The Premier League is reaching its closing stages and as the run-in continues, clubs are getting closer to accepting their final fate. But it isn’t done yet. Aston Villa are in red hot form, Manchester City can’t stop winning and Nottingham Forest are sliding towards relegation. But what do the bookies think will happen over the next six weeks?
Premier League title
Arsenal’s dedication to throwing away two goal leads over the past two weeks has cost them dear. They had three points in their hands at both Anfield and the London Stadium, yet shoddy game management has cost them four points - crucial ones in the title race. They still retain top spot but Manchester City are a winning machine at the moment.
Erling Haaland is closing on the Premier League goal record - currently on 32 for the season, and Guardiola’s side have found that winning rhythm that they always seem to find when it comes to the business end of the campaign. Betfred, for the first time in months, have now put Manchester City as the 4/9 favourites to win the title, while Arsenal are now outsiders at 7/4.
READ MORE:
They are four points clear, but Man City have one game in hand, and nothing less than a win on Friday night v Southampton will suffice for the Gunners, given City are in FA Cup action on Saturday. The game at the Etihad next week will be hugely decisive in this title race - win their next two and Arsenal will be ten points clear.
Odds:
Top four race
The top two are now certain of Champions League football next term, and after three league wins in a row, Manchester United are almost there. Betfred have the impressive Red Devils at 1/14 to finish in the top four and it would take an unthinkable collapse for Erik ten Hag to not achieve his number one goal for this season.
The battle for fourth place though is becoming ever more interesting. Newcastle United are currently in fourth, and have looked strong for the majority of the season. They are currently three points clear of fifth with a game in hand, but a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa last time out has raised questions. They’ve got to play Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea in their run-in, but Eddie Howe should be able to get this team back on track. Odds of 2/7 suggest they should get the job done.
However, if you fancy the Magpies to lose their cool late in the season and lose those big games, the outsiders provide excellent value. Tottenham Hotspur are just three points behind and could draw level on points with Newcastle should they beat them this weekend. They have been playing poorly recently, but at 6/1 they are well worth considering with Harry Kane leading the line.
Brighton and Hove Albion keep on impressing under Roberto De Zerbi and their latest win over Chelsea was impressive. With Arsenal, Villa and Man Utd to play they don’t have an easy run-in but they are beating some seriously good sides this season and at 4/1 could use their games in hand to close in on the top four.
If you want to back Liverpool to fly up the table after they scored six at Leeds, you can get them at 5/1. With key players returning from injury Jurgen Klopp will hope his side can go on a winning run for the first time this season. Then we have Aston Villa. Seven wins out of eight have shot them up the table and they look so strong under Unai Emery. It's 20/1 if you fancy them to do the unthinkable.
Odds:
๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ญ/๐ฎ๐ฎ: 11 goals, 2 assists
๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฎ/๐ฎ๐ฏ: 14 goals, 6 assists ๐
Ollie Watkins' 19th and 20th goal involvements in the @PremierLeague this season. ๐ค
Relegation battle
From the joy to the despair, some teams are running out of time to state their claim for survival. West Ham United are being backed to survive by the bookies and Betfred have them priced at 1/100 to stay up and 16/1 to be relegated, after they picked up a point against Arsenal. Their game in hand will be crucial but it does look like they have enough to survive, even if those odds appear too short.
Bournemouth’s win over Tottenham has seen their odds to be relegated drift massively. Now they are 12/1 to go down, having won three of their last four and put six points between themselves and the bottom three.
The Cherries look safe, but Leeds United don’t. They’ve now conceded 11 goals in their last two home games and don’t look like they have improved at all under Javi Gracia. They are only two points clear of the drop zone, yet you can get 9/4 on them to be relegated, with four teams more likely to go down according to Betfred.
Everton are EVS to go down, currently level on points with Nottingham Forest but with a healthier goal difference. Forest themselves are 2/7 to succumb to the drop, Leicester City are 5/6 and Southampton look dead and buried at 1/16 to be relegated.
Odds on relegation:
*18+ | BeGambleAware
