Which Premier League markets give bettors best value heading into the second half of the season?

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If you were one of the four billion people that watched some of all of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. and are now hooked on soccer, this might be the best time of year.

Usually, December is called the Festive Fixture period in England, with so many games and action that your head would spin. But the World Cup was played over the four weeks in November and December, and the Premier League was shut down for six weeks.

But it will be back with a vengeance on Boxing Day (December 26), with four windows of matches. From then until the end of May–and into June for the European competitions–you are going to have wall-to-wall action.

For sports betting platforms in New Jersey (it is not legal yet to bet in TX) and bettors all over the country, who just saw record numbers wagered, that means players can seamless move into the leagues all around Europe with no down time: just look at the television schedule and Live Score app to see how many cup competitions were in action just two days after the World Cup Final on December 18.

When you look at the Premier League table as play was set to resume, there are interesting races at both ends. At the top, Arsenal led Manchester City by five points after 14 matches, but it was the Cityzens that have much better odds to win the league. City was priced at -190 to win a third-straight title, with Arsenal priced at +220: is this more an indictment on the Gunners (and lack of faith that they can win a first title since 2004) or confidence in the inevitable that City will overtake Arsenal?

The race for the top four, and the UEFA Champions League place that comes with it, is also red hot. Right now, Newcastle United and Tottenham sit in third and fourth respectively, but projections think that Manchester United and Liverpool will catch those two and just beat them to the line. Despite sitting in sixth, Liverpool is actually the third favorite at -175 to get a top four spot, with Manchester United just behind Tottenham–and just ahead of Newcastle–with most sports books.

Then, we have to take a look at the bottom of the table, and the relegation places (the bottom three teams in the table will play next season in the league below the Premier League, called the Championship.) When the break happened, Wolverhampton sat at the foot of the table with 10 points, with Southampton (12 points, 19th) and Nottingham Forest (13 points, 18th) in the final two relegation places. But Everton, West Ham, Leeds United, and Bournemouth were all within three points of Forest, which could make for a really interesting race in 2023.

Right now, Nottingham Forest (-167) and Bournemouth (-155) look to be the clear favorites with sports books and bettors to go down, with Wolves at even money. There might be more value to the teams with plus-money odds, such as Southampton (+160), Everton (+175), or Leeds (+450), but the latter two should spend some money in January and have shown glimpses of good play at times this season.

It should be a very interesting 2023 on all fronts in England.

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