Premier League top six finish: Liverpool – 1.20
Liverpool endured their most disappointing campaign of the Jurgen Klopp era last term, failing to win a trophy as well as missing out on the Champions League.
They enter the new season in a transitional period following the departures of numerous experienced players, with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho also on the verge of moves away from the club.
The Anfield incomings though are exciting, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis MacAllister a definite improvement in what was an aging midfield.
Darwin Nunez should improve this campaign and has enjoyed an encouraging pre-season, most recently scoring twice against German outfit Greuther Furth. Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota both missed large portions of the 22-23 campaign and having them fit will be like new additions for Klopp.
There is a good chance they will finish in the Champions League spots, but we’ve aired on the safer side and have them to easily secure a top six finish.
Championship top six finish: Leicester City – 1.44
Leicester City slept walked into relegation last season, with few predicting they’d finish in the bottom half let alone end up below the dotted line.
Unsurprisingly some of their key players have since departed the club, with James Maddison and Harvey Barnes returning to the Premier League with Tottenham and Newcastle United respectively.
They still have a strong squad though, especially at Championship level, with the likes of Wilfred Ndidi, Timothy Castagne and Ricardo Pereira all far too strong to be playing in the second tier.
Dean Smith wasn’t given the job on a full-time basis, with former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca taking the reins at the King Power. With an attacking football philosophy, his appointment has been well received by the Leicester supporters.
On paper they’ve got the strongest squad in the division and a top six finish is the absolute minimum we expect from the Foxes this campaign.
League One top six finish: Derby County – 1.55
Derby County can consider themselves a tad unfortunate not to have secured a play-off sport last term and had Paul Warne been in charge for the whole of the 22-23 season then they probably would have done so. Under his stewardship they enjoyed some excellent results and only missed out on the top six due to a disappointing end to the campaign.
Sonny Bradley’s arrival from Luton Town appears a real coup, with the defender a regular in a side, until a late season injury, that secured an unlikely promotion to the Premier League. Connor Washington is a good striker at League One level and he appears a good replacement for key striker David McGoldrick.
Max Bird and Conor Hourihane had slightly disappointing seasons last year, but both are excellent midfielders and probably could play at a higher level.
Perhaps the best thing Derby have going for them this season, is that the division is much weaker this time around. Promoted sides Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich got 101 and 98 points respectively, whilst Sheffield Wednesday, who won the play-offs, had a record return for a side that didn’t finish in the top two.
In a tough to call league, we make them slight favourites to go on and lift the League One title.
League Two top seven finish: Wrexham – 1.33
There were few more enjoyable stories last term than Wrexham’s promotion from the National League having been stuck in non-league for 15 years.
Phil Parkinson’s men broke the record for the most points in a National League campaign, hitting an incredible 111; however Notts County pushed them all the way for promotion finishing just four behind.
With the heavy backing of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, the club are expected to have a real go at back to back promotions and the bookmakers have them as favourites for the League Two title.
Most of the squad that earned promotion last season have played at a significantly higher level and could realistically enter the campaign without any additions and still be in an excellent position to challenge.
In the banker bet, a Wrexham top seven spot looks good at odds of 1.33.
Serie A top four finish: Juventus – 1.53
Juventus endured a disappointing 22-23 campaign both on and off the field, with points deductions ensuring they will be competing in the Conference League.
The departure of Angel di Maria is a blow as he returns to former club Benfica, but they’ve tied Adrien Rabiot down to a new contract on the back of a superb season from the French midfielder.
Paul Pogba missed pretty much the entirety of last season and should he be able to return to anywhere near his best then he’ll feel like a new signing for the Old Lady.
Napoli will be weaker than last term with Luciano Spalletti leaving his post, whilst AC Milan and Inter have both lost key personnel.
At odds of 1.53 we fancy Juventus to return to the Champions League by securing a top four finish.
La Liga top four finish: Atletico Madrid – 1.40
Atletico Madrid comfortably secured a Champions League spot last season, finishing third, just a single point behind city rivals Real.
Following a relatively slow start to the campaign, Atletico were incredibly solid after the break, losing just three times in 23 games post the World Cup, two of whom being 1-0 defeats to champions Barcelona.
Antoine Griezmann produced some of the best football of his career last term, excelling for both club and country and he’ll be a vital player for Atletico once again.
It’s unclear whether Joao Felix will return to fold following his loan move to Chelsea, but either way they’ve a strong squad and should comfortably finish in the top four once again.
Ligue 1 top six finish: Marseille – 1.25
Marseille finished third last season in Ligue 1 and will be hoping to at least match those returns this time around.
So far they’ve added well in the transfer market, signing the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Renan Lodi and the former Arsenal striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.
Their January additions in the previous season were vital in helping them secure Champions League football and we can expect more from Ruslan Malinovskyi and Azzedine Ounahi in their first full campaigns with the club.
Whilst they’ve got stronger, rivals Lens have lost key personnel in the form of Lois Openda and Seko Fofana, which combined with the added games the Champions League will bring, mean they might not hit the same heights once again.
Seven fold pays 9.74
