Man City to win 2020/21 Premier League title, Fulham to be relegated

The dust may have barely settled on the 2019/20 Champions League and Europa League, but it’s already time to look ahead to the next season of Premier League football!

When does the 2020/21 Premier League season begin? It’s very soon, with kick-off at 3pm on Saturday 12 September, and a fixtures list including a champion v champion meeting between Liverpool and Leeds, a visit from Arsenal for play-off winners Fulham, and a trip to Tottenham for Everton.

Spreadex is offering Premier League Points spreads for each and every side in the league – a handy predictor of where teams will finish come next May.

For example, at the start of 2019/20 we had Liverpool at 85.5-87 – that means, if you bought at 87, you would have won 12 times your initial stake. Or, if you bought Sheffield United at a Premier League Points spread of 32.5-34, you would’ve won 20 times your initial stake.

So, who is favourite to win the 2020/21 Premier League season? Who is favourite for Premier League relegation? And how many points will Liverpool win in 2020/21?

1. Man City – 88.5-90 Premier League Points

After falling well short of Liverpool last season, a whole 18 points behind the champs on 81, Man City are expected to improve on that tally with a Premier League Points spread of 88.5-90.

Pep’s already been busy strengthening his squad, signing Pablo Moreno from Juventus, Ferran Torres from Valencia and Nathan Ake from Bournemouth. Could Guardiola cough up £631 million to take an unhappy Lionel Messi from Barcelona? City probably don’t need to – they’re already odds on favourites to win the league at 10/11.

2. Liverpool – 85.5-87

Dominating the league all season, Liverpool wobbled a bit once they actually secured the title, missing out on a century as they finished on 99 points. Now that the 30-year chase is over, will the club still have the hunger to retain? Perhaps not – Spreadex has them at a Premier League Points spread of 85.5-87, and fixed odds of 13/8.

In terms of transfers, Champions League-winner Thiago Alcantara is top of Klopp’s list, and looks set to move to Anfield, while reports suggest the Reds are also interested in Wolves winger Adama Traore.

3. Man United – 71.5-73

Though he bottled the FA Cup and Europa League semi-finals, the Glazers seem happy enough with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is heading into his 2^nd full season in charge. Spreadex has United improving on their 66 point 2019/20 haul, at a Premier League Points spread of 71.5-73. That’d leave them well off the title race, as reflected by their 12/1 fixed odds to win the league, but odds on for a top 4 finish at 4/11.

Could that change if they were to finally sign Jadon Sancho? Or would the summer’s most protracted transfer saga make little difference to their title chances?

4. Chelsea – 70-71.5

Given the number of caveats attached to last season – the transfer ban, Lampard’s first Premier League job as manager – Chelsea will be very happy with their 4^th place finish, even if their FA Cup and Champions League losses ended 2019/20 on a sour note.

But, with the signings of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, they’ll be less pleased to hear they are set to match that achievement, at a Premier League Points spread of 70-71.5 to 2019/20’s 66. They’re also 14/1 to win the league, but, like United, are odds on to finish in the top 4 at 8/13. 

5. Arsenal – 62-63.5

Following their worst finish for a quarter of a century, Arsenal should be better under Mikel Arteta’s first full season in charge. Compared to 2019/20’s 56 points, Spreadex has the Gunners at a Premier League Points spread of 62-63.5, and at 3/1 to finish in the top 4. A shock title win, meanwhile, is priced at 40/1.

Willian is a fantastic addition to the team, and has the added bonus of taking away from rivals Chelsea, while the squad is set to be further strengthened by Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes for £27 million. Just as important, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to sign a new deal.

 6. Tottenham – 61-62.5

Under the grey cloud of Jose Mourinho, Tottenham came in 6^th, on just 59 points. The former Special One might see his job in danger as 2020/21 progresses, as Spreadex are only expecting a marginal increase on that tally, at a Points spread of just 61-62.5. Like the Gunners they are 3/1 to finish in the top 4 and 40/1 to win the league.

So far Mourinho has brought in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton and Joe Hart from Burnley, with Spurs also reportedly chasing Benfica’s Tomas Taveres and, potentially, Gareth Bale.

