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Remind me next time

The 2014/15 Premier League season kicks off on August 16 so it’s about time we got the best ante-post bets of easyodds.com’s top football tipsters Simon Hopper and Tom Powell! Our boys delivered an amazing ROI of 45% with their ante-post bets last season so be sure not to miss out on their selections this time around!

*For our ante-post staking plan, each selection will be 1pt with best bets allotted 2pts…
**Visit our Premier League betting centre to get all the best odds on every market…
***View last year’s ante-post football tipping results
****Follow the team on Twitter:

Simon Hopper:                  @hopperfootball
Tom Powell:                       @tompowerpowell

Outright Winner

(*Simon and Tom both successfully advised Man City at 12/5 last season)

Simon Hopper: Chelsea @ 19/10 – BET NOW

Long-term trends suggest only Man City, Liverpool or Chelsea can win the Premier League this season and we can easily discount the Reds because of their inferior budget, addition of Champions League football and the loss of Luis Suarez. I slightly favour Chelsea over Man City because Jose Mourinho sides always kick on in their second season, their transfer business looks excellent and defending champions have a poor record in this market (no repeat winner since the 2008/09 season).

Tom Powell: Man City @ 5/2 – BET NOW

I don’t think there’s much to choose between Man City and Chelsea so I’d rather back City at bigger odds of 5/2. They didn’t need much strengthening given they won the league last season but they’ve held onto Yaya Toure which is key while the six-month loan signing of Frank Lampard is a shrewd move.

Top Scorer

SH: Wayne Rooney @ 14/1 & Stevan Jovetic (each-way) @ 40/1 – BET NOW

This is a wide open heat with big doubts around the four single-figure priced players (Robin van Persie, Sergio Aguero, Daniel Sturridge and Diego Costa). The first two are injury concerns, Sturridge is playing for a side likely to regress while Costa has never played in the Premier League. So I’ll chance Wayne Rooney, who has 26 and 27 goal seasons in his locker and has been sharp in pre-season. The likely switch to 3-5-2 should suit him as well. I’d also throw some pennies at Stevan Jovetic, who has been on fire in pre-season and is likely to be leading Man City’s attack with Edin Dzeko for the start of the campaign. Go each-way with Jovetic – it’s 1/4 odds for the first four places.

TP: Wayne Rooney @ 14/1 – BET NOW

Louis Van Gaal has already revealed RVP won’t be starting the season due to a lack of match fitness so I’d rather support Wayne Rooney at 14/1. The United forward has won this award before and with United set to be a much more improved outfit this term he should find himself amongst the goals.

Relegation

(*Tom successfully advised Norwich to be relegated at 2/1 in February…)

SH: West Brom @ 11/4 – BET NOW & West Brom/Swansea/Hull Treble @ 70/1 – BET NOW

West Brom were very fortunate to stay up last season and the appointment of Alan Irvine as manager looks an almighty gamble. Pre-season has not gone well with a few injuries picked up plus big money signing Brown Ideye only joined up the week before the big kick-off due to Visa issues. They look primed to struggle again and are an enormous price at 11/4 to go down. I’d chuck in Swansea and Hull for the big-price treble – the Swans’ points totals are regressing every year and I’m not convinced by Garry Monk, while Hull weren’t far off the drop last term and the Europa League could be a massive distraction.

TP: Leicester @ 13/5 – BET NOW & Leicester/Burnley/West Brom Treble @ 20/1 – BET NOW

I’ve not been impressed with Nigel Pearson’s signings this summer with has-beens and youth signings making up the bulk of their incomings while the £7million fee paid to Brighton for Leonardo Ulloa is much too big. Teams will enjoy playing at the expansive King Power Stadium so the Foxes look value to return to the Championship along with Burnley and West Brom.

Sack Race

(*Simon successfully advised Paolo Di Canio in this market last season at 12/1…)

SH: Garry Monk @ 12/1 – BET NOW

In this market look for an over-ambitious club with a manager who hasn’t been there a long time. Garry Monk ticks all the boxes as the Swans will expect mid-table mediocrity despite regressing every year they’ve been in the division while he is also unproven at this level.

TP: Gus Poyet @ 25/1 – BET NOW

Poyet’s odds simply look too high in this market especially considering the Uruguayan is a volatile character and is it’s as likely he’ll jump ship as it is he’ll be pushed by a Sunderland hierarchy not afraid to give managers the boot. Only a remarkable run of form at the end of the season kept the Black Cats up last term and without a huge changeover in personnel they could find themselves in the lower reaches of the table again this season.

Best Bets From Other Markets

SH: Burnley Top Promoted Club @ 9/2 – BET NOW

Promoted clubs with rock solid home defensive records have the best chance of survival – look at Tony Pulis’ work with Stoke and Crystal Palace for examples of that. Sean Dyche’s side only shipped 14 in 23 at Turf Moor last term, the Clarets’ backline is extremely well organised and crucially expectations are far lower than at QPR and Leicester. That means the Ginger Mourinho can adopt reactionary tactics which is favourable and they look value to upset the odds in this market.

TP: Chelsea To Concede Fewest Goals @ 27/20 – BET NOW

Jose Mourinho sides are frequently centred around a strong defence and any success they have this term will also stem from a solid backline. Petr Cech helped himself to 16 clean sheets last term and the defence has been further boosted this season with the additions of Filipe Luis and Thibaut Courtois. The Blues leaked just 27 goals last season to finish with the league’s best defence, conceding 10 fewer than nearest rivals Man City.

Best Bet

SH: West Brom To Be Relegated @ 11/4 – BET NOW

The Baggies are in more trouble than punters realise and with all known trends firmly against them, they should be a much shorter price than 11/4 to go down.

TP: QPR Top Promoted Team @ 33/20 – BET NOW

As I’ve stated before I’m not keen on Leicester after some poor signings while Burnley are odds-on to make a swift return to the Championship and have been equally as uninspiring in the transfer window. Harry Redknapp is well versed in relegation battles and the signings of Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker are decent additions to an already solid squad.