For those who like to place a bet or two on the Premier League, it’s the most popular markets that tend to garner the most interest.

Whether it’s backing a team to win the title, finish inside the Champions League places or be relegated, there are a number of different options available to punters.

But some EPL betting markets continue to be overlooked, and some of the best value propositions are those which expand our wagering beyond the standard options.

Take the ‘to finish inside the top half’ market as an example. While we could name probably six teams that are nailed on to do exactly that, there’s still four spaces available with around, maybe, half-dozen teams with a genuine chance of filling then. And with bonuses like the bet 10 get 30 offer requiring minimum odds bets of 1/2, this market can be a good way of triggering your promo funds.

For the 2022/23 season, we can probably sign off on Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea to finish inside the top-ten in the league table, while a strong case can also be made for cash-rich Newcastle United and Manchester United… if new head coach Erik ten Hag can oversee an immediate improvement, of course.

 


But that leaves room for others to gatecrash the party, and Crystal Palace look as well-placed as anybody to net a top-ten finish and land backers a 6/5 payout…

Flying High

Ahead of the 2021/22 season, the chances of Crystal Palace were easily being written off.

They had a new and fairly inexperienced head coach in Patrick Vieira, and he was given a mandate to reinvigorate the Eagles’ squad by signing young players with potential to grow – often a risky strategy at the elite end of team sport.

But in the end, Palace exceeded the expectations of plenty, finishing 12th (three points off a top-half finish no less) and losing fewer games than the likes of Arsenal and West Ham.

Lingering fears of ‘second season syndrome’ have been put to bed early in 2022/23, with the Eagles drawing at Anfield against Liverpool before handing out a comprehensive 3-1 thrashing of Aston Villa.

Vieira has introduced a more progressive style at Selhurst Park, and while young guns are maturing it’s some of the more experienced players that he has been getting a tune out of. Wilfried Zaha averaged single-figures for goals during his Palace career prior to the Frenchman’s arrival, but 14 strikes last term have been met with three goals in as many games this.


Joachim Andersen has grown to become an excellent top-flight defender, the likes of Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp continue to flourish despite being less-than household names and, at 35, the evergeen Vicente Guaita continues to laugh in the face of the ageing process.

Fans of deep stats like Expected Goals (xG) know that Palace were ranked sixth in last season’s table for xG difference, and that if they continued with that form in 2022/23 they would go very close to a top-half finish.

It’s been a case of so far, so good for Vieira’s men, and they can be confident of taking their place amongst English football’s elite if their progression continues at pace.


 

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