Winter Love Island 2021 Betting Preview, Tips & Latest Odds

Colm Phelan

January 22nd, 2020

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Quick Bets:

• Connor Durman to be the male winner - 6/1 with Ladbrokes
• Finley Tapp to be the male winner - 8/1 with Unibet
• Paige Turley to be the female winner - 13/2 with Bethard

Everyone’s favourite reality TV show is back with a bang. The first rendition of the Winter Love Island series aired this month and with viewing figures well into the millions, top specials bookies have began pricing up their favourites in the male and female categories in their 2020 Winter Love Island betting markets.

There are a few notable changes to the first of the 2020 Love Island series. First and foremost the usual host, Caroline Flack, has taken a leave of absence due to ongoing issues in her personal life and she has been replaced by Irish TV presenter, Laura Whitmore.

Secondly, there has been a change of scenery for the new fame-hungry cast. The 2020 Winter Love Island contestants will be enjoying their new surroundings in Cape Town South Africa - some 7,500 miles away from the usual love shack in Majorca.

Apart from that it’s business as usual as ITV producers get up to their old tricks to ensure each episode provides the cringe-worthy TV gold that we all know and love. Love Island, like it's competition Strictly Come Dancing, provides some fascinating specials betting opportunities which we are going to take a look at here.

Winter Love Island 2020 - Top Male Betting

First and foremost, it’s important to remember when betting on Love Island that things can change at a moment's notice. A new contestant can enter the South African villa and capture the hearts of the audience as well as one of the contestants.

With that said, there is an advantage when it comes to entering the villa from day one, or as close as possible to the beginning of the series. This gives the current crop of heartthrobs in the villa (Mike, Callum, Connor, Connagh, Nas and Finley) a better shot at Love Island glory, in theory.

Former winners and Jack Fincham and Kem Centinay, along with their partners Dani Dyer and Amber Davies, entered the villa from the beginning and went on to win the £50k prize.

Last year female winner Amber Rose Gill came in on day one, but her bedmate Greg O'Shea bucked the trend having only entered two weeks previous but he quickly became an island star.

Police Officer and former footballer Mike currently heads the betting as a 9/4 shot with Bet365, having coupled up with Leanne Amaning after briefly having his head-turned upon the entrance of twins Jess and Eve Gale. Callum, who has seen his relationship with female favourite Shaughna come under tumultuous times, follows closely at 5/2 which is on offer with Coral.

I wouldn’t recommend backing either of these options, especially at their given price. Mike has shown a tendency to input his opinions where they aren’t needed, while Callum’s wandering eye was evident when Rebecca Gormley made her heart-racing entrance. Their antics have not gone down well on social media which is a vital tool to monitor when plotting your specials betting strategy.

The official Love Island Twitter handle is @LoveIsland - and contestants who feature prominently there tend to gain a larger following.

The next two in the betting are far more enticing options in the shape of Connor Durman and Finley Tapp.

Connor, 6/1 with Ladbrokes, just recently rekindled his relationship with Sophie Piper. The pair were split after new arrival Connagh Howard picked Sophie at a recoupling, which caused a bit of a stir. But the Essex native eventually found her way back to the brightly-smiled Brighton boy.

Importantly, this fiasco received a lot of airtime which in the past can signal success. The more airtime a contestant gets, the more chance they have to win over (or lose) the support of the public vote.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Finley has a blossoming relationship with Paige Turley - whose claim to fame was she once dated pop star, Lewis Capaldi. Capaldi’s public support of Paige, combined with her support from the Scottish nation, could see the pair go far. He can be backed at 8/1 with Unibet.

Winter Love Island 2020 - Top Female Betting

While I’m happy to take on Mike and Callum in the betting, their partners could be more difficult to oppose. Leanna Amaning (5/2 with Betfair) and Shaughna Phillips (3/1 with Unibet) have quickly and clearly become infatuated with the other-halves and any hurdles they have faced so far has seen them react accordingly, which in turn gives them the sympathy of the viewers.

Glamorous Shaughna has been received really well on Twitter for her honesty, quick wit and charming personality - and she could quickly shorten in the betting should she and Callum make it official down the line. I would still stay clear of such short prices at this early stage - better value could lie elsewhere.

As mentioned above, Paige Turley is an interesting option at 13/2 with Bethard to win outright. Combined with the public support from ex-squeeze and celeb Capaldi she has unique but entertaining (if not hard to understand) accent and take-no-prisoners attitude, giving her all the tools to go far.

The Scottish nation will quickly get behind one of their own, and she’s proven a popular character with all the contestants, male and female, as well as the viewing public so far. She's an interesting contestant to monitor on Twitter as each episode goes by.

With any luck no skeletons she may have buried from her previous 15 minutes of fame - she was also a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent - will be exposed in the UK tabloids, something which former contestant Ollie Williams felt the full effect of when he was ousted for hunting rare and endangered animals.

There is plenty more action on the cards in the coming weeks as new love-hungry contestants enter the fray and the seemingly endless ideas producers have in mind that can throw a spanner in the works.