England Premier League Futures

The Premier League is just around the corner now with the first match kicking off on August 5th. Normally the Premier League would start near the end of August but due to the World Cup being in November later this year, the Premier League is kicking off almost a whole month early to accommodate the interruption in their schedule during that time. There have been some big moves with these clubs in this transfer window though, and it is time to break down who has the best shot at winning the Premier League title this season.

Manchester City -163: Man City is the big favorite on the board to win the title as they are the defending champions here. They have won the last 2 straight titles and 4 of the last 5, finishing in 2nd place only 1 of those seasons to Liverpool. They have been a dominant force in the Premier League for years now, buying all the top talent available to them and stacking their team with so much depth that even their 2nd squad could be starters on another team. They have made some big moves in this transfer window though, both acquiring and losing some big names. Fernandinho left on a free transfer to Athletico PR in Brasil while left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko was sold to Arsenal. Their attack also lost some fire power with centre-forward Gabriel Jesus getting sold to Arsenal as well while left winger Raheem Sterling was the blockbuster deal leaving for Chelsea. Man City did not do much to fill these holes but they still have a very deep team and made 2 big acquisitions that will help take over the roles of the players they lost. They acquired defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Leeds to fill in the hole left by Fernandinho and possibly even Zinchenko. Their other blockbuster deal though was the acquisition of centre-forward Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Haaland will fill in the hole left by Jesus nicely as he scored a lot of goals in his short time at Dortmund. There is not much value on Man City to win the title here but with a team that has been so dominant in the league for years now and spending the kind of money they have been spending, it is hard to see another team that can touch them with all of their bench depth still.

Liverpool +250: Liverpool is the 2nd team on the board here to win the title in the Premier League this season. Liverpool has not been as successful as Man City has been in the league recently but Liverpool has still had a lot of success. They have finished in 2nd place 2 of their last 4 seasons and even have 1 title win in that span, with their other season seeing them finish 3rd place that year. They may have finished 2nd place to Man City last season but they were the only team remotely close to catching them as they finished just 1 point behind Man City in a title race that really came down to the last few matches. They have lost a few big names in the transfer window this season though, and their team is not as deep as it was last season now. They saw centre-forward Divock Origi make his exit to AC Milan in a free transfer while centre-back Ben Davies was sold to Rangers FC. They also sold their developing left winger Takumi Minamino to Monaco but the big story was Sadio Mane leaving for Bayern Munich. They did not make a lot of big signings to fill in these holes either, with their biggest move being the acquisition of centre-forward Darwin Nunez from Benfica. None of their other acquisitions will be much help in their title hopes this season and their team is likely left in a worse position this season than they were in last season. The odds may look tempting here to take Liverpool since they have been the closest team to challenging Man City over the last few seasons, but this is not the same Liverpool team and they will feel the effects of some of the players they have lost this season. 

Tottenham +1200: Tottenham is the 3rd team on the board here to win the Premier League title this season, but a very sizable gap in odds between them and the 2nd team Liverpool. Tottenham finished in 4th last season just hanging onto that spot by the end of the year and this is their first season back in Champions League after missing out on the top 4 the last 2 seasons. They are finally back in Champions League this season though and they will be on the hunt for both titles with some of the moves they have made this transfer window. They did not lose many players at all with their biggest loss being the departure of left winger Steven Bergwijn to Ajax. They made a lot of signings though and really strengthened their defense and their depth for this season, which has been a big issue that has plagued them over the last few seasons. They had some developing players return from loan such as central midfielders Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso who are both much improved now. They also picked up centre-back Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona and signed Ivan Perisic on a free transfer from Inter Milan to help strengthen their defense and midfield. They also made some other moves to help their defense and midfield but the big signing of the summer to help boost their attack was the acquisition of centre-forward Richarlison from Everton. They have already added a lot of depth to their team and still had a strong core to work with, with none of their core players really leaving in the transfer window. Tottenham made a big run a few years ago where they won the Premier League title and a Champions League title, and this feels like a similar year with the money they have been spending. It is tough to say that they will challenge Man City for the title here but if looking for a long shot play, Tottenham has a lot of upside this season and a ton of value with this number.

Chelsea +1600: Chelsea is the 4th team on the list of teams to win the Premier League title this season. Chelsea finished in 3rd place last season and they have been a very consistent team in the Premier League for years, finishing in the top 4 of the league the last 4 straight seasons. They have not had a higher finish than 3rd place in that span though and the team has begun to unravel in this transfer window. Chelsea made a lot of moves and spent a lot of money a few years ago between hiring a new manager and bringing in all of these defensive players which gave them one of the best defenses in the league for years. They were shifting their focus more to their attacking last season though, when defense has been their staple for a while now, and they made a lot of signings to help boost their attack. They did not do much to help their defense though and they have been shedding a lot of their high quality defensemen in this transfer window. They sent away their star centre-forward Romelu Lukaku on loan back to Inter Milan for this season but where they are really going to hurt is with the loss of centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, and they did not do much to fill in these holes. They did acquire centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and also returned some players from loan that will help their defense, but with more rumors still about Azpilicueta leaving and others, they have not done nearly enough to replenish this defense with the same talent they had leaving in the transfer window. Their blockbuster deal was the acquisition of left winger Raheem Sterling from Manchester City but he is not enough to turn this mediocre attack and fading defense into a title contender. Chelsea has never really finished in the top 2 over the past few seasons when they were playing very well, and they are not a real contender to win the title this season with the moves they have been making. 

The obvious choice here is to go with Manchester City at the -163 to win the title here. Man City has been a dominant force in the Premier League for years now and they have had repeated success winning the title and competing in Champions League where they have been holding up with the best teams across Europe. They did almost lose the title to Liverpool last season but Liverpool is not the same team anymore while Man City has continued to retain their talent and depth with another strong transfer window. Another way to go about this if looking for a better price than the -163 is to take a shot on Tottenham at +1200 to win the title here. They may not be able to challenge Man City this season but they have been spending a lot of money and are not even done yet. They have fixed some issues they had in their defense and midfield, and they have also acquired some pieces to help with their attack and bench depth. They may not have had a lot of success over the last few years but they have made a big run like this before in the last decade and when they start spending money like the way they have been recently, they mean business. They are the closest team to challenge Man City this season and you can even get a nice +250 on them to finish top 2 as they should beat Liverpool in the table. It is hard to find value in a league with such a strong force like Man City, but the best way to go about this is Man City to win -163, Tottenham to win +1200, and Tottenham to finish top 2 +250.