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Ante-post Portfolio for the Premier League 2010/11 season

The new Premier League season kicks off this weekend & we have already posted our team by team views for the forthcoming Premier League season and predicted where we think all the teams will finish in the table come the end of the season.

In this piece were are going to highlight the bets we feel offer most value & interest for this Premier League season.

Hopefully these recommendations will guide you towards successful punts, we gave a very confident vote to CHELSEA to win the title last season + successful match bet & handicap tips so we are aiming for more of the same this time:

Ante-post Premier League bets:

OUTRIGHT WINNERS:- We have already highlighted CHELSEA as our pick in our early ante-post thoughts section & we are going to stick with Carlo Ancelotti’s men to once again deliver the top prize in english domestic football.

Chelsea are the reigning Premier League champions & are in our view, the team to aim at & the team to beat in this seasons title race and nothing that we have seen develop over the summer gives us any real reason to think any differently.

It is fact that Frank Lampard & John Terry, two vastly experience players & key to what Chelsea do come into this season with the added pressure of failure with England in the World Cup but in our view that should have very little impact on what they do for Chelsea in club football.

At Chelsea & within the Chelsea squad, Frank Lampard & John Terry are regarded & greatly respected by their team mates & being back amongst them will inspire them to give their best & do their best.

It is true that Chelsea have had a poor pre-season in terms results & performances but we can’t ever remember a title being won or lost during pre-season, and once the season gets fully up & running we expect Chelsea to once again set the standards for every other team to aim at.

It is true that players such as Michael Ballack, Joe Cole, Balletti & Deco have already left Chelsea and now we hear that Carvahlo is on is way as well and people have reacted to that by saying Chelsea are much weaker without those players but we really don’t see it that way.

Of those group of players, only Ricardo Carvahlo played a signficant, lengthy part in Chelsea’s incredible success last season & if those players had contributed more & where deemed valuable they would have been kept, the fact Ancelotti feels they can go surely says it all.

The major positive for Chelsea is that Michael Essien is back fit & healthy, Essien is a truly world class midfield powerhouse with technique, eye for goal who drives Chelsea on & makes it easier for the likes of Drogba, Lampard, Anelak & Malouda to do their best.

A full season of Michael Essien giving his best will be much more valuable than anything either Ballack, Deco or Joe Cole offered and in our view will make Chelsea much stronger & even harder to beat than they are now.

Chelsea have the proven experience, proven quality, a winning mentality & a proven, experience manager who knows how to handle pressure and how to respond to criticism and in our view makes CHELSEA the team they all have to beat & our solid tip to win retain the Premier League.
There is no doubt that the Premier League title race will certainly be that again & ultimately we believe CHELSEA will prevail from Manchester United & Arsenal in third, they are the 3 top class & strongest teams in the Premier League and it could well pay to do the Premier League forecast of Chelsea/Man United & the tricast of Chelsea/Man United/Arsenal, something to think about anyway.
 

 

TOP GOALSCORERS:- The Top Goalscorer market is always an incredibly fascinating & interesting market to assess because there are so many top class strikers who are all capable of getting the goals that gives them a chance to win the Golden Boot.

The good news for punters is that most bookmakers pay each way on the first 4 goalscorers & so we believe it makes perfect sense to cover your options and go for 4 each way plays and our 4 picks are:

DIDIER DROGBA:- No award for originality here but then again no reason to ignore the rock solid claims of last years Golden Boot winner & a full, injury free season will see DROGBA score 25+ league goals without too much fuss in our opinion, looks certain to be in the top 4 barring a lengthy injury because he will play when fit

WAYNE ROONEY:- Again no award for originality by selecting Rooney although we must admit to considering leaving him out but impossible to leave him out he looks certain to score the 25+ league goals and again that will put him safely in the top 4 because he will play when fit

JERMAIN DEFOE:- We tipped Jermain Defoe last season at a cracking 25/1 and that looked a rocking bet for quite a while as Defoe was banging in the goals for fun but then a lengthy injury put paid to that, but he will be fresh this season & hopefully the boost of being England’s only real positive in the World Cup should give him extra confidence and being Tottenham’s main striker will ensure he gets plenty of games & goals.

CARLOS TEVEZ:- Absolute sensation for Manchester City last season & in our view one of the few player who will be guaranteed to play for Manchester City when fit, unquestionably Manchester City’s best striker & main goal threat which should give him an excellent chance to get the goals needed for this & looks a certainty for 20+ goals.
We believe those four strikers represent a rock solid set of value each way bets & they should all give you a very good run for your money over the course of the season.
 

