The Premier League is one of the most exciting sports competitions in the world, attracting thousands of bettors each season. However, as one of the most competitive football leagues in Europe, it’s fair to say that picking a winner can be a bit a tricky. With so many great options at your disposal, picking which bookie to bet online with can be just as tough, so we’ve made things a bit easier by carefully selecting and reviewing the best betting sites out there.
Everything you need to know about English Premier League outright betting
Each year, as the start of the Premier League season approaches, debate is rife as football fans quibble over which teams will finish where. From the outrageous to the sensible, everyone’s got an opinion, and that’s what makes outright Premier League betting so popular amongst punters. That, and the fact that having an outright bet adds some extra excitement to the season, as well as some potentially high payouts. Fancy your team to be champions? Check out our guide to get the ins and outs of Premier League outright betting.
The contenders
The biggest talking point prior to the season’s kick-off is who will end up as champions – will Liverpool finally break their duck? Will Manchester United return to their former glory? Or will the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea continue to add to their haul? Part of what makes the Premier League so enthralling is that there is not always an obvious answer to this question. This is pretty unique when compared to the other major European leagues, where a select few dominate on an almost yearly basis.
In addition to the Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea, Tottenham have risen in recent years and are now also fighting it out near the top of the league. Although Arsenal have stumbled somewhat in the past few seasons, they remain a huge club with some quality players who always aim to have a say in where the title ends up. Whilst City and Chelsea have won four of the five previous titles, Liverpool, Tottenham, United and Arsenal have all finished runners up within that time, which shows how competitive the league is.
However, the fact that the ‘big six’ are considered a fair way ahead of the rest of the league doesn’t mean there’s no chance of an upset. Leicester City shocked the footballing world as they won the 2015-16 Premier League title, despite only just avoiding relegation the previous season. Leicester were priced at a massive 5000/1 by some bookies, meaning that several lucky fans who placed what was seemingly an impossible long shot at the start of the season received some huge payouts.
Whilst the large amount of high quality teams means the Premier League can be difficult to predict, it’s actually great news for bettors – there’s plenty of value to be found each and every season. Plus, having an outright wager adds to the thrill of watching games and the overall fan experience.
Other outright betting markets
Whilst outright football betting has traditionally meant betting on the winner of a competition, today there’s a large range of additional markets available for punters to wager on. At Coral you can bet outright on the top goal scorer, relegation, top four, and PFA player of the year, whilst Betway offer even more markets, including top six, top 10, and team to finish bottom. At MansionBet you can also bet on not to finish top 4 and not to be relegated, so there’s plenty of betting opportunities to keep you on your toes as the season progresses.
When wagering on the title winner you’ve usually got 5-6 teams with any kind of realistic chance, but the rest of the Premier League is a much more even playing field. Teams’ final positions often fluctuate from season to season, which can make it hard to even correctly pick teams to achieve a top-half finish, let alone predict their actual position.At the start of the 2017/18 season, for example, Huddersfield, Burnley and Brighton were most bookies’ favourites for relegation, yet all three survived and Burnley even managed to finish seventh.
This means that, whilst it can be difficult to get your predictions on the money, if you do get it right you may well be in for a big payout.
How to choose
As with any sports betting, doing some research can help you make a better informed decision. Whilst you obviously want to look at things like a team’s performance the previous season, their odds at different bookies and the quality of their squad, there’s also other factors which can have a big impact on a teams prospects.
One factor that can have a significant bearing on how the league pans out is each club’s activity during the summer transfer window. Though predicting how new players will fare can be difficult, if a club has lost or signed some major players then it’s fair to presume that this will have an effect on the team’s performance. This is also true if the team has a new manager, and whether any new additions have prior experience of the Premier League be influential.
If you’re wagering on a team to win the league or finish in a high position, you should also consider whether they’re playing in a European competition. Playing in the Champions League, and Europa League, can cause fatigue and affect a team’s domestic performance due to the higher number of fixtures and long journeys across Europe.
As with any other kind of sports betting, there’s a tonne of information, tips, statistics and predictions available online concerning Premier League outright betting. These can be helpful for improving your knowledge and making better-informed decisions, but remember that there is no sure way to guarantee which team will finish where, and there’s bound to be some surprises along the way.
Premier League outright betting odds
Due to the competitive nature of the Premier League, you can get relatively decent odds even on the favourites. Outright betting differs from making single bets on individual Premier League matches in that you’ll find some massive prices. Whilst the odds obviously suggest the chances of any of those bets coming in are slim, there are many bettors who will think they’re well worth a small punt on.
Of course, Premier League betting odds change throughout the course of a season depending on how events unfold. Some gamblers prefer to wait until a portion of the season has been played before placing their bets so that they can get a better idea of each teams’ prospects. This can reduce your chance of getting bets wildly wrong, but you may get shorter odds as the order of the Premier League table starts to take shape. You’ll need to weigh up your options and decide whether you want to capitalise on pre-season opportunities or have a more educated guess after some Premier League games have been played.
Each way
Each way bets on the Premier League are a great way to give your wager some extra security from the league’s unpredictability and increase your chances of banking some profit.
An each-way bet is made up of two parts – ‘win’ and ‘place’. The ‘win’ part is your bet on the selection to win the event, whilst the ‘place’ is a bet that the selection will finish in any of the specified places, such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. The odds for the ‘place’ bet are calculated as a fraction of the ‘win’ odds.
When betting each way you are placing an equal stake on each part of the bet, so if you bet ‘£10 each way’ you are wagering £20 in total. If the selection you’ve backed wins the event, both parts of your bet win. If your selection doesn’t win but finishes in one of the specified places, your ‘win’ bet loses but your ‘place’ bet wins. This basically means that you can still profit even if your selection doesn’t win the event.
For outright each-way betting on the Premier League, at most bookies, your chosen team will need to finish either first or second to win on the place bet. The each-way odds on offer vary slightly – 1/3 at Ladbrokes and Coral but 1/4 at MansionBet and Betway Sports, for example.
Though each way isn’t available for outright markets such as relegation, top four and so on, it is available for top scorer. All the aforementioned bookies have each-way odds of 1/4 for the first four places, which makes things a bit easier. You can also place each way bets when the season is already in progress, which is a plus.
Cash out
The Premier League season is long and arduous, and things can change in the blink of an eye. If your team is doing better or worse than expected, or if the title race is particularly tight, then you may consider cashing out either to cut your losses or quit whilst you’re ahead.
Cashing out can be a great option for both profiting and prevent further loss, but you’ll need to consider the flip side. For example, during Leicester’s winning season, several bettors who’d taken a lucky punt on them cashed out because of the understandable worry that their form would gradually start to slip away. Whilst those who cashed out still had huge winnings due to the incredibly long odds, they could’ve banked even bigger sums had they kept the faith. This can make cashing out a tricky decision, but it’s a good option to have, especially for players looking to make a quick buck.
Place your outright Premier League bets
Now that we’ve shown you the ropes, you’ll be able to head to the bookies and fill out your betslip with confidence. Whether you fancy a flutter on the Premier League winner or you’ve got a hunch on a team to get relegated, our featured top betting sites have got you covered. Simply compare the bookies on our list, sign up and bet to claim your betting bonus or free bet today!