7. Wolves – 57-58.5

Firmly established as an Europe-worthy club, Wolves narrowly missed out on a spot in the Europa League. That may be the case once again, sadly, with Spreadex offering a Premier League Points spread of 57-58.5 – marginally lower than last season’s 59. They are, however, at a respectable 6/1 to finish in the top 4.

8. Leicester – 55-56.5

Once a lock for 3^rd place, an abysmal end run post-restart – 2 wins in 9 league games – saw the Foxes finish in 5^th on 62 points. And if their Premier League Points spread is anything to go by, Brendan Rodgers may face a fight to stay in charge, with Spreadex offering 55-56.5. But people have doubted Leicester before – they’re also at 13/2 to finish in the top 4.

9. Everton – 51-52.5

Suffering their lowest finish – 12^th – since 2003/04, Everton should return to the top 10 this season. Spreadex has them at a Premier League Points spread of 51-52.5, compared to 49 in 19/20, with 12/1 fixed odds to finish in the top 4 and 20/1 be relegated.

10. Southampton – 49-50.5

Interestingly Southampton’s Premier League Points spread of 49-50.5 would see them lose points on 2019/20’s 52, but finish in 10^th rather than 11^th. They are, however, more likely to get relegated than finish in the top 4, with fixed odds of 7/1 and 25/1 respectively.

11. Leeds – 45-46.5

Potentially the biggest call on this entire list, Championship champions Leeds – returning to the top flight for the first time since 2003/04 – are predicted to come in 11^th, at a Premier League Points spread of 45-46.5. This despite previous Championship winners Norwich managing just 21 points last season.  Marcelo Bielsa’s side are also at 16/1 to finish in the top 4, but at 7/2 to be relegated.

12. West Ham – 44-45.5

Narrowly avoiding relegation with 39 points to Bournemouth’s 34, West Ham are looking at a leap up the table. A Premier League Points spread of 44-45.5 would put them in 12^th place – however, they are at 17/4 fixed odds to face the drop.

13. Brighton – 41.5-43

Set to be lurking at the edges of the relegation once again, Brighton are predicted to collect 41.5-43 points this season, compared to 41 in 2019/20. If you think they are going down, Spreadex is offering a fixed odds price of 15/4.

14. Sheffield United – 42-43.5

The big surprise of 2019/20 was relegation favourites Sheffield United coming in 9^th place on 54 points. Yet the threat of 2^nd season syndrome is looming over their heads, with Spreadex offering a Premier League Points spread of 42-43.5, and fixed odds of 7/2 to go down.

15. Burnley – 39.5-41

This is another marked drop from 2019/20. Last season Burnley came in 10^th, on the same 54 points as the Blades. This time out Spreadex are expecting them to come in 15^th on 39.5-41. The odds on them being relegated, meanwhile, are 11/4.

 16. Crystal Palace – 38.5-40

It is almost a shock to see Palace this high on the list. Roy Hodgson’s side finished 2019/20 on a run of 7 losses and a draw, saved by their 2019 form. In 2020/21 they are looking at 38.5-40 points, against 43 in 2019/20, and are at 9/4 to be relegated.

17. Newcastle – 36.5-38

This could have been very different if the Saudi takeover hadn’t collapsed. Now, Newcastle are facing a relegation battle, at a Premier League Points spread of 36.5-38 against last season’s 44 points, and fixed odds of 9/4 to go down.

18. Aston Villa – 35.5-37

Barely squeaking safety last season, Aston Villa are looking at another campaign on the bubble in 2020/21. Their Premier League points spread of 35.5-37 actually has them improving on 2019/20’s 35. However, that might not be enough to keep them up – they’re at 8/5 to return to the Championship.

 19. West Brom – 34-35.5

Though the Baggies secured automatic promotion last season, they blew their chance at being Championship champs. From 1 loss in their first 24 games, West Brom only won 8 in their final 22. That’s not a great way to enter the Premier League, and explains why they are Evens for relegation with a Premier League Points spread of 34-35.5.

20. Fulham – 33.5-35

Taking the Sheffield United spot from last season, play-off winners Fulham are odds on favourites to be relegated at 10/11, with a Premier League Points spread of 33.5-35. Worth noting, that’d still be a 14 point improvement on what Norwich managed in 2019/20.