Premier League Top Four Odds: Who Will Grab The Coveted Spots?
The new Premier League season is a little over a month away and betting sites have already opened all the key markets.
That includes the race for the top four, which promises to be even more hotly contested than last term.
As expected, Manchester City and Liverpool qualified for the Champions League at a canter in 2021/22. Chelsea held onto third place despite a wobble in the final few months of the campaign, while Tottenham Hotspur pipped Arsenal to fourth on the last weekend.
Manchester United missed out on Europe’s principal tournament, while Leicester City were unable to mount a challenge having gone close in each of the two previous seasons.
Both clubs will hope to do better this time around - and a surprise contender could emerge from the pack too.
So, which teams look capable of battling for a top-four finish next season? You can find the latest odds from betting apps below, followed by our analysis.
Safe To Assume Man City And Liverpool Will Make It Again
Manchester City reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. Liverpool were the runners-up, narrowly losing to Real Madrid at the Stade de France in May.
English football’s top two are the current favourites to win next season’s competition, and it is hard to see any other side finishing on top of the pile in the Premier League.
It is therefore almost impossible to envisage either City or Liverpool finishing outside the top four. The best football betting sites agree, with prices of 1.02 and 1.05 respectively.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have already strengthened their squads this summer, and their teams are likely to finish as title-winners and runners-up again - although not necessarily in the same order as last term.
Chelsea And Tottenham Favourites To Join Top Two
If the bookmakers have it right, Chelsea and Tottenham will once again join Manchester City and Liverpool in the Champions League in 2023/24.
It has been a case of all-change at Stamford Bridge so far this summer, with Todd Boehly replacing Roman Abramovich as the club’s owner. Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia, respectively the chairman and sporting director, have also departed.
Thankfully for Chelsea Thomas Tuchel remains, but the loss of Antonio Rudiger is a blow. Romelu Lukaku also appears on his way back to Inter, so for the second summer in-a-row the Blues will need to restructure their attacking plans.
As things stand, Chelsea are perhaps the most vulnerable member of last season’s top four, and odds of 1.73 with bet365 do not look like good value.
Tottenham finished last season strongly, with Liverpool the only team to accumulate more points from March 1 onwards.
The club is backing Antonio Conte in the transfer market, with Ivan Perisic and Yves Bissouma among the early additions. At a generous 1.83, it could be worth backing Spurs to qualify for the Champions League again.
Can Manchester United Get Back To Europe’s Top Table?
Manchester United are fifth in the betting at 2.1 with Ladbrokes, as Erik ten Hag attempts to lead the Red Devils back into the tournament.
Their prospects do not look particularly bright at this early stage of the transfer window: whereas the likes of City, Liverpool and Tottenham have already added to their squads, United have secured no new signings ahead of their return to pre-season training on Monday.
The impending departure of the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Nemanja Matic means their squad is actually weaker now than it was at the end of last season.
United have a lot of ground to make up, and although Ten Hag is an astute coach, he has inherited a difficult situation.
It will take the former Ajax boss time to get things right at Old Trafford so, while we can expect United to challenge for Champions League qualification, they could miss out once more.
Arsenal Might Be Left To Rue Missed Opportunity
In the middle of March Arsenal were one point clear of the chasing pack in the race for the top four, despite having as many as three games in hand on their rivals.
But a late collapse cost Mikel Arteta’s side their place in the Champions League, as Tottenham leapfrogged their arch-rivals with a late surge.
Arsenal finished above Manchester United last season, but at 3.0 with Unibet they are considered less likely than the Red Devils to break into the top four in 2022/23.
That is perhaps a little unfair. Arteta did a fine job last season and there is a clear focus to their recruitment at present, with Gabriel Jesus thought to be close to sealing a switch to the Emirates Stadium.
Even so, with Tottenham continuing to progress and United under new management, Arteta and Arsenal may ultimately look back on last season as a missed opportunity.
Newcastle Lead Group Of Outsiders Looking To Gatecrash
Could a non-big six side spring a surprise next season? It is not impossible, but the latest odds suggest it is unlikely.
Newcastle at 9.0 are considered the most probable top-four finishers from outside the division’s leading sextet.
The Magpies performed brilliantly in the second half of last season, picking up more points than anyone but Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham after the turn of the year.
Still, without major investment (which their Saudi owners are capable of) Eddie Howe’s squad does not look capable of gatecrashing the top four right now.
West Ham have been there or thereabouts in recent years, and there is no sign that David Moyes’ squad will be broken up before the start of the season.
They could be a better investment than Newcastle at 13.0, although the Hammers could easily ‘do a Leicester’ after two campaigns of going close.
Talking of the Foxes, they can be backed at 14.0. Brendan Rodgers’ men will probably improve on their showing last term, but the Champions League will surely be beyond them.
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