are taking shape, and Sky Bet have shared with us some of the bets they are slightly concerned about.
Premier League
In the title race, Sky Bet are cheering back Chelsea, with a surprise title for the Blue half of London a bad outcome for the bookmaker.
There were nearly 6k bets placed on the Blues to win the Premier League at various odds, though 1.1k punters backed Enzo Mareca's men at a huge 16/1 before a ball was kicked.
Perhaps a surprising one, but Sky Bet are also running scared of Nottingham Forest and their quest to finish in the top four.
There have been 500 bets place on Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to make the Champions League spots, most of which were at a price of 22/1.
But, there were 60 punters with incredible foresight who backed the Tricky Trees at a whopping 100/1 in this market pre-season!
Championship
Down a division, and the best outcome for Sky Bet in the Championship title race would in fact be Leeds.
Perhaps that had something to do with them being the shortest priced favourite ever in the second tier, meaning punters were taking chances on bigger priced sides.
One of those was Sheffield United, and the Blades are currently just two points behind leaders Leeds, setting up a potentially cracking head-to-head battle for the remainder of the season that really pits the punters (Blades) against the bookies (Leeds).
Sky Bet took a host of bets on Chris Wilder's side at prices between 16/1 and 18/1, and that's despite them starting the season with a two-point deduction.
In the top scorer market, Emmanuel Latte Lath would be the worst result for the bookmaker, with just shy of 1k bets on him at 11/1.
League One
In Sky Bet League One, a Birmingham City title success would be the worst result for Sky Bet.
Unlike Leeds, who were priced extremely short as well, there were plenty of bets made on the Blues.
There were around 1.5k bets on them at between 9/4 and 5/2, and the current leaders of the third tier are now into 1/5, looking like a formality, unfortunately for Sky Bet.
League Two
The pre-season favourites in League Two, MK Dons, would also be a bad result for Sky Bet.
The Dons were very popular pre-season and after a brief upturn in form under Scott Lindsey, they did have the bookies sweating. But, a poor festive period coupled with leaders Walsall on a relentless winning streak has eased the bookies fears.
Their biggest concern could in fact be Notts County striker Alassana Jatta winning the top scorer gong.
The Gambian scored a pair of braces over the festive period to pull within a couple of goals of current leader Nathan Lowe, and he would be a bad result for Sky Bet.
There were nearly 1k bets placed on him at odds of around 11/1, and given he's playing in a high-functioning Notts County attack, he should continue to score goals.
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