The new Premier League season is now less than a month away so it’s time to dust off the formbooks, fire up Oddschecker and get stuck into the ante-post markets.
Since Leicester won the Premier League back in 2015/16, the top of the table has had a rather familiar look to it, with the same six teams occupying the top six spots ever since. But this could be the season that all changes with doubts surrounding more than one of the usual suspects.
Of those teams potentially at risk, Arsenal strike me as the side with most to fear. The Gunners’ problems had been festering for a number of years under Arsene Wenger, and the introduction of Unai Emery in place of the Frenchman has so far failed to stop Arsenal’s same old issues rising to the surface.
Emery’s side ended the season in feeble fashion as a heavily criticised Chelsea side took them apart in the Europa League Final, and unless the Arsenal hierarchy surprise everyone by investing heavily in their creaking defence, a team who kept just three Premier League clean sheets away from home last year could end up falling further off the pace.
Man Utd are another side with clear issues. An ageing squad and a rookie manager doesn’t look like a brilliant combination, and the way the Red Devils finished last season suggests they’ll need more than new additions Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James to address their many short comings. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won just three of their final 10 league games, failing to keep a single clean sheet in a run of fixtures that included the likes of relegated Cardiff and Huddersfield.
Finally, Chelsea could be vulnerable in the race for this year’s European places. The Blues probably have less to fear than the aforementioned sides, but the loss of key man Eden Hazard and the inability to sign new players is sure to hurt them. How new manager Frank Lampard adapts to the job, and his success in building on the promise of talented youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be critical.
So those are the teams that should be looking over their shoulder this season in the race for the Top Four, but who can take advantage?
Leicester have been mentioned by many as a team to keep an eye on and it’s easy to see why. The appointment of Brendan Rodgers in February coincided with an upturn in form and 5 wins from the Foxes’ final 10 Premier League games – including a 3-0 demolition of Arsenal and a spirited 1-0 defeat at Man City – was an impressive way to round off the campaign.
Rodgers’ also got the best from Jamie Vardy, with the 32-year-old striker hitting 9 goals in 10 games under the former Celtic and Liverpool boss. Vardy, who has fired 75 PL goals over the last four seasons, is one of the best forwards in the league when used to his strengths, and looks a solid each-way bet in this year’s Top Goalscorer betting.
As well as Vardy, the 2016 Champions have an impressive defence built around Utd and City target Harry Maguire, with attacking full-backs Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira as good as most in the division. Going forward the Foxes have the creativity of James Maddison, who looks set to build on an impressive first season at the top table. With the addition of tricky attacker Ayoze Perez from Newcastle, and last year’s loan sensation Youri Tielemans set to join on a permanent basis, the Foxes look well worth following this season.
Rodgers’ second season at Liverpool produced spectacular results, and the feeling is that if they can keep this young side together, something similar could happen at the King Power.
Recommended bets
Arsenal not to finish Top 4 – 4/6 BetVictor 2pts
Leicester Top 6 Finish – 10/1 BetVictor – 1 pt
Leicester Top 4 Finish – 25/1 BetVictor – 0.5 pts
Jamie Vardy Top Goalscorer – 20/1 general, 4 Places 1/4 odds – 0.5 pts each-way
Will Edden 