Next Season Betting

The champagne corks may still be flying in the blue half of Manchester, but the bookies are already busy preparing odds for 2014-15. We take a look at where you can find some bargains by sneaking in early.

Title Winners:

All the talk has been that Liverpool won’t have a better chance to win the league than the one they just missed, but is that true? Yes they have Champions League football to contend with next season, but that will surely make it easier to attract the top defenders needed to balance the side.

Any team that can score 101 goals has a chance, and best odds of 11/2 (Boylesports) look worthwhile just based on the peerless partnership of Suarez and Sturridge. The Reds only missed out by two points this term and if they improve again they will probably become champions.

To Finish Top Four:

Skybet go odds-against (5/4) Arsenal qualifying for the Champions League in 2014-15 with the assertion that Liverpool and Man Utd are better candidates. In the latter case, this is particularly bold. The Gunners finished 15 points clear of the Red Devils in this campaign and have made the top four 17 seasons in a row.

To Not Make Top Four:

The Yin to the Yang above must therefore be that Man Utd are appealing odds to not finish in the top four at 11/8 (Skybet). A new manager will have his work cut out ensuring that Everton and Spurs are leapfrogged in the table, let alone the powerhouses who occupied the top four this time.

Relegation:

The newly promoted sides are automatically installed as the favourites for the drop but Crystal Palace and Hull made a mockery of those predictions in 2013-14. Even Cardiff were looking likely to stay up before Vincent Tan dismissed Malky Mackay. Of the teams already there, West Brom stand out as the value at 7/2 with WilliamHill. The Baggies finished 17th on 36 points, and somehow survived with only seven wins all season.