Premiership Relegation Battle The Most Exciting Ever According To Odds

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Not only is this season’s Premiership title race and the Champions League qualification race more open than ever before, we are also looking at what is probably the most open relegation battle ever in the Premiership.

The bottom half of the Premiership are currently separated by just seven points and all the teams in the bottom half are within at least five points of the relegation zone, meaning that very few teams consider themselves safe with just over ten games to go this season. According to the table it is Blackburn and Blackpool who are the safest of the bottom half teams but Blackpool are still far from safe despite their win over Spurs during the week, Blackpool are deemed fifth favourites to go down with the bookies and can be backed at 3/1.

According to the bookies the bottom four at the end of the season will feature all the W’s, who are the four teams that make up the current bottom four. West Brom are most likely to survive, they are 5/4 to go down with the current bottom three expected to remain there, all three of the bottom three are odds on to go down.

Wigan and West Ham are most likely to finish bottom, both teams are 8/15 to be relegated and around 11/4 to be rock bottom. That just leaves Wolves who are likely to make up the numbers in the bottom three according to the current Premiership relegation odds, they are 4/5 to do down this season.

The other team who could still be in trouble according to the latest odds are Birmingham, some good recent form has seen them move three points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand over most of their rivals and they are probably safe now at 4/1 to go down. The likes of Aston Villa and Everton are still very close to the relegation zone but both are clearly expected to survive given their odds to go down of 16/1 and 22/1 respectively. With Premiership matches coming thick and fast the relegation odds are changing dramatically each week, we could have three new favourites to go down in a few weeks time.

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Premiership Best Bets This Weekend Include Blackburn And Birmingham At Big Odds

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Last week saw another great round of Premiership action, not many predicted that Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea would all drop points, certainly not whilst Arsenal were 4-0 up at Newcastle, and those who did predict it will have made a small fortune. All those sides have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend in what looks another great round of matches.

The highlight is undoubtedly the early kick off on Saturday which is the second Manchester derby of the season. Hopefully it will be a lot more entertaining than the 0-0 draw played out between the two sides in November. Man City set up very defensively for that match, and it was a similar case when they went to the Emirates and drew 0-0 with Arsenal. Another low scoring match is on the cards, under 2.5 goals is a good bet at 5/6, whilst Man Utd look a good bet to continue their great home record which has seen them drop just two points, 5/6 is a more than fair price on a home win.

Arsenal, who were on the receiving end of the most outstanding comeback in Premiership history on Saturday, face Wolves who were the team who inflicted Man Utd’s first Premiership loss this season on the same day. Wolves have by far the worst away record in the league, picking up just four points from twelve matches, and even the 1/4 on an Arsenal win looks value.

One of the best bets of the weekend could be Birmingham to beat Stoke at St Andrews, Birmingham have been poor travellers this season but won last week at West Ham and that was Birmingham’s third win in four games. They seem to be getting some joy out of Nikola Zigic at the moment and their odds of 6/4 to beat Wolves, who have lost their last three away matches, make them a strong bet.

Newcastle gained a great result last week against Arsenal but they were very poor in the first half and they have now failed to win in five games. Blackburn have won three of their last four home games and should really have won the game they lost against Spurs, if they replicate that performance they can beat Newcastle comfortably at 11/10 at the time of writing.

Amongst the other games at the weekend, Liverpool extending their good run with a home win against Wigan should be a formality at around 4/11, Liverpool are likely to gain ground on Spurs who have a tough trip to Sunderland. Sunderland are traditionally strong at home and they look a good bet in the draw no bet market at 4/5 at the moment.

Valuechecker.co.uk is a great site for listing all the best odds on Premiership markets.

Odds Shorten For No More Premiership Managers To Leave This Season

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Around two weeks ago Roberto Di Matteo lost his job at West Brom and the bookies are beginning to think he could be the last managerial casualty of the season in the Premiership, although one manager still remains under pressure.

By far the most likely manager to go in the Premiership, if one does leave before the end of the season, is West Ham boss Avram Grant. Despite some decent recent form for the Hammers they remain in the bottom three and are amongst the favourites to go down this season. That leaves Grant an odds on chance to leave West Ham after less than a season in charge, he could really do with a win in his next couple of games.

The odds have shortened dramatically on no more managers leaving this season, after Roberto Di Matteo was sacked from his job at West Brom you could get 6/1 on no more managers leaving their post, those odds are now just 2/1 at the time of writing and that shows that we may have seen out last managerial casualty of the season.

Most other managers are looking pretty safe, even those involved in relegation battles, but there are two managers who are in charge of underperforming clubs and their jobs could certainly be under review at the end of the season, if they are still in charge by the time that comes around. David Moyes has been well backed in recent weeks to lose his job, Everton have been inconsistent all season but he surely won’t be sacked, backers of Moyes may be relying on him walking out, he is around the 5/1 mark.

At around twice those odds you can back Carlo Ancelotti to leave Chelsea, they are now in danger of losing out on a Champions League place and their performance in that competition could be just as important as their performance in the Premiership as Ancelotti looks to save his job. Whatever happens it looks likely he could go in the summer. The likes of Alex McLeish and Mark Hughes aren’t 100% safe according to the odds but it would be a huge shock if either lost their jobs this season.

If you’re looking to put a bet on, we’ve found BetsFree.com to be the most generous.

Why The Premiership Title Is Beyond Arsenal

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I am a huge Arsenal supporter. Ever since the day Arsene Wenger walked into Highbury and went about turning the Gunners into one of the most entertaining and finest teams in world football, I have been a huge admirer of the football club both on and off the pitch. Arsenal’s approach to footballl both on the park and financially is exactly what the game should be about and it pains me that they are not rewarded with trophies.

