EPL Title Odds: Chelsea Still 10-Points Clear
Is the race effectively over?
It certainly looks that way. Chelsea (21-3-3, 66 points) have been ten points clear of the league for some time now and it doesn’t look like they’ll be caught. Their thirteen-game winning streak was ended by Tottenham, and Chelsea haven’t been quite as dominant as they were at the start of the season. But they’re still outperforming the league by a comfortable margin.
As it stands, the Blues are at the top of the table with 66 points, ten points clear of the league. Tottenham (16-8-3, 56 points) and Manchester City (17-5-5, 56 points) are the only teams left with a realistic chance of claiming the title, but both have floundered at critical moments.
Man City’s recent 0-0 draw against Stoke is a prime example of this. At a time when the Citizen’s could not afford to drop any easy points, they drew a home game against ninth-place Stoke City. With only ten games left in the season, the draw is a huge blow to their chances.
Tottenham, on the other hand, have been pretty good at collecting points against weaker teams, but have a woeful record against the top six. They landed a huge win over Chelsea and managed to beat Manchester City earlier this season, but other that that, their big games have been disappointing.
Liverpool (15-7-5, 52 points) and Arsenal (15-5-6, 50 points) were once the favorites to catch Chelsea, but they’re now essentially out of the running. Liverpool have only managed to win two of their last eight games, and Arsenal are not doing much better, winning only three of their last eight. Both clubs are in turmoil at the moment, and the future of their managers and star players is uncertain. Both teams are now focussing on just landing a Champions League spot for next year.
Chelsea has a pretty easy stroll to the finish line. They have a tough game against Manchester City coming up, and a potentially difficult game against Manchester United after that, but those are the only obstacles in their way. If they lose both of those games but manage to clean up against the lesser teams, they’ll be fine. Given how consistent Chelsea has been this season, it’s hard to see them dropping the lead.
Odds to win the 2016-17 English Premier League
Chelsea: 3/17
Manchester City: 16/1
Tottenham: 16/1
Liverpool: 90/1
Arsenal: 100/1
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
