with just a couple of months of the premier league season remaining, the races for the title, top four, top scorer and survival are all starting to heat up. antonio conte’s chelsea may look nailed on for the title, but it’s all to play for in the battle for a uefa champions league spot.
with the likes of romelu lukaku, harry kane, alexis sanchez, zlatan ibrahimovic – and one or two others – fighting for the premier league’s golden boot, who will come out on top come may? there’s also an intriguing battle going on for survival in the premier league.
with our live odds comparison, best odds, tips and analysis, we’ll be previewing the races for the title itself, the top four and survival, as well as who will become this year’s top scorer!
barring a miracle or a catastrophic disaster, chelsea look certain to lift their fifth premier league title this season. the blues have been superbly consistent all season long, and they top the league by a whopping 10 points with just 10 games left.
it was always going to be interesting to see how conte would cope with the rigours of the premier league, but it’s safe to say, he’s adapted to english football like a duck to water and his chelsea side fully deserve to bring the title back to stamford bridge. the bookies think it’s a formality, with bet365 offering betting odds of just 1/25.
if the unthinkable does happen and chelsea somehow don’t get the job done, you would have to say that tottenham hotspur are best suited to mount a challenge.
mauricio pocettino’s men have had a fine season, and if it was not for chelsea’s dominance, they could have been in with a decent shout this season. looking at the live odds comparison, betfred are offering 22/1 for spurs to win their first premier league title.
unlike the title race, the battle for the premier league’s golden boot is shaping up to be riveting. at present, everton’s romelu lukaku leads the way on 21 goals, with the currently injured harry kane chasing him down in second with 19. then come alexis sanchez on 18, diego costa with 17 and zlatan ibrahimovic on 15.
according to the odds comparison, lukaku is the even money favourite with betfair to take the accolade. the striker has been outstanding all season long and, despite some off-field uncertainty surrounding his future, he looks a good bet to finish the season as top scorer, especially with kane out injured.
however, the belgium international is not alone in the race, with the likes of costa, sanchez, ibrahimovic and sergio aguero all ready to pounce.
in terms of value, we’re being drawn to william hill’s eye-opening 16/1 for aguero to make a late charge to become top scorer. if the manchester city man can keep himself fit, you can almost guarantee he’ll score plenty of goals from now until the end of the season.
other notable mentions are ibrahimovic at 28/1 with betfair and sadio mane, who is available at the whopping price of 66/1 (also with betfair).
finish in top four: gunners to misfire in race for the champions league
arguably the most intriguing battle going on in the premier league at the moment is the scrap for a top four place. tottenham, man city, liverpool, manchester united and arsenal all have aspirations of reaching the top four. however, with chelsea nailing one spot, only three places are up for grabs.
going by current form, spurs (1/7 at betfair), man city (1/5 with sky bet) and liverpool (8/15 at betway) are in the best shape to make up the top four, but try telling that to man united and gunners fans. if there’s one team who look capable of gate-crashing the top four party, it’s definitely the red devils, who have not been beaten in the premier league since october.
jose mourinho’s men have been on an excellent run of form over the past few months, which has seen them claim the efl cup and progress to the latter stages of the uefa europa league. bet365 are offering the tempting price of 13/8 for jose’s boys to break into the top four come the end of the season.
meanwhile, arsene wenger’s men, who have occupied a place in the top four of the premier league practically all season, now find themselves back in sixth. the gunners are wounded, and even at 3/1 (bet365), we think their race is run.
with the likes of sunderland, middlesbrough, hull city, swansea city and crystal palace all fighting for their premier league lives, we should be in for a thrilling contest to avoid the drop.
the black cats pull off the impossible year after year to stay in the top flight, but that task seems harder than ever this season. david moyes’ troops are the strong favourites for the drop, with betfred offering just 1/12.
next come boro, who are available at 1/4 with sky bet, with hull coming in at 1/2 at coral and swansea priced at 3/1 with betfair. meanwhile, palace, who looked in real trouble at one point, have done an excellent job in recent weeks, and are now 7/2 with betvictor for relegation.
however, battle for survival seems to be the hardest to predict. all teams mentioned are capable of going on runs from now until the end of the season, but who is most capable?
marco silva has done a remarkable job since arriving at the kcom stadium. the tigers looked doomed before the portuguese arrived, but silva has given the hull supporters a glimmer of hope. therefore, we feel there’s good value in sky bet’s 7/4 for hull to stay in the premier league.