With only about 11 matches to go for each team, the Premier League is entering its home stretch, and on the surface, a lot of the drama has already been sapped from the finish. Right now, Man City are being tipped to wrap up the Premier League title in record time, 16 points clear at the top with this much time to go. Naturally, this is a little bit of a downer for Chelsea supporters, and for football fans in general.
That said, there’s plenty more that keeps football fans riveted, even on the neutral level. Mostly it comes down to betting activity, which as one platform stresses is about finding creative ways to maximize enjoyment (and profit) from the events. That’s a concept bettors have long been familiar with, but one that EPL and Chelsea supporters might want to take to heart if the home stretch of this season is to be enjoyed. In other words, focusing solely on the league crown is more or less a lost cause. But finding other creative ways to engage with the league can keep it interesting.
A few of the categories that Chelsea supporters might want to focus on (whether you actually lay a bet or not) are as follows.
Winner Without Manchester City
This is a category that some platforms have added, and it’s a pretty shrewd move on their part. With the title all but decided, it’s unfortunately necessary to chase second place. So whether or not you want to place a bet on it, there’s some intrigue in looking at which club might win the league if one weren’t having such an outlier of a season. Man City’s performance this year is unusual to say the least, and though they have a great deal of young talent they’ll probably fall back at least marginally in 2018-19. So, whichever club places second will be right there among the favourites next season.
Top Four Finish
The top four is a category that is usually available at major sports betting platforms, simply because it means Champions League qualification. And this might actually be the best thing for Chelsea supporters to keep an eye on. Right now, in addition to Man City, Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea are in the thick of the top four race, and at this moment some of the oddsmakers actually have Chelsea at the bottom of that group. With several major matches to play in the home stretch though, the Blues are plenty capable of landing themselves in the top four.
Top Three Finish
There are odds to be found here as well, and longer ones for Chelsea. The chance to qualify for the Champions League without having to play through the early stage qualification tournament is still there, but Chelsea has ground to make up.
Player Movement
Here it can be harder to find odds unless you look for a specific player, but it’s definitely another interesting topic to keep an eye on as the season moves toward its end. Right now the name on everybody’s mind is naturally Eden Hazard. Because Hazard has been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu for a while now, the approaching offseason is going to bring more chatter on the subject. Watching his play and tracking the rumours is definitely going to keep things interesting for supporters.
It’s never ideal to have to focus on anything other than the title, but these are all things that football fans around the world keep tabs on, and they’re still undecided at this point. That ought to keep things interesting for the next 11 matches and into the offseason.