Similarly, I am by no means against Arsene Wenger and I fully support the approach he takes to managing Arsenal Football Club. Those who claim that Arsenal would be better off without him in charge are deluded and ignorant of the fact that were it not for Arsene’s unparalleled ability to discover and bring through young talent, Arsenal would not be able to compete against the Arab riches of Manchester City, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea or Manchester United’s unlimited debt financial model.

Despite this though, I don’t believe Arsenal can win the Premiership title this season. I would love to be proved wrong but I fear that the weekends conquerers Chelsea are going to be too strong  for those in Arsenal shirts this season.

The reality is, Arsenal dominated the game of football on Sunday. They went to the home of the Champions, a club with one of the best home records in Premiership history and were the better team for the majority of the football match. The fact of the matter is though, Chelsea are more ruthless, they are more clinical and once again, they organised themselves superbly defensively and stung Arsenal on the counter attack.

As impressive as Arsenal’s attacking game is, the offensive side is only half of football and Chelsea’s ability to defend and organise is as impressive as the Gunners flowing attacking instincts. As they always do, Chelsea restricted the space and formed a compact unit in a way that (in my opinion) only they can. Arsenal may have had all of the ball and they may have had their chances, but Chelsea’s counter attacking caused the Gunners no end of problems and it was no surprise, nor co-incidence that they won the game.

It cannot be ignored that Arsenal were without key men in Thomas Vermaelen, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie and yes, had they played it could have been different. But how long can Arsenal keep using this as an excuse, for it seems they are permanently without key men in big matches?

The title is by no means beyond Arsenal and the break for the Euro 2012 qualifiers comes at a welcome time, affording the Gunners time to regroup after back to back defeats. A seven point deficit at this stage in the season is by no means impossible to make up, but it will be very tough and Arsenal need to both keep their key players fit and develop a ruthless streak if they are to mount a serious challenge for the title.

Written by Colin Hill, a sports blogger who writes about new football shirts.

Are Arsenal a Good Bet To Win The Premiership This Season?

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The Gunners opened their Premier League account with an away point from their trip to Anfield.  An encouraging start

Premiership Betting Tips

 14th - 16th August 2010 14th August 2010

Tottenham (2.4) Draw (3.4) Manchester City (3.1)
Its the new big 4 team vs the wannabe big for team. Harry Redknapp has more or less kept the same side whereas Manchester City have pulled out the chequebook again. This is a tricky fixture to call. Man City will have problems getting the new signings all working together. Their pre-season was pretty poor. Its going to be hard for Mancini to get them all working together on day one. After Christmas maybe when the team has gelled I could make a good case for City. This fixture has been kind for Spurs over the years. Its been 2-1 5 times in a row only to have been broken last year 3-0. I'll go for Spurs here. If they are going to build on last years achievement then this is the type of game they have to win. Its 2.4 at William Hill. Over 2.5 goals at 2.05 looks a good bet too. Its happened 6 times in a row already and I can't see why it won't happen again this season.

Aston Villa (2) Draw (3.4) West Ham (4.3)
Last week this game had a totally different dimension. With O'Neil leaving, it leaves Villa with no manager. This has pushed the odds out for Villa. They were as low as 1.62 before O'Neil's departure. Villa have made new signings to its going to be the same team that finished 6th. West Ham are in the rebuilding stage. With Avram Grant at the helm this year they probably won't be staring relegation in the face like last season. I can see why the odds have gone up on Villa but I am not sure I agree with that. Its the same team but with O'Neil. I think that Villa at even money at bet365 is a pretty good price considering.

Blackburn (3) Draw (3.3) Everton (2.5)
I think that Blackburn will struggle this season. They were fortunate to finish 10th last season and with no new significant signings it will be hard not to get pulled in to the relegation battle. Everton finished strongly last season and are expected to do better than the 8th they finished last season. If they hadn't has the slow start last season they could well have been in the Champions League. As no team has significantly changed I'll make my prediction on what would have happened if this game was played at the end of last season. I think a draw. Its also nice its the biggest price on the coupon too. 3.3 at William Hill.

Bolton (2.3) Draw (3.3) Fulham (3.5)
Bolton look like they are going to have a better season this year. Owen Coyle steered them away from relegation last year and has built significantly on his squad. Fulham have a new manager in Mark Hughes who must be kicking himself for taking that job now the Villa job is available. Saying that, Fulham are a decent side and have progressed much over the last 2 years. In terms of betting, this is one of the trickier fixtures to call. I am not too keen on Bolton at 2.3 at home to a decent Fulham side but then again I am not too keen on 3.5 on a Fulham side that won once away from home all season. I'll plump for the draw again at 3.3 at William Hill

Sunderland (2.25) Draw (3.4) Birmingham (3.6)
What happened to Sunderland last season was a mystery. They started strong but a bad run at the end meant they finished nearer the bottom that the top. They have sold one part of their striking partnership in Kenwyne Jones but still have Darren Bent. He was injured for the England game midweek but looks like he's going to start. Birmingham over achieved last season I think. I can't see them doing what they did last season again. Betting wise its a tricky one and any result wouldn't be too much of a surprise. I think I will go for a cheeky scorecast. Paddypower have Darren Bent to score first and Sunderland to win 1-0 at 20/1, This is a cracking price considering the same bet at Bet365 is 14/1. Paddypower are also refunding scorecast bets if the game ends 0-0 too so thats a bit of insurance for you. Sign up to PaddyPower and get a free