At the top end end of the table, the Premier League title race looks as if it is going to be another two-horse race between Man City and Liverpool. They are a clear cut above the rest of the contenders, all of which appear to have some issues to sort out. So there isn’t going to be a great deal of value floating around in the Premier League 2019/20 winner market.
But there should be a fascinating relegation fight going on with the newly promoted Aston Villa, Sheffield United and Norwich all hoping to survive their first season back in the top flight. Some doom and gloom is also projected for the likes of Burnley, Brighton and Newcastle if the bookmakers are right.
Then there’s the exciting race for the European places. Spurs and Chelsea are heading off to this season’s Champions League, but will it be those two joining Liverpool and Man City in the following season’s campaign? Or will Arsenal and Manchester United will find ways to shake things up? Will anyone be able to break the dominance of the big six?
Here are our top five Tips for the 2019/20 Premier League season
Everton Top 6 Finish at 7/2
There were some huge positives for Everton last season. They beat Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal during their run in and started producing some fine stuff under Marco Silva. All that was missing from them was a bit of steel and grit away from home.
Even with their away day blues, they took an eighth-place finish thanks to their end of season flourish. They have picked up an absolute steal in getting striker Moise Kean from Juventus. They rally look as if they have added some key missing pieces to the puzzle over the summer aside from a quality centre half.
The board is backing the boss. The players seem to be on board and suddenly Everton look an exciting project. Given the weakness of some of last season’s top six, and with Arsenal, Man Utd and Wolves all potentially involved in Europa League distractions, the path could be clear for Everton to raid the top six and they are 7/2 at bet365 to pull it off* (Betting Odds were taken on August 8th, 2019 at 10:28 p.m.)
Brighton Bottom at Christmas 9/1
The Seagulls really only avoided relegation last season because the three who finished beneath them couldn’t win games either. Brighton were so very poor last season and boss Graham Potter, as respected as he is and how great the Seagulls support is, may have trouble keeping them afloat. There hasn’t been enough done over the summer to really give Potter a great platform for success.
If their home form goes then they are going to be in heaps of trouble. They have to go to Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal within four games from mid-November or early December which could leave them in bad shape for some crucial December fixtures against the likes of Palace and Sheffield United. They aren’t a bad option to be sitting rock bottom at the halfway point of the season, not at 9/1 odds with William Hill* (Betting Odds were taken on August 8th, 2019 at 10:28 p.m.)
Chelsea to Finish Outside Of The Top 6 at 11/4
There are so many questions about Chelsea this season, none bigger than boss Frank Lampard. One managerial season at a Championship club makes him a great unknown. Just how he is going to handle the pressure? How much time is he going to be given? There is the “how to replace Eden Hazard” question as well, which is equally as huge.
The Belgian was so important in their goal output last season and with no quality striker and relying on Tammy Abraham or Michy Batshuayi to come good, Chelsea could struggle upfront. There is not an easy season ahead for the Blues and with the extra burden of Champions League football and an already suspect-looking squad, it could affect their domestic output. They are 11/4 at bet365 to finish outside of the top six* (Betting Odds were taken on August 8th, 2019 at 10:28 p.m.).
It’s not unreasonable to expect that they are going to struggle against the other big six. Aside from an opening game against Man Utd and a home fixture against Liverpool, Chelsea’s first dozen games of the season isn’t a bad fixture list for them. If they don’t get it together earlier, their chance of a top-six return could be badly hampered. There could be looming challenges from the likes of West Ham and Everton this season too.
Arsenal w/o Man City & Liverpool at 11/2
Bear with us. Spurs are the favourites in this market, but with a summer in which boss Mauricio Pochettino has looked a little disgruntled, and still with a massive reliance on Harry Kane for goals, there is some fragility with the Lilywhites. Their European campaign hampered their end of season Premier League form last season to the tune of them winning just three of their final twelve EPL games.
The Spurs/Pochettino marriage is badly in need of a title. It’s probably not going to be coming in the league and another long European campaign could hurt them. You also then have Chelsea and Manchester United both with an unproven managers. United look a little short in midfield, and they overpaid for Harry Maguire through desperation to fix defensive issues. All it may take is a departure of Paul Pogba to bring the Old Trafford house of cards down.
So then Arsenal. Awful in defence last season. Instead of focusing on rebuilding a defence, the Gunners have simply doubled down on bolstering their attack by grabbing the exciting Nicholas Pepe from Lille. He, along with Pierre Emerick Aubamayang and Alexandre Lacazette could be a formidable trio. With them, who needs defence?
They did get Keiran Tierney and yes, David Luiz though for defensive options. The Gunners are 11/1 with Betfred to win the league w/o Man City and Liverpool* (Betting Odds were taken on August 8th, 2019 at 10:28 p.m.). They were only two points out of third place last season with an end of season crash taken into consideration. Trusting the experience of Unai Emery over OGS and Lampard? Not a bad option perhaps.
Crystal Palace Relegation at 4/1
We think there is a bit of value in this one. Sure Sheffield United and Norwich look as if they are going to have trouble hanging on to their newly earned top-flight status. Sure Newcastle and Brighton are going to have their work cut out to stay up, but there is another name on our Premier League relegation radar. That name is Crystal Palace
If Wilfried Zaha jumps ship or stays and suffers another long injury, it could leave the Eagles in jeopardy. Zaha handed in a transfer request on Thursday which is just about realising the worst fears of Palace fans. But they survived transfer deadline day in England at least with him still in their ranks.
That doesn’t stop a club from Europe coming in and getting him still, because transfer windows abroad like in Spain and Italy, close later. They are naturally going to fight tooth and nail to hold on to him. He would irreplaceable if he was to head out of Selhurst Park. But that looks as if it is going to be a problem for another day.
Palace had a poor season at home in the last campaign winning five games only. Some of the Roy Hodgson steady-handed magic was wearing off. They don’t look to have been proactive in the transfer market at all and relying on the arrival of Jordan Ayew to bolster their goal-output isn’t going to instil a great deal of confidence. The summer transfer window was spent strengthening areas which didn’t need strengthening. There’s nothing to suggest that they are going to find their goal-scoring for this campaign. They are 4/1 at betfair to drop* (Betting Odds were taken on August 8th, 2019 at 10:28 p.m.)
