Our tips for the upcoming Premier League season include a top-four bet, a promoted side to impress and an England star to top the assist charts.
The new Premier League season sparks into life on Friday 16 August, kicking off with Manchester United against Fulham at Old Trafford.
Reigning champions Manchester City start their quest for a fifth straight title success away at Chelsea on the Sunday, but they will be expecting a stern test this season from Arsenal and Liverpool, who begin life without Jurgen Klopp.
The battle for the top-four looks as intriguing as ever with United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa all believing they have what it takes to compete with that illustrious title-chasing trio.
Last season all three promoted teams from the Championship went straight back down and Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton will be hoping to avoid a similar fate.
To get pulses racing, we have picked out our three best bets for the upcoming top-flight campaign.
Selections
Tottenham to finish top four @ 9/4
Ipswich top promoted club @ 19/10
Cole Palmer most assists @ 9/1
Spurs can seal top-four berth
The Premier League title race looks like a match between City and Arsenal but, with potential charges still hanging over the Citizens’ heads, it is a market fraught with danger.
Instead, the top-four race is where the value lies and Tottenham, fifth last season, can go one place better and secure a Champions League place under Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs finished two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa last season but the Villans have Champions League football to distract them this time around and they may lack the squad depth to frank that form.
Liverpool could go one of two ways under new manager Arne Slot, who faces a tough task replacing Klopp, while Chelsea are embarking on yet another season with a different boss in the dugout after swapping Mauricio Pochettino for Enzo Maresca.
Manchester United, meanwhile, still have plenty to prove under Erik ten Hag and they finished only eighth last season and Newcastle, despite finishing seventh, have barely strengthened with Bournemouth centre-back Lloyd Kelly their only new arrival of note.
Spurs have a very strong squad at their disposal and, had they not been derailed by injuries to star players James Maddison and Mickey van de Ven at the wrong part of last season, they would surely have pipped Villa for fourth.
Ipswich may be best of the new boys
Last season’s Championship winners Leicester face an almost certain points deduction and that means Ipswich may fare best of the newly-promoted sides.
Southampton have made some shrewd signings but they finished ten points behind Leicester and nine behind Ipswich last season, while their possession-based approach will be difficult to replicate in a division packed with quality.
Ipswich, managed by the highly-touted Kieran McKenna, have also recruited well and they are a team progressing rapidly who may be open to more improvement than the Foxes and Saints.
Palmer can prove last season was no fluke
Cole Palmer picked up 11 assists in 34 Premier League appearances last season, a total bettered only by Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, but he may be able to land top honours this season.
Palmer also grabbed 22 goals in his debut season for Chelsea and it is hard to envisage him taking a backwards step.
The influential 22-year-old midfielder created another big impression at Euro 2024, grabbing a goal and an assist despite not starting a single game and playing a total of only 145 minutes.
Palmer is without doubt Chelsea’s most prominent figure and he looks a big price at 9/1 to finish top of the assist table, especially with market leader Kevin De Bruyne having been held back by injuries over the last two seasons.
