With spring in the air comes that feeling that the football season is reaching its decisive phase. The aberrations of the early months have shaken out, and the big six are at the sharp end of the table. Wolves are also back in the portion of the table that they made their own in the first two years back in the top flight.
It’s the perfect time to remember that there’s more to football betting than the next fixture or an outright on who’s going to win the Premier League. Here are some of the compelling wagers on offer from the nation’s bookies.
Wolves to break into the top six
Finishing seventh in 2018/19 to qualify for the Europa League was a fabulous achievement in the first season back in the Premier League, and Wolves showed it was no fluke by repeating the feat the following season. With only the big six plus West Ham ahead of them, and with two games in hand against the Hammers, finishing seventh yet again looks eminently achievable. The question is whether they can go one better and break into the top six for the first time in the Premier League era.
The bookmakers are offering 5/1 odds, a fair reflection of the fact that achieving it depends on claiming a couple of big scalps. It gives the two away games in London later this month enormous importance. Wins against Tottenham and West Ham won’t be easy, but achieve them and those 5/1 odds will shorten dramatically, so if you fancy it, now’s the time to get your money down.
Who’s for the chop?
It seems a little cruel, but the same instincts that made public executions such a popular form of entertainment before some bright spark invented the football league make the “next manager to depart” one of the more popular bets. Eight heads have rolled so far this season. Will there be another, and if so, who will it be?
The “nobody” bet is perhaps not a bad call at 6/1 odds. After all, we’ve already had more departures this season than in any of the prior three. Mind you in 2017/18, a record 15 heads ended up in the basket. If you want a likely candidate at this stage of the season, cast your eyes to the foot of the table. Unsurprisingly, Burnley boss Sean Dyche is favourite with the bookies at 5/1.
Betting on Houdini
Let’s keep looking at that relegation zone for another interesting outright – not who will be in it, but who won’t. With Norwich City’s reputation, they should be called the yoyos, not the canaries. Plenty of people backed them to go back down after bouncing up at the end of last season, and they are in the relegation zone having played more games than those around them.
It means they are odds on for relegation. However, just look at the way they played against Everton and Watford to win their last two games. Bookies are offering tempting 3/1 odds if you think they can claw their way to safety and stay up.
