Hello all,
We’re just about halfway through the football season and hasn’t it gone quickly?
Man City and Wolves have nearly accumulated a season’s worth of points already after running on overdrive in the Premier League and Championship, while Wigan have asserted some sort of control in League One, and Luton keep threatening to do the same in League Two.
Before the first ball was kicked in earnest I put up ante-post selections in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and also did an Ante-Post Multiples piece.
Some are looking very nice indeed, while some are quite frankly not – the joy of ante-post betting I’m afraid!
This post is all about having a quick glance back at what still has a chance, and I’m also going to put up a few selections which should hopefully give us a bit of interest until the end of the season. I’ve also done a Football League Mid-Season Betting Review, which includes a new 101,438/1 bet!
My Premier League pre-season tip of Chelsea to win it as the value pick has gone down the swanny. City were favourites for a reason and as easy as it looks now, most people will have been surprised at just quite how well they’ve done.
But in brighter news, my two picks for relegation, Swansea (9/4) and West Brom (6/1), are looking brilliant – apologies Swans and Baggies fans – because both sides are currently propping up the Prem.
Elsewhere, I picked both Tony Pulis and Craig Shakespeare as potentials to lose their jobs first at big 16/1 and 10/1 prices, but sadly Frank de Boer’s shocking start at Palace put paid to that and my pair of picks departed shortly afterwards.
One of my best ante-post bets of the season could well be Kevin De Bruyne to win the PFA Player of the Year award at 20/1.
He’s arguably been the best for the first half of the season, although Mo Salah will have something to say about that, and is now odds-on favourite to land the prize.
I went for Gabriel Jesus as my main Premier League top scorer tip but he’s only managed eight and hasn’t had as much game time as I was hoping for which is a real shame, because he’s certainly capable.
Plus, the City players do have a tendency to share the goals between them so I won’t be holding my breath with that one.
End of Season Tips
There’s no value in a number of the markets at this stage of the season but I think I’ve spied some. Sam Allardyce’s introduction at Everton seems to have given Wayne Rooney a kick up the backside and I really like the 66/1 available on him to be top scorer.
He’s four behind Salah at the moment and while he may not do enough to win the Golden Boot, he can certainly finish in the top three – he’s just one goal away at the moment. So that price each-way represents some serious value.
Staying with Everton, they’ve improved significantly since Big Sam took the reins and that’s without him even signing any players, so I don’t see why they cannot land a seventh place spot which is well up for grabs. 3/1 for this looks decent.
One sticky situation the Toffees should no longer find themselves in come the end of the campaign is relegation, but three teams will be going down and one outsider I like the look of is Stoke at 16/5.
They seem to be persevering with Mark Hughes but are among a number of sides who have underperformed this season. The likes of West Ham and Crystal Palace should be fine after appointing new managers, while West Brom could still struggle.
But at the odds I think the Potters could be wishing for a bit of magic come May.
And while it’s not quite the Premier League, one selection I have been banging on about this season is Brazil to win the World Cup.
I started backing them at 13/2 a few months back and they’ve come into 11/2 second favourites, but I can see their price dropping further before the action gets underway in Russia next summer.
Why? I hear you ask.
Their strength in depth is incredible, and they have many players who will probably taste plenty of success with their clubs this season, including Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho, and Danilo with Man City, as well as Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Dani Alves with PSG.
That’s not to mention they still have the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Willian, Roberto Firmino, Casemiro, Miranda, Marcelo, Alex Sandro, Paulinho, Alisson, and Douglas Costa to call upon.
It could well be a Samba summer!
Premier League Betting Tips
Top Scorer – Wayne Rooney e/w 66/1 (William Hill – bet HERE)
Without the Big Six – Everton 3/1 (Coral – bet HERE)
Relegation – Stoke 16/5 (Betfair – bet HERE)
World Cup Betting Tips
Winner – Brazil 11/2 (Bet Victor – bet HERE)
Good luck and follow The Set Odds for more tips!
