With the 2019-20 Premier League title race done and dusted, attention has already turned to next season, and despite Manchester City not getting close to the newly-crowned champions Liverpool this term, Pep Guardiola’s men are as short as 4/5 with some bookmakers to regain the title in 2021.
Not even a 4-0 victory for City over Liverpool on July 2nd could bring them to within less than 20 points of the Reds, but the underlying data suggests that the two clubs are still a lot closer to one another than their respective points totals might indicate.
Of course, City won’t hesitate to spend money in the summer, whereas Liverpool could again choose to stick rather than twist. The reigning English, European, and world champions have already walked away from a deal to sign Timo Werner, who is set to join Chelsea.
While City are 4/5 with Betfair, they are priced at Evens to win the 2020-21 Premier League title with most other top UK bookmakers. Liverpool, meanwhile, can be snapped up at 13/8, which may be generous given their dominance over the past year.
No other team besides City and Liverpool has come close to winning the league since 2017, but 2021 could be the year that another club enters the fray and launches a legitimate challenge.
The bookies are split in terms of determining who the third-favourites are. Manchester United have shown in recent weeks that they can play exciting, attacking football reminiscent of the United of old, and they are 10/1 to win their first title since 2013 with some betting sites.
If you shop around and look at the odds across the best UK bookmakers, you can get a much better price, with 14/1 still up for grabs with some firms. By using My Betting Sites to compare bookies, you won’t miss out on any potential value.
Chelsea could also be in the mix in the 2020-21 campaign. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d bounced back from a poor season and gone on to contend for, or even win, the Premier League.
Frank Lampard’s team are 10/1 with a number of bookies, but William Hill are offering a far more tempting 16/1 as of the beginning of July. With Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech already confirmed as new arrivals, don’t be surprised if more reinforcements are brought in at Stamford Bridge.
Beyond the four aforementioned teams, nobody else has been given much of a prayer by the bookies. Tottenham’s price ranges from 33/1 to 50/1 depending on where you look, while a massive 100/1 is available on Arsenal in what will be Mikel Arteta’s first full season in charge.
Leicester defied 5000/1 odds to win the league in 2016 and although they could claim a top four finish this term, the Foxes are still massive outsiders at 200/1 with BetVictor to repeat that success five years on.
Another improving team that could make a late push for Champions League football is Wolves, but they are also set at a three-figure price by most betting sites in the UK to go a step further and top the division.
It remains to be seen what the Premier League will look like in 2020-21 as far as the schedule and the attendances are concerned, but what isn’t in doubt is that it should be a much closer title race than we have seen this time around, and we might even see three or four teams involved.