MariamTHE BIG FOUR
That one of the ‘big four’ will win the title is one of the safest Premier League bets of the season. I narrowed the likely winners at the beginning of the season down to Chelsea and Manchester United and the current gap between those sides suggests the Blues are going to regain the title they last one in 2005/06, despite the improved efforts of Liverpool.
The winner of the Premier League without the big four is always an interesting market to bet on, and this is especially true this season with the league table so bunched – the gap between the teams in the bottom half of the table is the smallest it has ever been since three points for a win was introduced in the 1981/82 season.
The last three seasons have seen Tottenham Hotspur (twice) and Everton finish fifth, suggesting the level below the ‘big four’ is still the preserve of big, established Premier League clubs.
It is for this reason, as much as their good start, that Aston Villa are the current strong favourites to win the league without the ‘big four’.
However, another factor that has made the start to this season interesting is the relative success of unexpected teams. Hull City have made a fairytale start to their debut top flight season, not dropping out of the top 10 all season and all but guaranteeing their safety when relegation appeared a formality.
Stoke City have also equipped themselves well in their first Premier League campaign and whilst West Bromwich Albion have struggled, the promoted teams have gone some way to dispel the accepted convention that they fall straight back through the relegation trap door.
Whether Hull, Stoke or Fulham – another unexpected high-flyer – can maintain a push for UEFA Cup qualification is another matter.
Punters have Hull far more likely to be relegated than finishing fifth, whilst Tottenham are backed more heavily in the ‘winner without big four’ market than they are in the relegation one. Money talks in the Premier League and Spurs and Manchester City will flex their muscle in the January transfer window more than Hull and co. will be able to.
Nine points separate Spurs and Villa (currently fourth) and such a gap is far from unassailable. Martin O’Neill’s outfit are justified favourites to finish fifth, but maintenance of the form showed since Harry Redknapp took over, combined with some typical transfer market coups by the new boss, would make Spurs good value in the ‘winner without big four’ market.
Written by Philip Oliver, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting at Betfair.
The winner of the Premier League without the big four is always an interesting market to bet on, and this is especially true this season with the league table so bunched – the gap between the teams in the bottom half of the table is the smallest it has ever been since three points for a win was introduced in the 1981/82 season.
The last three seasons have seen Tottenham Hotspur (twice) and Everton finish fifth, suggesting the level below the ‘big four’ is still the preserve of big, established Premier League clubs.
It is for this reason, as much as their good start, that Aston Villa are the current strong favourites to win the league without the ‘big four’.
However, another factor that has made the start to this season interesting is the relative success of unexpected teams. Hull City have made a fairytale start to their debut top flight season, not dropping out of the top 10 all season and all but guaranteeing their safety when relegation appeared a formality.
Stoke City have also equipped themselves well in their first Premier League campaign and whilst West Bromwich Albion have struggled, the promoted teams have gone some way to dispel the accepted convention that they fall straight back through the relegation trap door.
Whether Hull, Stoke or Fulham – another unexpected high-flyer – can maintain a push for UEFA Cup qualification is another matter.
Punters have Hull far more likely to be relegated than finishing fifth, whilst Tottenham are backed more heavily in the ‘winner without big four’ market than they are in the relegation one. Money talks in the Premier League and Spurs and Manchester City will flex their muscle in the January transfer window more than Hull and co. will be able to.
Nine points separate Spurs and Villa (currently fourth) and such a gap is far from unassailable. Martin O’Neill’s outfit are justified favourites to finish fifth, but maintenance of the form showed since Harry Redknapp took over, combined with some typical transfer market coups by the new boss, would make Spurs good value in the ‘winner without big four’ market.
Written by Philip Oliver, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting at Betfair.
