Welcome to the Bettrends’ pre season previews. I can’t think of a better way to start us off than with the ultra competitive Premier League.

I think the only way to start this season’s preview is to talk about Manchester City. I’m sure I do not need to go on about what has happened to City since January as nearly every story in regards to football has involved Mark Hughes men in one way or the other. Although they have splashed the cash, buying Premiership proven players like Gareth Barry and Kolo Toure, there will be no time for players to gel and acclimatise to the hustle and bustle of our top league. Quotes of 14/1 for them to take the title off their bitter rivals are quite honestly ludicrous and I very much doubt Sir Alex Ferguson is worried about the challenge from the blue side of Manchester. The Old Trafford boys are certainly the ones to beat once again, regardless of the fact that Ronaldo has left. Ok they have to find 30 goals from somewhere but Utd have the knack of churning out replacements and with the market being so tight the 11/5 (VC Bet) looks a solid enough investment. Liverpool ran them very close last year and for me they are real challengers this year. However, it remains to be seen how they will react to the loss of Xabi Alonso and whichever way you look at it that is a major blow. Chelsea would have been top of the list if Guus Hiddink was still in charge but whilst there is no denying new boss Carlo Ancelotti is world class this is a tough assignment on his first season outside of Italy. Arsenal, well, they’re just not gone enough I’m afraid.

The first market I always like to look at is for the first manager to leave. There are a number of manager’s without genuine premiership experience this year and there are some very interesting prices available to be had, however, I feel the bookies have it right in making PAUL HART at Portsmouth the first to go and 5/1 seems very generous. Pompey fans must be coming into the season feeling very disheartened what with the on goings at the club in recent months. At one point it looked like they were going to be joining the bandwagon of heavy investment for it to be mysteriously delayed and rather than invest in the team they are having to sell their best players to keep afloat. They have lost international players such as Peter Crouch and Glen Johnson and have brought in Steve Finnan, which does not exactly fill you with confidence. Their executive chairman has come out and stated more player sales may be needed and the fact they have been backed from 7/1 to 9/4 for relegation says it all. If Pompey get off to a bad start (and with Fulham, Birmingham, Arsenal and Man City their first four fixtures it looks a real possibility) then they are going to have to make a change and I feel Paul Hart will make way first. The other way to look at is if the takeover goes through late on then Paul Hart will be under automatic pressure and it is inevitable that the new owners will want to bring in their own targets. Take the 5/1 with Coral.

A team that I feel may surprise many people are WIGAN. Although the loss of players like Antonio Valencia, Wilson Palacious and a quality manager in Steve Bruce seem costly they have acquired a very promising coach in Roberto Martinez who has brought in players like Jason Scotland and Hendry Thomas who will be able to get stuck in and cope with the physical nature of the league, Jordi Gomez who has the flair and playmaking abilities as well as young talent James McCarthy who could well prove to be a cracking long term proposition and if they can keep hold of Lee Cattermole then they will be a lot stronger than people think. It seems they are being written off for any success this year however with them being set at +44 (15/1) in the handicap I feel they are huge value and If they are able to obtain around 50 points then they are obviously going to be very close.

Paddy Power has a very interesting market available where you can bet on a treble of teams to be relegated. The trebles they offer all seem to be set at very big odds and if it was possible to make up the trebles from the individual teams to go down then you would not good anything like what PP are quoting. In my eyes and at a guess many other peoples, Burnley and Hull do not have a hope this year. Firstly Burnley, although a very commendable effort last year, there is no doubting they are going to struggle in the top tier and looking at players they have acquired for the upcoming season, Its going to be a long season for the Clarets. Hull look to have exactly the same problem, they were very lucky to stay up last season with a very low points total and they not bought any players that will change their fate. Their chase of Bobby Zamora says it all to me and if he is going to be their knight in shining armour then I seriously worry for them. Although it was only a friendly cup, they looked very weak against Spurs in the Asia Trophy.

So if we have Burnley and Hull both to go down then that narrows our choice down somewhat. Although the odds would have been larger a while ago, the treble of Burnley, Hull and Portsmouth is my main choice. As I have already said, with players sales and no promise of a takeover, Portsmouth are seriously going to struggle this year and at 22/1 for said treble, I am personally going to make this my main bet of the season. I also want to get stuck in to Hull and Burnley with Birmingham. Although some people will be impressed with Birmingham’s spending, I’m not. Barry Ferguson, although a good player in Scotland he did nothing in proving he was good enough for this league when at Blackburn and his attitude has to come into question, they are having an appalling pre season and a struggle looks on the cards. The price may be short in the market as a whole but at 12/1, it still seems great value.

The other market I am going to cover is the top scorer market. Although it is highly likely players like Fernando Torres (injury impending) will be near the top of scorers chart, the 4/1 available holds no interest to me. Two players at large odds take my fancy, the first being JERMAINE DEFOE. After being injured for the last part of the season, he will be itching to get back onto the pitch and team up with his new team mate Peter Crouch. Jermaine will always get you goals when he has a good run of games and he is sure to get that with Harry Redknapp, add to this the fact he had a great partnership with Crouch at Pompey I feel he could have a great season and he is defiantly worth each-way support at 25/1.

The second player on my list, maybe surprisingly to some, is SYLVAIN EBANKS-BLAKE. Since he left Manchester United, Sylvain has consistently scored goals at Championship level and has now deservedly got his chance at playing in the premiership. I believe Wolves will have a good season as they seem to have a strong, young side that will, most importantly, score goals. They will create many chances and if my choice is anywhere near them, he will score many goals. I feel he is also worth each-way support at 100/1.

Bettrends Advice

MAN UTD win outright @ 11/5 (VCBet)

PAUL HART first manager to leave @ 5/1 (Coral)

WIGAN +44 on handicap @ 15/1 (Coral)

HULL/BURNLEY/PORTSMOUTH relegation treble @ 22/1 (Paddy Power)
HULL/BURNLEY/BIRMINGHAM relegation treble @ 12/1 (Paddy Power)

JERMAINE DEFOE top scorer e/w @ 25/1 (Bet365, Paddy Power, Coral, William Hill)
SYLVAIN EBANKS-BLAKE top scorer e/w @ 100/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes, BlueSq)

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