Jack-Grealish-Harry-Kane

Believe it or not, but the 2020-2021 English Premier League season is already underway, but with the top contenders receiving a longer time off due to European competition, it’s time to take a look at the EPL futures bets worth investing in early.

Before Matchday 5 of 38 begins on Saturday, 10/17, Rob Dauster takes a look at the EPL futures bets, props and other lines you should be thinking about now that the team sample sizes are beginning to grow.

Get the latest online sports betting PA odds on the English Premier League only with Betrivers Pennsylvania.

2020-2021 English Premier League Updated Tables/Odds (Winner/Top 4/Top 6):

  1. Everton, 4-0 (+1600/+250/-118)
  2. Aston Villa, 3-0 (+10000/+2000/+1000)
  3. Leicester City, 3-1-0 (+5000/+450/+130)
  4. Arsenal, 3-1-0 (+2200/+150/-200)
  5. Liverpool, 3-1-0 (+130/-150/-10000)
  6. Tottenham, 2-1-1 (+1600/+150/-200)
  7. Chelsea, 2-1-1 (+1400/-200/-670)
  8. Leeds, 2-1-1 (+8000/+1100/+600)
  9. Newcastle, 2-1-1 (+75000/+15000/+4000)
  10. West Ham, 2-2-0 (+30000/+6600/+2500)
  11. Southampton, 2-2-0 (+30000/+5000/+1400)
  12. Crystal Palace, 2-2-0 (+75000/+10000/+4000)
  13. Wolves, 2-2-0 (+20000/+1150/+325)
  14. Manchester City, 1-1-1 (+150/-1000/-10000)
  15. Brighton, 1-3-0 (+75000/+15000/+4000)
  16. Manchester United, 1-2-0 (+4000/+225/-139)
  17. West Bromwich, 0-3-1 (+200000/+30000/+20000)
  18. Burnley, 0-3-0 (+100000/+25000/+10000)
  19. Sheffield, 0-4-0 (+100000/+25000/+10000)
  20. Fulham, 0-4-0 (+250000/+50000/+25000)

Click here for the full list of English Premier League Odds

EPL FUTURES BETS: TOTTENHAM (+1600 title, +150 top four, +275 best in London, -118 best in North London)

Before I get into the meat of this post, I have a confession.

It’s important, considering what I’m about to say.

Some may call me “biased.” 

And, look, I probably am.

I can admit that.

So here it is: I am a Tottenham fan. At this point in my life, I care about Spurs more than I care about any other professional sports franchise. When Lucas Moura finished off his hat trick in Amsterdam, I nearly blew out my Achilles celebrating. My son knows not one, but two different songs about Moussa Sissoko. I still wear two different jerseys that were too small 15 pounds ago because there’s a part of me that just knows they bring the club good luck. 

So keep this in mind when I say what I’m about to say: Spurs are winning the league. 

Yes, I am delusional. I accept that. But it doesn’t change the fact that Tottenham is the single-most undervalued club in the Premier League in the year of our Lord, 2020.

Chelsea had the best transfer window of any club in Europe. They used that Eden Hazard money exceptionally well and bought themselves some of the most exciting young players on the continent as well as a keeper that can actually function under the pressure of the Premier League. When you bring in the kind of talent that Chelsea brought in, you “win” the window. No one will argue that.

But functionally speaking, I’m not sure there are all that many clubs that actually improved their squad more than Spurs improved theirs during the window. For starters, they found an answer to every question we had in the squad. They got a backup striker for Harry Kane in Carlos Vinicius. They brought in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to play DM. They upgraded both fullback spots. And they found a way to bring back Gareth Bale on the cheap.

As it stands, Spurs go can legit go two-deep at every position on the pitch. They have enough bodies that Dele Alli, a full England international, is getting left out of matchday squads. The reason that’s the case is that Daniel Levy did not sell Tanguy Ndombele, which means that Jose Mourinho can start a midfield of Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Hojbjerg should he choose to do so. 

Perhaps the most promising part of Tottenham’s start to the season is that they have been able to win matches regardless of how their opponents have played. With the exception of a season-opening loss to Everton (who sit atop the league) at home, Spurs are undefeated in their last seven matches and would have seven wins if it wasn’t for a horrid handball against Newcastle, a game they “won” 3.0-0.2 on xG. They’ve ripped apart teams that sit deep against them. When they play the traditional Jose style, defending and countering, they’ve been absolutely deadly. The Harry Kane-Heung Min Son partnership has produced eight goals already this season. Now imagine what that looks like with Bale on the other wing. 

I’m buying their start. I think they’re only going to get better. Kane is playing the best football of his career. I have a Spurs title future. If that’s too risky for your taste, there are three other futures listed that you can fire at. 

Come On You Spurs. 

EPL FUTURES BETS: MANCHESTER CITY (+500 finish outside top four)

I want to be in early on the City meltdown. 

And there are a couple of reasons that I believe this will be the year that the meltdown begins. 

For starters, I don’t trust the defense. There’s a reason that they went out and spent nine figures on Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake: Because their current crop of centerbacks are bad, and injured, enough that Fernandinho has had to play in the backline at times. Leicester put five past them. I’m not buying it.

But the other part of it is that they lost David Silva on a free and Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich. Sane didn’t have all that much of an impact on City’s 2019 title-winning season, but Silva did. And they’re asking 20-year old Phil Foden to be the replacement? Those are gigantic shoes to Phil. (Get it?)

And that’s before you consider the injuries. Both Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne were sent home from international duty after getting banged up.

Now, the issue with this bet is that there are a ton of questions about literally everyone. Liverpool let Villa put seven on them. Chelsea has been a roller coaster. United is a mess. Spurs are Spurs. Arsenal is Arsenal. Leicester lost 3-0 to West Ham. City doesn’t have to be great to finish top four. 

But that’s why you’re getting 5-1 odds. 

EPL FUTURES BETS: LEEDS (+600 top six); ASTON VILLA (+1000 top six)

If you’re looking for a team from off the radar to throw a little money on, someone you want to spend the season pulling for that is not one of the Big Six clubs, Villa and Leeds are the obvious picks.

Leeds is one of the most storied clubs in England, but they had fallen on hard times in recent decades. Back in the Premier League for the first time in 16 years, Marcelo Bielsa’s club has had an enthralling start to their campaign, losing a 4-3 thriller to Liverpool in the opener before earning themselves a point against City before the international break. 

They’re fun, they’re exciting and they have a couple of fine young talents in Jack Harrison and Kalvin Phillips. 

That said, I think I like Villa more given the price. 

Jack Grealish is the best player in the Premier League that is not at a Big Six club. He’s a full England International that could get into just about any side in the league, and he’ll be joined in Villa’s attack by Ollie Watkins — who scored 26 goals last season for Brentford and just had a hat trick against Liverpool — as well as Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley, another England international. 

Villa is, in a word, saucy. And through three matches, they have taken nine points with a +9 goal differential.