 

SEASON MATCH BETTING:- Now this market is a very simple one, Team A vs Team B and all you have to do is nominate one to beat the other, no other teams are involved in the bet.

The match bets we like in the Premier League are:

ARSENAL to beat Manchester City – ARSENAL had an 8 point advantage over Manchester City last season & believe they are good value to finish above Manchester City again this season, we have predicted Arsenal to get at least 3rd while Man City to finish 5th so no sense in going against that view.

TOTTENHAM to beat Manchester City – We highlighted the same bet last season at a cracking price of 7/2 & we genuinely believe the same bet is on again this season, TOTTENHAM are a better organised team in our opinion & have every chance of once again finishing above Manchester City

TOTTENHAM to beat Liverpool – This bet looks an absolute banker to us, Tottenham had 7 points in hand of Liverpool last season & we see know reason why that gap should close this year

FULHAM to beat Birmingham City – Only 4 points seperated these 2 last season & while we have massive respect for what Birmingham City did, they will do well to repeat that this year & FULHAM have great scope to improve past Birmingham City without the pressures of european football & with Mark Hughes to drive them on.

SUNDERLAND to beat Newcastle United – We have got Sunderland to finish in or around 10th and Newcastle United to just about avoid relegation so this seems a certainty to us, Newcastle United will really have to go some to finish ahead of Sunderland & we just can’t see it

EVERTON to beat Aston Villa – EVERTON have a great manager, a solid, talented squad who know where they are going & how to get there while Aston Villa have been rocked to the core by the exit of Martin O’Neill & surely it will take some effort by the new manager to do as well as O’Neill, EVERTON should prove too strong for Aston Villa this season.
Those are the best value match bets in our opinion & indeed they are interesting bets that provide a different way of looking at the league and it could well pay to combine those bets in a multiple for the season.
 

 

HANDICAP BETTING:- In the Handicap betting market the task is to try to assess which teams will win the Premier League with their handicap mark taken into account – what this means is each team is awarded a handicap mark at the start of the season & then at the end of the season that points mark is added to the final official points total & the team with the highest total wins.

Just as is the case with the Top Goalscorer market, the bookmakers generally offer each way terms on First Four in the Handicap so we are going to nominate 4 Handicap runners as it where to hopefully provide cover for the season:

TOTTENHAM (+17 points) - TOTTENHAM finished 16 points behind the league winners last season & would have landed our tip for them to win the Handicap last season had they not lost their final match after being in the lead. Tottenham look set to have another fantastic season this year & we so no reason why they won’t be serious challenges for a top 4 place in the Handicap market with a start of +17 points.

EVERTON (+22 points) - EVERTON finished 25 points behind last season and that includes a desperate start to last season so we believe that a more solid start this season will give them every chance of at least being in the top 4 for the handicap market & their start of 22 points gives them every chance of winning.

STOKE CITY (+ 39 points) - Our tip for STOKE CITY is based on the fact we expect them to be around mid table on at least the 50 point mark & that added to their start of 39 points will put them right in the mix for the Handicap 1st prize

FULHAM (+ 39 points) - Same logic behind tipping FULHAM as there is tipping STOKE, we expect Mark Hughes to inspire Fulham to at least the 50 point mark & that combined with their 39 points start gives them every chance of being in the top 4

Summary of Betting Recommendations:

Premier League Outright Winners:- CHELSEA, Forecast: CHELSEA/MAN UNITED, TRICAST: CHELSEA/MAN UNITED/ARSENAL

Top Goalscorer Market (each way): DROGBA, ROONEY, DEFOE & TEVEZ

SEASON MATCH BETTING:- ARSENAL to beat Man City, TOTTENHAM to beat Man City, TOTTENHAM to beat Liverpool, FULHAM to beat Birmingham City
SUNDERLAND to beat Newcastle United, EVERTON to beat Aston Villa

HANDICAP BETTING:- TOTTENHAM, EVERTON, STOKE CITY & FULHAM all each way

Well those are our own, honest views of the bets that we believe offer the best value in all the major ante-post market for the Premier League, hopefully you find this of interest & use to you but we do recommend that you shop around for the best offers & terms and of course wish you all the best for the season ahead.