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 matchday 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:

West Brom (Evens PaddyPower): -£10
Man City (1/3 PaddyPower): +£3.33
Swansea (8/13 Coral): -£10
Tottenham (4/11 StanJames): +£3.64
West Ham (23/20 Bluesquare): +£11.50
Man Utd (4/7 Betfred): +£5.71
Arsenal (8/11 Bluesquare): -£10
Chelsea (2/9 PaddyPower): -£10
Liverpool (4/9 PaddyPower): +£4.44
Everton (7/5 Ladbrokes): +£14

Total this week: +£2.32
Running total: +£30.86

Essentially a break-even round of fixtures for our short-odds punter who saw six out of ten favourites win.

Backing the Outsiders:

Fulham (29/10 BetVictor): +£29
Stoke (11/1 WilliamHill): -£10
Villa (5/1 Skybet): -£10
Reading (9/1 Ladbrokes): -£10
Norwich (13/5 Totesport): -£10
Wigan (11/2 Skybet): -£10
Southampton (4/1 Boylesports): -£10
QPR (14/1 Bet365): +£140
Sunderland (17/2 WilliamHill): -£10
Draw: New v Eve (5/2 StanJames): -£10

Total this week: +£89
Running total: +£125.83

The most dramatic result since we began this feature saw QPR win away to Chelsea at 14/1. Clearly, when shocks like this occur, it doesn’t matter if eight out of ten underdogs fall short.

The running total is suddenly looking very healthy for the fan of the upset. But can the big ‘freak’ results keep on coming? Time will tell.