Man City the bookmakers favourites to retain Premier League title

Manchester City are the odds-on favourites with many most bookmakers to retain their title and win the Premier League ahead of the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea next season.

The 2021/22 campaign is almost upon us and excitement is growing among fans as they look forward to the return of domestic football following a thrilling European Championships this summer.

While the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United are expected to invest heavily in their squad this summer, City still appear to be the team to beat with betting sites like SPCasinos backing the Citizens to retain their title next season. At the time of writing, Man City are priced as the 4/6 favourites with the bookies to win the 2021/22 Premier League title.

Liverpool – who endured a difficult 2020/21 season, are joint second favourites along with Chelsea at odds of 5/1. Manchester United are at 8/1 and it’s a long way back to Tottenham and Arsenal at 40/1 so it’s obvious the bookmakers think it will be a four-horse race next year.

It’s clear to see why Manchester City are the favourites as they ran away with it last season having finished 12 points clear of second-placed Man Utd. Pep Guardiola is expected to buy a top class striker to replace Sergio Aguero – who’s joined Barcelona – with Harry Kane reportedly his prime target. Guardiola is also after Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish and if City could sign him and Kane to play alongside the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, then they could be unstoppable next season.

However, Liverpool will do their best to make sure City don’t have an easy run at the title. The Reds won it in 2019/20 and will be desperate to take the trophy back to Anfield next season. Injuries to key players derailed their title defence but with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez fit again, Jurgen Klopp’s side will be a force to be reckoned with once again.

Chelsea are also looking strong ahead of the new campaign as under Thomas Tuchel, they were formidable during the second half of last season. The Blues may have finished fourth in the league in the end, but they beat City in the FA Cup semi-finals and triumphed in the Champions League final to win the European Cup, so they will be right in the mix this coming campaign.

Not only that, but owner Roman Abramovich is ready to splash the cash this summer with Chelsea expected to sign a marquee striker. They’ve been strongly linked with Erling Haaland and if they can land the Norwegian hitman, they could be an excellent shout at 5/1 to win the title.

We also can’t forget Manchester United as they’ll be desperate to challenge for the title next season after finishing second last year. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has ambitious plans in the transfer market and is expected to sign a number of top class players this summer.

Jadon Sancho has already arrived in a £73m deal from Borussia Dortmund while United are reportedly in advanced talks to sign centre-back Raphael Varane from Real Madrid. Kieran Trippier is also tipped to move to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid so Man Utd are building a strong squad for next season. If you want to back the Red Devils to win the title, do it soon as their odds will be slashed once they wrap-up these proposed deals and we won’t see them at 8/1 in a few weeks’ time.

It’s certainly promising to be one of the most interesting title races in recent years and it’s difficult to know who’ll come out on top next May. Much will depend on what transfer business gets done before the end of the summer but we should have at least four top teams challenging for the trophy next year.