The fans were euphoric to see the start of the English Premier League this weekend. Finally, the most interesting soccer competition in the world kicked off this Friday in Brentford, where the hosts defeated Arsenal 2-0. One by one, all the games of the opening round ended with more or less expected results.
Ordinary bettors also didn't hide their thrill for EPL's start. Many of them are specialized only in English football, regardless of whether it is plain or live betting.
The favorites started the campaign strongly, with Manchester United delivering the most impressive win of the weekend. They defeated Leeds 5-1, putting the spotlight on them.
However, they are still the No.4 favorite to win the title, with the odds set at 8/1. The top candidate is Manchester City, 4/5, followed by the European champions, Chelsea at 4/1, and Liverpool, 9/2. After these four sides comes a big gap, before Leicester City, who is 33/1. Tottenham Hotspurs are 50/1 and Arsenal 100/1.
The transfer window is still open, and we might see several major transfers in the next few days, which could impact this list, but without making some radical changes. The pundits predict Harry Kane's move to Manchester City, and that would only cement the Citizens as the biggest contenders for lifting the trophy.
Kane's arrival to Etihad would be a blast, and that will make Pep Guardiola's side the No.1 bidder for the European title as well. Currently, the EPL champions are second 18/5, behind PSG, whose win is valued at 3/1. After landing Lionel Messi, the Saints rose from fifth place to the top of the list. Behind the duo are Bayern Munich, 43/5, and Chelsea, 8/1.
With Kane sealing a deal with Man City, we are more than sure that the "Messi effect" would be neutralized and that the Citizens would be back in the first place.
The captain of the English national team is the three-time EPL Golden Boot winner, in 2016, 2017, and 2021, and arguably the best striker in England over the past two decades. He is hungry for trophies and wants to leave the Spurs, who aren't willing to give up on him.
In order to win his fourth top goalscoring award, Kane will have to overcome a ferocious competition, strengthened with Lukaku and Sancho, who are not in the EPL. And also, he would need to start playing ASAP.
The bookies still give him the best prospects, 4/1, ahead of Mo Salah, 9/1. Lukaku is slightly behind, 26/5, and Bruno Fernandes, who opened the season with a hat-trick against the Peacocks, is 15/2. The Portuguese is a perfect penalty taker, and he collects a solid share of his overall goals scoring from the spot. Jamie Vardy 20/1 and Diogo Jota 25/1 await their chance from the dark.
Kane is also among the biggest favorites for winning the EPL Player of the Year honors, 8/1. Only Kevin de Bryne at 7/1 and Jack Grealish 15/2 are ahead of him. It would be interesting to see these three appearing together in City, and we firmly believe that it would be the first time in the Premier League's history to have three players from the same club leading the way in the player of the year race. United's Bruno Fernandes is 7/1, and Liverpool's Salah comes at 12/1, before Lukaku, 16/1.
In short, the start of the Premiership opens up numerous possibilities for betting, outright, live, or any other way you would like.
Over the past several years, the gap between the English and all the other domestic leagues in Europe increased. We can now say that EPL is the most popular and, by far, the strongest national championship on the continent.