Chelsea have been the big movers in the Premier League betting market this summer after making a series of impressive signings and winning the Club World Cup in the United States when they turned the form book upside down by beating Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
The mighty outfit from the French capital beat Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal on their way to the Champions League final where they obliterated Inter Milan 5-0 to become the undoubted kings of Europe.
They then appeared invincible as they wiped the floor with Bayern Munich and thrashed Real Madrid in Fifa’s transformed club tournament but were surprisingly overturned by the Blues in the showpiece finale in New Jersey.
That saw Chelsea’s odds tumble from 20/1 to win their first title since in nine years to a current best price of 10/1 with StarSports, SpreadEx, Bresbet and Sporting Index while they’re as short as 7/2 with Sky Bet.
Furthermore, Chelsea have splashed out a league high £240million on new recruits this summer, although they will have recouped around £180m if Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is sold to Everton and Lesley Ugochukwujoins Burnley.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – click here and sign up before Friday to make sure you don’t miss the first edition.
So why are Todd Boehly’s boys a good bet at 4/6 with Betway to finish in the top four but to be avoided when it comes to putting hard-earned cash on a club to win it all?
Well, questions still linger about the quality of both their defence and goalkeeper, many of the new arrivals may take time to settle into English football, and playing in the Champions League means manager Enzo Maresca must field strong sides in the competition unlike last season when he used what was basically the reserves as they romped their way to Europa Conference League success.
Chelsea may be the ones to beat in 12 months’ time when their imports have matured but Arsenal have bought well, with the arrival of Viktor Gyokeres a huge plus, while Manchester City have added some canny recruits with the return to full fitness of the brilliant Rodri a massive boost.
Liverpool are the ones to beat as things stand, however, with Florian Wirtz an impeccable addition to their engine-room ranks and Hugo Ekitite set to supply goals alongside Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.
Arne Slot is also primed to improve his bountiful options in attack still further by signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle and that deal could hold the key to the door as they seek to move a title clear of Manchester United and win the championship for the 21st time.
The Reds are currently 7/4 favourites with Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill, bet365 and many others to retain the crown they won by a comfortable ten points last season, but those odds will disappear in a flash when they buy another first-class striker.
Premier League top scorer odds
Alexander Isak scored 23 goals for Newcastle last season and 21 the year before that and is poised to win the Premier League Golden Boot whether he stays at St James’ Park or makes the highly-anticipated move to Liverpool.
If he does switch from Tyneside to Merseyside he will team up with Mohamed Salah, who topped the scoring charts last term with 29, but the Egyptian marksman will miss a chunk of the campaign when he goes in Africa Cup of Nations duty when the tournament kicks-off on December 18.
Erling Haaland will once again bag bundles for Manchester City but Isak, who scored the Carabao Cup winner in last season’s final against Liverpool, stands out at 6/1 with William Hill, bet365 and many others to win the coveted award.
Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke scored in six of his last eight games after missing a long spell through injury and is now likely to take penalties for Spurs with Son Hueng-Min leaving the club after ten glorious years. That makes the former Bournemouth sharpshooter worth an each-way bet in this market at a whooping 33/1 with Ladbrokes, Coral and many more.
Premier League relegation odds
The three clubs promoted from the Championship to the Premier League have all made immediate returns to the second tier in the past two seasons but this isn’t always the case as all three newcomers avoided the drop in the 2022/23 campaign.
Burnley look short of what is required and while Sunderland have bought well during the summer they also look likely go down. Championship winners Leeds United could buck the trend, however, while strong cases can be made for each of Brentford, Wolves, West Ham to sink like a stone this term.
The Bees, who have lost key players along with manager Thomas Frank and his core staff, are the ones who could be stung and 10/3 with SpreadEx and Sporting Index for them to drop into the second tier looks a gift.