Underdogs all the Way?

In this feature we’re having a look at whether you’d be better off backing all the favourites or all the underdogs on a random weekend in the Premier League season.
Prior to the round of fixtures just completed, we noted down the shortest price and the longest price available out of home win, away win or draw. By putting a hypothetical £10 on the favourite and the long-shot option, we can see which approach would have been better overall.

Backing the favourites:

Tottenham (13/10 WilliamHill): +£13
Villa (9/5 BetVictor): -£10
Fulham (5/4 Bet365): -£10
Man Utd (1/3 WilliamHill): +£3.33
Man City (8/13 StanJames): +£6.15
West Ham (17/10 WilliamHill): -£10
Stoke (Evens BetVictor): -£10
Arsenal (4/9 PaddyPower): +£4.44
Chelsea (13/8 WilliamHill): +£16.25
Liverpool (Evens PaddyPower): +£10

Total this week: +£13.17
Running total: +£28.54

Another profitable week for our short-odds punter with all the current top five winning along with Liverpool.

Backing the Outsiders:

Sunderland (13/5 Boylesports): -£10
Draw: Villa v Wig: (9/4 Ladbrokes) -£10
Swansea (11/4 StanJames): +£27.50
WBA (10/1 Bluesquare): -£10
Norwich (11/2 Betfred): -£10
Draw: Read v W Ham: (23/10 SkyBet): -£10
Southampton (7/2 StanJames): -£10
Newcastle (8/1 Boylesports): -£10
Draw: Eve v Che: (23/10 Bet365) -£10
QPR (16/5 Boylesports): -£10

Total this week: -£62.50
Running total: +£36.83

So the first really bad week for our fan of the underdog since we began this experimental approach. However, bare in mind that Wigan were very nearly an outside option and Southampton were moments away from victory at 7/2.

Overall, both approaches currently remain profitable but the gap between the two is now virtually nothing.