Betting Tips and Previews: Premier League 2021

Are Manchester United a serious betting proposition once more?



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Choosing the outright winner of The Premier League used to be a straightforward plan of hedging a couple of hefty bets over a combination of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United and then bolstering the selections accordingly depending on how the season progressed. And that bombproof theory of course was demolished spectacularly last season with Leicester City’s unprecedented success. It’s not surprising at all, therefore, to see that most pundits are predicting a very open title race. Bearing this in mind, I feel that this season represents a tricky betting opportunity and warrants a more conservative approach by putting the eggs in one basket and going for broke with one team. If the Premier League was decided on how much publicity a team can produce in the run-up to a new season, then Manchester United have clearly left their rivals for dead. The arrival of The Special One and several high profile transfers, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic , is just the starters of a relishing menu of intrigue, ambition and seemingly limitless financial outlay. Fans of the Old Trafford outfit are now on the verge of frenzy as the chequebook explores new scopes of flexibility with the imminent £90 million purchase of Juventus and France midfield star, Paul Pogba. Evidently, the hole left by Paul Scholes in recent seasons has been regarded serious enough to justify the outlay. Whether Pogba can emulate the impact and success of the red haired local hero is fascinatingly open to debate. So how far can Manchester United go this season?

Can Pogba be the new Scholes.jpg

Advantage of a single task?

The first factor that could be crucial for United’s quest for the title is the singularly focussed task that faces Mourinho. United’s success in the UEFA Champions League this season is not applicable whilst the fan’s desire for a long awaited Wembley trophy has been reasonably satisfied after Van Gaal ended his lethargic reign with a hard fought FA Cup win last season. Pressure on several fronts has always been part and parcel of the United season but one feels that this season is all about one trophy.

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Failure in the FA and League Cups and the almost dismissed Europa League will be eagerly forgotten this season if Mourinho can deliver the Premiership. This will suit the Portuguese manager as his ruthlessness and single-mindedness will stand him in good stead for this kind of task. If you wanted a manager to concentrate on one trophy, there is not many better qualified to do this than Mourinho. Alex Ferguson wanted his teams to win everything but Mourinho is a more focussed winner in this sense.

Is the spine back again?

Let’s go back in time to when United were at their all-time imperious best. This would arguably be the 1997-1999 period, culminating with the legendary 1999 treble success. The key components of that team success was down to three major factors. A world class goalkeeper in Peter Schmeichel, two strong holding midfielders in the shape of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes and a potent strike force of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. After several seasons of frequent change, experimentation and transfer market frustration, it seems that United have finally found that spine again, if unproven at this stage. De Gea has climbed up the ranks to be the best in the world, whilst the underrated Michael Carrick could provide the perfect partner for Pogba in Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 set-up.

The formidable counter-attacking option..jpg

With the experienced Ibramovich almost certain to provide those desperately needed last minute match-winners, it seems that United have regained the kind of base that can potentially churn out the wins. Rooney, despite his recent mediocre seasons by his standards, is at least providing a new positional flexibility that will give Mourinho more options in attack.

Meanwhile upfront.....

Mourinho has an abundance of choice in attack. New signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan looks primed to play in the hole behind a 3 man combination attack of Rashford, Martial and possibly Depay. The combinations are plentiful. Marcus Rashford was ruefully underused in the Euros and based on his explosive debut at the tail end of last season, he should come to the fore this season with a decent tally. There appears to be no room for Juan Mata on the chessboard planning and considering the strained relationship these two endured at Stamford Bridge, the Spaniard is a strong favourite to be the first high profile exit.

The new dynamic of the Premier League

Leicester City Premier League Champions.jpg

To win the Premier League outright, Manchester United are currently best priced 18/5 with Sporting Bet. However, this seems a poor value option for a team which have struggled to reach the top 4 in recent seasons. Yes, they have spent hard. Yes, they have a manager who is the most likely to deliver. Nevertheless, the success of Leicester City last season has changed the dynamic of the Premier League to an extent that a dozen clubs will have a new sense of belief that possibly never existed before. Tottenham, who teetered on the edge of triumph last season will easily feel they can go one better. Manchester City now arguably have the best manager in the world and Liverpool look set to improve further under Jurgen Klopp. Arsenal have been quiet on the transfer market but can never be discounted. Therefore, I would definitely wait until around November to make a selection. If United are in the top 3 and scoring freely, and more importantly, winning those tight games and scoring those last minute goals that so characterised their previous glories, then I would pounce on a decent 4 or 5 to 1. They will take the beating this season but they are up against it.

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Matt is Howtobet4free's resident Horse Racing expert, writer, tipster and a huge Cheltenham Festival fan. He occasionally dabbles in Golf, Football and anything else you can gamble on!

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