2019/20 EPL season preview: Can anybody stop Man City?

The squads are starting to take shape as we approach the opening week of the 2019/20 English Premier League campaign.

Teams in the English top flight haven’t been shy to spend, splashing out well over £800 million in preparation for the 10-month magic carpet ride.

The biggest spenders have been newly promoted Aston Villa, who have parted with £112 million, while Crystal Palace have not dished out so much as a single tenner.

In this first instalment of our five-part 2019/20 EPL betting preview, we take a look at the summer business and the outright odds for the likely title contenders.

Manchester City

-227.27 at William Hill

Manchester City secured the domestic quadruple of the Community Shield, EFL Cup, FA Cup and Premier League title last season, but their transfer business in the English summer is a vivid indication that Pep Guardiola is far from done with this team.

With petrodollar money burning a hole in their pockets, the Citizens have brought in midfield reinforcement Rodri from Atletico Madrid at a fee of £62.6 million. They have also activated a re-signing clause that sees Spanish defender Angelino return to Manchester from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of £5.3 million.

The champions will be without inspirational captain Vincent Kompany, who ended his long-term involvement with the club by joining Anderlecht, while Fabian Delph recently completed a switch to Everton.

Having retained the Premier League crown for the very first time in their history, Guardiola’s charges are short-priced favourites to make it three in a row. City are also the team to beat in the UEFA Champions League at +400 odds with William Hill.

Liverpool

+275 at William Hill

Despite their spirited challenge throughout the course of the 2018/19 campaign, Liverpool’s chase for their first-ever Premier League crown continues after they lost the title to Manchester City on the final day of the season.

For a team that came so close to glory last term, Liverpool have stayed curiously silent in the transfer market. Of the 20 Premier League teams, the Reds rank second from bottom having spent just £1.3 million on 17-year-old defender Sepp van den Berg, who moves to Merseyside from Dutch outfit PEC Zwolle.

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That might be because Liverpool broke the bank last year with the acquisition of Fabinho, Alisson, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri, and the fact that Jurgen Klopp could afford offloading Alberto Moreno, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Ings shows how much belief he has in his current crop of players.

Worthy Champions League winners last time out, Liverpool are paying +700 at William Hill to reclaim the European title and stand the best chance of taking the domestic crown off Man City.

Tottenham Hotspur

+1600 at William Hill

Finishing as Champions League runners-up last season, despite failing to sign a single player, seems to have opened up a whole new world of possibilities for Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites have exercised their financial clout this time around, breaking their club-record transfer fee by signing midfielder Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon for a whooping £55.5 million.

The North Londoners have also signed young English forwards Kion Etete and Jack Clarke, who join the club from Notts County and Leeds United respectively, with the latter poised to be loaned out to his former club for a year.

Given the nature and scale of the business being conducted by European powerhouses such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, it is unlikely that Mauricio Pochettino’s charges will make another dash for the Champions League final. Nevertheless, Spurs should cruise to a top-four finish in the EPL.

Chelsea

+2800 at William Hill

Chelsea may have been hit by a transfer embargo, but that hasn’t prevented the five-time EPL champions from conducting good business. The Blues have thus far acquired Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid for a fee in the region of £40 million.

By far their biggest bit of business this English summer has been the signing of club legend Frank Lampard, who takes over the reins of power from Maurizio Sarri following the Italian’s departure to Juventus.

Lampard may not be a blockbuster acquisition in managerial terms, but if there is one thing we’ve learnt from Chelsea over the years, it is that they must never be discounted in the race for the Premier League crown.

Even without the services of Eden Hazard, who completed his big money moved to Real Madrid in June, the Blues are worthy contenders for the title this season and will vie with Tottenham for a spot in the top three.