Is the Premier League Finally Heading to Anfield?

Is this year finally their year?

October has only just started, and already it looks increasingly likely that Liverpool are going to end their 30-year wait for a top-flight title.

Just eight games into the campaign, and Jurgen Klopp’s side find themselves eight points clear of reigning champions Man City. For you mathematicians, that is an extra point per game. If that ratio continues for much longer, the widely anticipated two-horse race could soon become a solo run.

For the first time this season, Betfred now make Liverpool the 4/6 favourites for Premier League glory, with Pep Guardiola’s men now available at 13/10 to make it three titles in a row.

For context on how far behind the chasing pack are, Chelsea are third favourites at a whopping 80/1.

Next up for the Anfield outfit? A trip down the East Lancashire road to the old enemy, Manchester United.

Old Trafford remains a difficult place to leave with three points, but the 4/5 available on Liverpool doing just that has to be seen as terrific value.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are without a win in five matches in all competitions, and were beaten by struggling Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.

Seeing Mancunian rivals City beat Liverpool to another title would surely be seen as the lesser of two evils, and brave United fans can back a home win at a staggering 16/5.

Say Goodbye to the Top Six

Only once since the 2014/15 season has the established ‘top six’ been breached, as Leicester ripped up the script to win the most romantic of Premier League titles in 2016. It is often forgotten that Southampton also finished sixth that season, with Liverpool and Chelsea managing disappointing 8^th and 10^th place finishes respectively.

In the season prior to that, and the three since, the top six spots have been occupied by Man City, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd.

Liverpool and City aren’t going anywhere, but the same cannot be promised of the others.

Spurs are a club in turmoil, with their 3-0 defeat at Brighton the latest in an increasing list of humbling defeats that include a 7-2 demolition at the hands of Bayern Munich and an EFL Cup exit to League Two outfit Colchester.

Arsenal, while not overly convincing, look the most likely to stick to their end of the bargain, with the Gunners looking every bit of value at 8/11 to finish in the top four.

Chelsea find themselves under a transfer embargo and, although their youngsters are shining, Frank Lampard’s young squad are level on points with Leicester and Crystal Palace in 5^th.

Man Utd find themselves in the bottom half with disappointing defeats to Palace, West Ham and Newcastle seeing some sections of the media suggesting that Solskjaer could be in a fight for his job.

The season is young, and with plenty of time to recover, optimistic United followers will no doubt like the look of the 5/6 on their team to finish in the top six, if not the 10/3 for a top four finish.

Who then, is going to capitalise and make a push for the European spots?

Leicester, under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, are a rejuvenated force. Since defeat to Watford in his first game in charge back in March, the Foxes have lost just four league fixtures, and find themselves sitting pretty in fourth.

A young side containing the likes of James Maddison, Yoeri Toelemans, Ben Chilwell and Caglar Soyuncu is always going to prove hard to beat.

Add to that the form of talisman Jamie Vardy, with five goals in his last six league outings, and it is easy to see why Leicester are fancied to upset the established order.

They are currently 8/11 for a top six finish and 10/3, the same price as Man Utd, for a top four spot.

Can Crystal Palace and Burnley, currently sat in 6^th and 7^th respectively, make a play for the top six? With all due respect, that seems unlikely.

West Ham are an interesting outside shout, with the Hammers available at 6/1 to finish sixth or higher for the first time since 1999.

They are currently two points off the pace and are a match for most on their day. Consistency, or a lack of it, could be their downfall.

Could We See a Surprise Relegation?

Heading into the October international break is much too early to suggest that any club is in serious trouble. A couple of wins can lift a club from the drop zone into the top half.

However, what we can do is assess the form and feeling around the sides who haven’t exactly hit the ground running.

Watford broke their transfer record this summer when they announced the signing of 21-year-old Ismaila Sarr from Rennes.

The £25m man arrived at Vicarage Road with high expectations, both of himself and his new employers.

Yet, eight games into the campaign, the Senegal man has yet to score a league goal and Watford are yet to win a game, sitting rock bottom.

With just four league goals scored, and twenty conceded (Man City accounted for eight of those), the Hornets have problems at either end of the pitch.

Expected to at the very least compete for a top half finish, Elton John’s beloved club are now second favourites for the drop.

You can bag 11/10 for the sun to go down on Watford’s time in the Premier League.

Another club with lofty expectations are Everton. Majority owner Farha Moshiri has huge ambitions for the Merseyside club, and will no doubt be fuming to see his club inside the relegation zone.

Everton’s five defeats have come at the hands of Burnley, Man City, Sheffield United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth.

A forgiving opening set of fixtures, on paper at least, provided the Toffees with a perfect springboard to mount a serious challenge at the top end of the table.

Instead, they are left in 18^th position, with four defeats on the spin.

They’re too good to go down, aren’t they? Too big? We’ve said that before (see Leeds, West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa) and been proven wrong.

Marco Silva’s men are 10/1 for the drop, suggesting that they will climb out of the mess that they currently find themselves in.

However, their expectations for the season will have to be altered somewhat, and the even money price on a top ten finish may be a better shout than the 8/1 on a top six finish.

Can you believe that Man Utd are a shorter price to be relegated than they are to win the league? We don’t expect either to happen, but the Red Devils are another club in turmoil.

The likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa and Southampton will all be hoping to pull away from the drop zone and, given the competitive nature of the division, we expect there to be a whole host of clubs fighting off relegation come the business end of the season.

The unpredictability of this league brings with it an array of betting opportunities. Fans of smaller clubs now fancy their chances against the so-called big boys, with the ‘plucky’ outfits regularly providing top value.

With that in mind, now is the perfect time to sign up to our affiliate programme. The football season is really hotting up, bringing with it the opportunity to promote Betfred’s ongoing offers.

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