With soccer across the world on pause while we look to protect the health of the global population, we are going to take a look at what was happening in the EPL top four betting market (currently top 5) before this essential break and discover who is is the favourite to qualify for the 2020/21 UCL?
Top Two Guaranteed
Liverpool and Manchester City. No bets to be had on these two sides in terms of their league position, however, with City banned from the 2020/21 UCL (at the time of writing) it means that the final Champions League spot will drop down to 5th.
Two Clear Favourites
Leicester City and Chelsea, the two sides currently sitting in the top four have been odds on to qualify with most Sportsbooks for some time now. Before the season started, neither of these sides were widely picked for a UCL place however Brendan Rodgers (particularly) and to some extent Frank Lampard have got more out of these sides than anybody (themselves included) expected. While the oddsmakers are pricing these sides to get the job done, we believe that if it were not for the City ban, qualification would be wide open.
Leicester Will Cling On
Leicester City’s form has dropped off significantly in recent months and they are playing with much less freedom. Last time out they smashed a very poor Aston Villa side, but that just masks a trend that has been going on for a while. The gap between the Foxes and Wolverhampton Wanderers sits at 10 points and may be a total that is just too big to bridge. Given their price at -500, we see any investment in the 2016 EPL champions as a waste of time.
Chelsea Have the Experience
Much was made of Chelsea being forced to play kids but that was a narrative that didn’t sit to well with us. In their last match at home to Everton, the West London side cruised to a comfortable win with goals from Pedro, Willian and Soccer World Cup winner Giroud. Chelsea have integrated some exceptional talent into their side but have the experience within to get the job done. The question mark surely sits with Lampard and his lack of experience as a coach if this side don’t get in the top five.
Manchester United Hit Form
Solskjaer seemed to have his Manchester Utd team playing well. Unbeaten in their last five games which included Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea – all teams looking for that fourth UCL spot. The break in action has come at a bad time for this team that was putting a decent gap between them and 6th, while quickly gaining points on the two above. If the Red Devils can pick up where they left off with their new trade Fernandez continuing his fine form, at +140, they could push on for third and be value for that price.
Spurs The Big Outsider
The pause in play will give some of the sides that were struggling for form the opportunity to regroup, get some players back from injury and push hard in the run-in. Tottenham fall into this category and with Son and Kane back in the offence, there is a real chance that they can get a run together. The highest price at +750, this is definitely worth a go with just 4 points to make up and a full team to chose from for the first time this season.
Brave Sheffield Fall Short
Momentum is critical during the run in to any campaign and this might be what Sheffield Utd lose. They are a well drilled team that have continued to develop and surprise. Everyone thought they would have fallen off by now but such a long break may well disrupt this side which has had a real togetherness so far this season – a characteristic that will be stretched by the current situation. They are still well placed but we don’t think that they have the quality to go the distance unlike Wolves.
Wolverhampton To Shake things up
This side do not know when they are beaten and add to that, they have real quality throughout the side. Sometimes, when a club bring in undisputed talent from other countries, the end result in the physical EPL is not always what you expect. Wolves have recruited very well and Nuno Sanchez has them playing. They aren’t in this to make up numbers and may just surprise a few of the “big six” if they fail to come out firing. We do feel that they will ultimately fall short but might be worth it for some at Approx +680 to qualify.
The Gunners: A Club Reborn
Arsenal have a new lease of life about them and were the EPL’s form side going into this forced break. We don’t think this will be a bad thing for them as the new found positivity around the Emirates emanates from their young, fresh and eager coach. He has a lot to prove, the team has a lot more to give and critically they have goals a plenty up top. We feel it’s going to be between them and their North London rivals for that final place should one of the current top 5 slip up. Approx +1300
The Final Table
We don’t want to sit on the fence and so here is what the top 8 will look like:
| Position | Team |
| 1 | Liverpool |
| 2 | Manchester City |
| 3 | Chelsea |
| 4 | Manchester Utd |
| 5 | Leicester City |
| 6 | Tottenham |
| 7 | Arsenal |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers. |
Tagged With : Arsenal • Chelsea • EPL • Leicester City • Manchester City • Manchester United • Sheffield Utd • Tottenham Hotspur • UCL • Wolverhampton Wanderers