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The football season may have only just finished, but already sports betting fans can look ahead to next year, with Blue Square just one of many online betting companies to have released odds for the 2008/09 Premier League season.
Fairly predictably, champions Manchester United start as 6/5* favourites to win their third consecutive league title. United will always be hard to bet against given the year they’ve had and the squad they’ve got. Any additions this summer will only make them even stronger. Yet other clubs are also available at decent prices. Chelsea are at 2/1*, but it remains to be seen what happens at Stamford Bridge this summer, with speculation over the future of manager Avram Grant as key players such as Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. If Chelsea can hold on to key men, as well as the underrated Grant, then a serious title challenge will certainly be on the cards next season. But a summer of upheaval, particularly if Roman Abramovich becomes a little more stingy with his huge wealth.
It is next to impossible to look beyond the “Big Four” when considering who will win the league next year, so I won’t even bother. Arsenal seem to be in a little bit of uncertainty at the moment, but if they can put that behind them and strengthen the squad in certain areas then odds of 9/2* might be worth a look. In the running for much of this season, adding a bit of experience and strength-in-depth to the squad might serve Arsene Wenger well for next year. Liverpool, meanwhile, continually flatter to deceive, even with supreme investment in the likes of Fernando Torres. A productive summer is needed for them to challenge, but if that happens odds of 7/1* still may not be that tempting to people betting on the destination of the title next year.
*All odds taken from Blue Square Football Betting. Odds subject to change.
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