In just over one month, the Premier League season will commence and all eyes will turn back toward England’s premier flight after this summer’s thrilling European competitions.
Crystal Palace ended last season in 10th position, but how far can Oliver Glasner push them this season? Arne Slot will hope to find out after joining from Feyenoord.
Premier League odds provide bettors with a sense of the likely outcomes, often displayed with either a negative sign (-) or positive sign (+).
As well as betting on who will win, you can also place over/under wagers such as how many goals will be scored during a match. In this article, we will discuss about 4 teams who can surprise us in upcoming leagues.
1 Aston Villa
Aston Villa boasts one of the longest histories in English football, having joined the Football League as one of its founding members in 1888. They won their inaugural major trophy in 1880 – the Birmingham Senior Cup – and have since amassed forty two more, including five League Championships and seven FA Cups. Villa Park in Birmingham’s city limits boasts over 42,000 seats as home ground.
After an initial slow start, Aston Villa finished strong and were in contention for a top-four finish at Christmas. Unfortunately, any hopes of reaching that position faded with the New Year and they settled for seventh position instead.
Unai Emery did an outstanding job restoring Aston Villa under his watch last season, and they will look to go even further this time around. But they face an uphill struggle against Tottenham Hotspur; but thanks to an abundance of attacking talent in Villa, they may just catch the top teams quickly enough.
Villa’s major flaw is their poor defensive efforts; last season they conceded an alarming 61 goals from 46 matches played despite only winning 24% of their matches overall, leading them further away from competing for a top four finish this year.
As part of their struggles to finish in the top four last season, Aston Villa were left without key midfielder Moussa Diaby and winger Douglas Luiz who both provided chances for Aston Villa while also ranking highly for post-shot expected goals. Unfortunately for them though, conversion of chances into goals wasn’t their forte – something which must improve this year if they wish to compete for top-four glory.
This summer, Aston Villa have also welcomed two young players to its squad. Jaden Philogene-Bidace has signed a five-year contract after spending last season on loan at Hull City – providing invaluable experience for Aston Villa’s defense. Ollie Watkins will also play a key role for Villa. After coming through non-League football to League Two before finally making the switch to Villa Park last season.
2 Ipswich Town
As attention returns to the Premier League after its summer recess, bookmakers are giving Ipswich Town a fair chance at avoiding relegation back to the Championship. Under Kieran McKenna they achieved remarkable promotion last season and their form in Division Two has given them plenty of strength upon which to build upon for this campaign.
The Tractor Boys have made an admirable job of surviving their initial season in the Premier League, and keeping together as much as possible should only help. There’s an air of optimism surrounding their club; 19-year-old winger Jared Palmer and 22-year-old defender Jarrad Branthwaite as well as emerging midfielders Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton should do well at top level level football.
McKenna must hope that he can hold onto his key players, with loan players crucial to their promotion now returning back to their parent clubs. It is commonplace among newly promoted sides and it will benefit McKenna if his core remains together.
There’s no denying his talent at an elite level, and Ipswich Town could shock some by staying together under him.
Ipswich Town are likely to begin the 2024-25 season with an unforgiving schedule, starting off against Manchester City at home and then Southampton two weeks later – both tough fixtures. Following that they travel to Leicester on November 2, before playing host to Manchester United after the final international break of 2024 at home – three crucial tests which will provide great insight as to how Ipswich fare.
3 Southampton
Manchester City have been dominating the Premier League for two seasons under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, making them favourites to claim another title victory this year. There seems to be no reason why they won’t go all the way.
West Ham have made numerous changes this summer and the arrival of Julen Lopetegui as their manager could provide them with the chance to challenge for European qualification spots.
Southampton are another team to watch this season after returning to the Premier League via promotion via the Championship playoff final. Russell Martin’s side had been odds-on for relegation before Adam Armstrong scored his 24th-minute winner against Leeds at Wembley and gave them enough momentum for promotion – evens with Coral on staying away from relegation while Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Everton offer shorter odds for survival.
Southampton’s aggressive attacking playstyle was successful in the Championship, but their opponents would soon exploit any holes they might leave at the back. Signing versatile RB Leipzig player Nicolas Seiwald may indicate their effort in improving defensively.
As for the rest of the pack, Newcastle could do well again provided they do not lose key players like Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak in free agency. With Chelsea suffering further unrest due to a limited transfer window and further upheaval within their ranks likely keeping them outside of the top four positions, while Arsenal will look to relieve Mikel Arteta by finishing just behind City.
4 Manchester City
Manchester City achieved an unprecedented four-peat since the formation of the Premier League. They became English club to win Champions League trophy and are expected to lead title races again for 2024/25 title races as betting sites release odds; making City clear favourites.
Pep Guardiola’s side are well known for their relentless style and deep squad, making them difficult to beat over an entire season. But this year was far from smooth sailing for Pep as Arsenal offered up fierce opposition that forced Pep’s men to battle hard for every point.
While Arsenal haven’t managed to challenge Manchester City this season, they should still perform better under Mikel Arteta in 2024/25. Their steady improvement and final season’s comeback are encouraging signs. A potential addition could include Napoli defender Riccardo Calafiori who could give the Gunners another edge as they challenge for top four positions.
Crystal Palace should also be on your radar next season. After finishing 10th in 2023/24, they made another remarkable surge under Oliver Glasner and could challenge for European football next time around if they can keep hold of key players such as goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, forwards Marc Guehi and Eberechi Aze.
Liverpool will likely face similar conditions to last season and should be taken seriously as title contenders. They will face the reality check of life without Jurgen Klopp but still possess an exciting and young squad, giving them every chance of competing for the championship title. Their chances will ultimately depend on whether Arne Slot can step in as their leader; his experience at Feyenoord makes them an excellent candidate to lead Liverpool forward.
