Pandora Hughes
Six weeks into 2022 and Manchester City look unbackable in the English Premier League. Can any of their rivals still cause an upset?
Who do Bettors Favor?
As the best online sportsbooks futures markets for the Premier League show, Manchester City are running away with the competition. City are priced at -1000 or lower, and all of their rivals are trailing in their wake, although Liverpool are just about in touch at +380. Chelsea, whose form has dipped in recent weeks, are as big as +6000, while the rest are even further behind.
| EPL Winner |  |  |
| Manchester City | -1587 | -1000 |
| Liverpool | +380 | +600 |
| Chelsea | +6000 | +10000 |
| Arsenal | +24000 | +50000 |
| Manchester United | +40000 | +75000 |
| Tottenham | +36000 | +75000 |
| West Ham | +65000 | +100000 |
Betting on the Premier League Title
Manchester City’s competitors were looking for some indications of weakness from the defending champions in order to give them something to hope for in 2022, but that hasn’t occurred. City are looking betting ever, and despite dropping points for the first time since October, in a 1-1 draw with Southampton, they have been flawless.
Stranger things have occurred, but City folding with the finishing line in sight would be one of the greatest shocks in Premier League history. Given that their most difficult remaining games – against Liverpool and Chelsea – are at the Etihad Stadium, such a collapse seems unlikely.
Liverpool have done well without Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, who both played in the final of the African Cup of Nations, but they are still paying the price for their Christmas slump, and when you are pursuing a team that hardly even drops a point, you have to be incredibly consistent over a long period of time. Liverpool has a habit of finishing well, but I don’t believe it will be enough this time.
Betting on the Premier League Challengers
Given how one-sided the championship race is, the struggle for the Top Four seems to be more fascinating. Chelsea has the tenacity and points cushion to stay in third place at the very least, leaving just one spot open and four clubs with a genuine chance of grabbing it.
West Ham are in the best position, but they have the poorest roster of the four, and Manchester United, who are in fifth place, aren’t any better than they were under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under Ralf Rangnick. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, the two London teams below them, seem to be stronger prospects, especially as they have games in hand.
Tottenham made some good moves in the transfer window, but Arsenal is still the superior team. Mikel Arteta’s outfit has come a long way since the beginning of the season, and they now have a degree of consistency that should see them snare the last Top Four position.
Best Bet for Premier League Relegation
Despite registering six defeats in a row from the start of December, Norwich remained within touching distance of safety and a sudden run of good form has lifted them up to 18th, only one point behind the fast-improving Newcastle, who are making some early repayments on their new owners’ investment.
While that is good news for long-suffering Newcastle fans, it isn’t great news for the three teams below them. At the same time, Leeds, Brentford, and Crystal Palace all have a healthy cushion over the bottom five, so the most likely candidate to be sucked into the bottom three is Everton, whose season has been a disaster. Still, the Toffees have enough talent in their squad to find important wins, so at the moment, it looks like the sportsbooks have the relegation betting markets about right.
Premier League Top Scorer Bets
Mohammed Salah has been in such good form this season that he was able to take a month off from the Premier League to compete in the AFCON 2021 tournament without fear of losing his lead in the Premier League Golden Boot rankings.
The Egyptian striker returns to England with a four-goal advantage over his closest rival, teammate Diogo Jota, who has held down the fort excellently while his more well-known colleagues were away on international duty. Still, barring injury, it’s difficult to see how Jota will be able to outscore Salah now that he’s back in the team.
Another gap exists between Jota and Jamie Vardy and Son Heung-min. Vardy is one of the most consistent scorers in the Premier League and has previously won the Golden Boot, but Leicester is in disarray, and Son, for all his talent, is not the kind of prolific striker who will suddenly leap to the top of the charts. Salah appears to have won the race at this point, but his odds are as low as you’d expect, and he doesn’t appeal as a pick in this market.
Best Online Sportsbooks to Bet on the English Premier League
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