Post-Deadline Day Premier League #WhatOddsPaddy Prices

Following seven points from their opening three matches, top four should easily be obtainable for Chelsea who come into this season as the champions of Europe. Thomas Tuchel’s side comfortably beat the likes of Crystal Palace and Arsenal in their opening two matches, before drawing 1-1 at Anfield against Liverpool last time out, despite conceding to a Mo Salah penalty which resulted in a Reece James red card before half-time. Tuchel’s men showed grit and resilience and comfortably saw the game out for a point in difficult circumstances.

Aston Villa will be hoping that their new signings can gel sooner rather than later, as they have managed four points from three matches against Watford, Newcastle and Brentford. The Likes of Danny Ings and Emiliano Buendia have shown promising early signs, with the former Southampton man firing in two goals and assisting one, whilst the Argentinian managed a superb equaliser last time out at home to Brentford.

Wolverhampton Wanderers can count themselves unlucky to not have any points so far this season following three 1-0 losses to Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, as Bruno Lage’s side have created the majority of the chances without an end product. If this pattern continues to develop then there is every chance that they will find themselves in the bottom half in back-to-back seasons.

Crystal Palace have had a slow start to their league campaign under Patrick Vieira who has attempted to regenerate their squad. The Arsenal legend has seen his team be hammered at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, before drawing 0-0 and 2-2 with Brentford and West Ham with Conor Gallagher scoring a brace against the Irons in a match where the Eagles were largely outplayed. Unless improvements are made both play style and results-wise, then Palace could be relegated from the top flight for the first time since 2005.

Manchester City are regarded as one of the favourites to win the Premier League this season due to their record of winning three of the last four league titles. Pep Guardiola’s side tended to play a false nine throughout the whole of last season and made it to the Champions League final by doing so. The Spaniard’s side weren’t at a full complement of players when they lost to Tottenham on the opening day and showed their class by hammering Norwich and Arsenal 5-0 in back-to-back matches, with summer signing Jack Grealish impressing in both matches.

As mentioned above, Chelsea shouldn’t have any problems getting into the top four having earned seven points from a possible of nine despite already playing the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium and Anfield. The German’s side look a more complete product than that which won the Champions League due to signing Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan in the summer.

Meanwhile, Liverpool will be expecting to finish in the top four have managed to so do last season despite having major injuries to the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez. The Anfield club have started the season strongly with two wins and three draws from their first three matches, having beaten Norwich and Burnley, before drawing with Chelsea last time out.

Manchester United arguably had the best summer transfer window of anyone in the Premier League having signed the likes of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side thumped Leeds United 5-1 on the opening day, before drawing 1-1 away at Southampton and beating Wolves 1-0, with the latter often being the Red Devils bogey side.

Neither Watford or Norwich have started the season particularly well, as the Hornets managed a slender 3-2 win over Aston Villa despite having a three-goal lead, before losing to Brighton 2-0 and Tottenham 1-0 which could be more of a sign of things to come unless Xisco Munoz’s side improves. Meanwhile, Norwich are currently 19th in the table, having lost to Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester City, meaning that they will need to start finding results or face the same fate as they had in the 2019/20 season.

Everton have started the season in fine form under new manager Rafael Benitez, picking up seven points from three matches following 3-1 and 2-0 wins against Southampton and Brighton, as well as drawing 2-2 against Leeds United at Elland Road in a game where they took the lead twice. The Toffees look like a more well-rounded team this campaign due to the added pace of Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray, whilst maintaining the defensive organisation that Benitez tends to pride his teams upon.

As mentioned previously, Ings has started the season brightly with two goals and an assist to his name in three fixtures, whilst fellow England striker Harry Kane is yet to play in the Premier League this season, but managed a brace in the Europa Conference League against Pacos Ferreria in a 3-0 win. Kane will be looking to score a similar tally to that of last season where he hit the back of the net 23 times in 35 appearances in the league.

Romelu Lukaku was bought in for just shy of £100m from Inter Milan in the summer transfer window following a 24-goal season in the Serie A which saw his side win the league title for the first time since 2010. The Belgian has had a decent start to life at Stamford Bridge, scoring the opener in his side’s 2-0 away win at Arsenal.

Mohamed Salah has only ever scored less than 20 league goals once since joining Liverpool, which saw him manage 19 in the 2019/20 season. The Egyptian also holds the record for most Premier League goals in a season under the 20-team format with 32 in 36 matches in his debut campaign at Anfield in 2017/18. So far this season the 29-year-old has scored two and assisted two in three matches.

As previously stated, both of the Manchester clubs will be expected to make it into the top four of the Premier League this season considering their first and second-place finishes last time out, as well as City signing Grealish, whilst United added Varane, Sancho and Ronaldo to their ranks. Both have started the season in decent fashion, with City on six points from a possible of nine, whilst United have seven.

Leicester City will be desperate to pus for the top four places once again having narrowly missed out in back-to-back seasons, but, in light of the recent investments that the likes of Chelsea, City and United have made a top-six finish would be another excellent campaign for the Foxes. Brendan Rodgers’ side have won two of their opening three games following victories against Wolves and Norwich and will be looking to have another positive league season.

Norwich are one of just three teams to have not picked up a point this season alongside Arsenal and Wolves and will be fearing that a repeat of the 2019/20 season could happen again, especially with playing bottom of the table Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in their first game after the international break. Watford are known for irrationally sacking their managers following small runs of bad results and following their opening day win against Aston Villa, the Hornets have lost two matches in a row to Brighton and Tottenham and if they are not careful then they could also end up with the same fate as Norwich.

Leicester have had a bright start in their chare for a top-six position compared to some of their rivals in Arsenal, Leeds United and Wolves, picking up two wins from three games whilst the mentioned teams are all winless so far. The Foxes have proven their capabilities to push the top four and will be looking to do the same again for the third season running. Rodgers has notably increased his squad size with the likes of Jannik Vestergaard, Ryan Bertrand, Ademola Lookman, Boubakary Soumare and Patson Daka all joining to give them much-needed depth which is an area that they tended to struggle with when falling short for the top four.

Tottenham are currently top of the Premier League table following three 1-0 victories against City, Wolves and Watford which is a significantly better start than some of their rivals for European football. Spurs may be quietly optimistic about a top-four push if their form carries on having not even started Kane in either of their first two league matches. Nuno Espirito Santo’s style so far has seemed to iron out any defensive deficiencies in his side which played a crucial role in their shock 1-0 win over City on the opening weekend of the season.

Villa are a side that could either push for a latter European place or fall short as they did in the second half of last season. It is likely that they will be relying on the likes of Ings to provide the goals whilst keeping up a good fitness record which is something that the 29-year-old has managed to have since missing 85 games in two years at Liverpool between 2015 and 2017. If the Villains are to improve on last season’s 11th placed finish then they must find consistency.

Burnley finished in 17th place last season and have started the season slowly this time out, with one point from their opening three matches. The Clarets lost 2-1 on the opening day to Brighton & Hove Albion despite taking the lead in the 2nd minute through James Tarkowski, before losing 2-0 at Anfield against Liverpool. Last time out Sean Dyche’s side drew 1-1 with Leeds as they surrendered their lead to a late equaliser from England striker Patrick Bamford. This will worry Dyche, as the home form has often been a pillar of Burnley’s success in recent years.