The Premier League season is upon us.
The latest: Pep Guardiola and Manchester City look for a fifth straight title but Arsenal has the tools to stop them. Liverpool enters the post-Jurgen Klopp era while Tottenham and West Ham seek to establish themselves as Champions League sides.
This 2024-25 EPL season preview features betting predictions, outlooks on the favourites, transfer rumours, plus more.
EPL season preview
Can anyone dethrone Man City?
Manchester City just set the record for most consecutive Premier League titles.
It was the Sky Blues' fourth in a row and sixth in the last seven seasons. Perhaps most impressively, it came on the heels of a 2022-23 campaign where City won the European treble, playing an exhaustive 61 games across all competitions.
But Guardiola is the best coach in the world for a reason and managed to rally his troops to 91 points — two better than Arsenal, which finished as the runner-up for a second straight year.
Can he do it again? The odds say so.
Arsenal seems like the obvious candidate to dethrone the champs.
The Gunners are loaded with top-end talent like Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli. All of them had 10-plus goal and assist contributions and are under 25 years old.
Mikel Arteta's side conceded the fewest goals (26) last year and just needed one more favourable result down the stretch. Arsenal fans will be hoping that scar tissue leads to a title.
Liverpool has plenty of players on its roster who have won a Premiership before but Klopp — the man who led the way — is gone after a legendary tenure.
Arne Slot takes over for the Reds after an impressive stint at Feyenoord. He led the club to the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final and won the club the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup.
City is the team to beat
As good as those other clubs are, it's hard to see City not coming out on top.
Guardiola has the world's best goalscorer in Erling Haaland to slot alongside the reigning Premier League player of the season (Phil Foden) and Rodri, who's arguably the best midfielder.
That said, it might not be any team which takes the Sky Blues down.
The club is due to face 115 charges for breaches of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, which could result in a point deduction or potentially relegation.
Red Devils on the hot seat
Manchester United and Chelsea are in tough spots.
Their fans expect titles because that's what the clubs have delivered in the past. But this season, these teams simply aren't good enough.
The only reason Erik ten Hag is still bench boss for the Red Devils is thanks to a late-season FA Cup win over Manchester City. It was reported that the team was planning on moving on before then.
United's eighth-place finish was its worst ever and ten Hag will be on the hot seat from the jump.
As for Chelsea, the club has remained dysfunctional despite all the money its thrown around.
The team has been through five coaches since Todd Boehly took over as chairman in June 2022, with Mauricio Pochettino most recently getting the sack for Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea does have strong pieces on its roster (Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, among others) and has spent north of $180 million Euros on transfers this offseason.
Maresca, like many coaches before him, will be expected to deliver immediate results with this group. He could be out quickly if things go sideways.
EPL season preview: London's Dark Horses
Calling the Spurs a dark horse might be a stretch even though they're on the outside looking in.
Tottenham finished two points out of a Champions League spot in Ange Postecoglou's first season as manager. But there was a lot to like about the Spurs' play and they've already made some intriguing splashes in the transfer window.
Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have been added to a side that was aggressive last season.
Tottenham should score plenty but will need to tighten up defensively to get into the top four.
West Ham, meanwhile, would be a shock to finish inside the top four but I think it has a chance.
Julen Lopetegui is an experienced manager who has some big-time offensive players at his disposal.
Niclas Fullkrug came over from Borussia Dortmund while Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and James Ward-Prowse are all coming off huge seasons for the Hammers.
Improving on defence will be a priority. But the addition of centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo should help with that.
New additions and transfer window rumours
There haven't been any massive transfers yet... just plenty of decently large ones.
•Julian Alvarez left Manchester City for Atletico Madrid for a hefty sum ($75 million Euros).
•Tottenham brought in Solanke for the biggest purchase total yet ($64.3 million).
•Leny Yoro, a dynamic 18-year-old centre-back, was bought by ten Hag's United alongside Joshua Zirkzee, a Dutch midfielder.
•United is also reportedly looking at Dominic Calvert-Lewin (eight goals scored for Everton last year).
•Arsenal shored up an already elite back with the acquisition of Italian centre-back Riccardo Calafiori.
•Liverpool took a swing at two attacking players in Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago.
Best EPL bets for the 2024-25 season
Now, my best futures bets for the upcoming season.
Click linked odds to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/markets no longer available if grey.
| Pick | Odds | Bet now ⬇️ |
| Tottenham to finish inside top 4 | +200 | Add to betslip |
| West Ham to finish inside top 10 | -125 | Add to betslip |
| Winner without Manchester City - Arsenal | -125 | Add to betslip |
Tottenham top four (+200): Tottenham was in the Premiership race around Christmas but faltered after some untimely injuries hit the inexperienced squad.
But the Spurs have shored their depth throughout the pitch and I'm buying what Postecoglou is selling.
The Australian has consistently succeeded throughout his career. He brought Tottenham from eighth to fifth in his inagural season with the club.
With Harry Kane long gone, it'll be the younger talent that propels this team back into the Champions League.
West Ham top 10 (-125): Since I believe West Ham has a chance to finish inside the top four, I naturally like its chances of finishing in the top half.
The Hammers were ninth last year despite losing Rice to Arsenal.
Now it has had some time to reinvest that $105 million into the transfer market.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Max Kilman also join Todibo on a transformed back end. The defence should be much better this season.
Arsenal - winner without Manchester City (-125): There's a ton of built-in value here as Arsenal is priced to finish inside the top two at -230.
A top-two finish would cash this wager so betting on the other market is nonsensical.
Arsenal finished second in each of the past two seasons. It was seven points clear of Liverpool last year and nine points clear of Manchester United before that.
Arteta's offence is elite and its defence was second to none. I expect Liverpool to fall off slightly and the Gunners to contend with City until the very end.
Soccer picks made at 3:26 p.m. on 08/13/2024.
