Premier League title: Manchester City 1.72
Manchester City became just the second English side to complete the treble last season, completing their historic feat with a 1-0 win over Internazionale in the Champions League final.
Domestically they beat local rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring twice, whilst they overcame a hefty deficit to beat Arsenal to the league title.
Under Pep Guardiola Manchester City have won five out of the seven league titles available and once again they are big favourites to lift the Premier League.
Since winning the treble captain Gundogan has departed the club and the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte look set to follow suit. If I was a City fan though I wouldn’t be too concerned, as it was only 12 months ago the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Raheem Sterling all left and somehow the Pep machine got stronger.
Erling Haaland broke the Premier League record for goals in his debut campaign and whilst it’s a tall ask to expect him to better this return, it’s hard to see how he won’t get close.
Of their title rivals, it appears only Arsenal are well placed to go again for a title challenge. Manchester United desperately need a new striker, whilst Liverpool may well have a transition season having lost numerous experienced players. Chelsea and Tottenham have new managers and will require a bedding in period and it’s a push to call them a rival of City heading into the new season.
Championship: Leicester City 5.00
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.
You could make a valid claim that Leicester had the best squad in Premier League history to be relegated, with their demise coming two years after an FA Cup success and just seven since their 5000/1 title.
Unsurprisingly some players have departed the club, with James Maddison and Harvey Barnes returning to the Premier League with Tottenham and Newcastle United respectively.
Enzo Maresca has been tasked with returning Leicester to the top flight at the first time of asking and his appointment has been positively received at the King Power Stadium.
On paper they’ve got the strongest squad in the division and we expect them to win the Championship this season and despite being favourites are surprisingly well priced at 5.00.
League One: Derby County 5.50
Had Paul Warne been in charge of Derby County for the whole of the 22-23 season then it seems safe to assume they would have at least made the play-offs.
The former Rotherham manager dropped down a division in October and returned 1.70 per points game under his stewardship. Derby made an excellent start to life under Warne and only a disappointing end to the campaign saw them drop out of the top six.
Key striker David McGoldrick has departed the club; however they’ve signed well with the likes of Connor Washington, Joe Ward and Curtis Nelson arriving.
The signing of the summer though appears to be Sonny Bradley who featured heavily for Luton Town in their promotion to the Premier League. He was a regular in the side until injury last campaign; however made over 100 appearances in the second tier for the Hatters.
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: Stockport County 7.00
Only a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out denied Stockport County back to back promotions as they were beaten in the League Two play-off final last season.
None of their key personnel have departed the club and their squad has improved if anything with the addition of Nick Powell the stand out signing. Powell was a good player at Championship level last term and would be playing at that level or even higher were it not due to injuries. Should he remain fit, he should be far too good for the fourth tier.
Key striker Kyle Wootton missed the run in for Stockport due to injury and his return ahead of the new season will be a big boost. Paddy Madden’s form dropped off significantly towards the end of the previous campaign, but should he re-find his best then he’s another player who shouldn’t be this low in the football pyramid.
Wrexham and Notts County’s return to the football league increases the quality of League Two significantly this season, but we still see Stockport as favourites.
Four fold pays 332.50
