Premier League best bets for the 2022-23 season: No Christmas cheer for Cherries

We asked the Racing Post's top team of football tipsters if they were only having one Premier League ante-post bet this season what would it be and this is how they responded...

Mark Langdon

Bournemouth to be bottom at Christmas
7-2 general

Matches in August against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are not ideal for promoted Bournemouth, who could find the feelgood factor has evaporated before the summer holidaymakers have departed Dorset.

If they do get behind it will be a difficult task for Scott Parker to rally the troops, who are largely unchanged from last season.

Middlesbrough midfielder Marcus Tavernier is the most high-profile new arrival but essentially this is a decent Championship squad that could quite easily be playing second-tier football again next season and they might even be stranded by Christmas.

Ian Wilkerson

Leeds to be relegated
23-10 Betfair, Paddy Power

It has become the primary aim of at least a third of Premier League clubs to find three teams who are worse than them but I fear that Leeds will not be able to.

The gung-ho days of Marcelo Bielsa have gone but the Elland Road faithful have to face up to life without Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha and there has been precious little to cheer them since they stayed up on the last day at Brentford.

Manager Jesse Marsch seems to have done little to inspire them either and it should be a grave concern that the only two teams they beat in their final 12 home matches - Norwich and Burnley - both went down.

Joe Casey

Trent Alexander-Arnold most assists
9-1 bet365

Trent Alexander-Arnold lost out on winning the title of most assists in the Premier League last season by one to teammate Mo Salah but he could hit top spot in the new campaign.

The Liverpool right-back has finished in the top three for assists in three of the last four seasons, recording 12 in 2018-19, 13 in 2019-20 and 12 last season.

The 23-year-old will be boosted by the signing of a more conventional number nine in Darwin Nunez, who displayed his poacher's instinct when scoring in the Community Shield. Alexander-Arnold could be a key beneficiary.

Henry Hardwicke

Brentford without the big six
33-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Brentford finished 13th in their debut Premier League season, just ten points off West Ham in seventh position, and the Bees are a huge price to take a step forward and be the top side without the big six.

Newcastle look poor-value favourites and there are question marks over many of Brentford's top-half rivals. I'm struggling to see how they are 33-1 shots while Everton have been chalked up at 16-1.

The Bees have beefed up their squad with the signings of Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter and Ben Mee. Thomas Frank is an excellent manager and it's possible too much is being made of Christian Eriksen's departure.

Liam Flin

Raheem Sterling top Chelsea goalscorer
6-4 Coral

As well as being a cracking each-way bet to be the Premier League's top goalscorer at 33-1, Raheem Sterling can top the scoring charts for Chelsea this season.

Although he was out of favour with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City last term, Sterling still bagged 13 goals in only 23 league starts and he has outscored Chelsea's leading goalscorer in all competitions in each of the last five seasons.

Thomas Tuchel has already made it clear that Sterling will be the team's main man this season and, in the prime of his career at 27, the England international can lead the way for the Blues.

Chris Rivers

Pedro Neto top Wolves goalscorer
4-1 bet365

After missing much of last season with a knee injury, Pedro Neto is primed to give Wolves' lacklustre attack a much-needed boost and can outperform his generous odds to finish as their top scorer.

The Portuguese will be charged with leading the line to start the campaign with Raul Jimenez out for several weeks through injury, and that gives him a significant leg up on Wolves' number nine.

Neto has been sharp in pre-season, bagging twice, while Jimenez hasn't looked the same player since his head injury in the 2020-21 season, a campaign in which Neto finished as joint-top scorer for Wolves with five goals.

Aaron Ashley

Tottenham to win Premier League without Manchester City and Liverpool
7-4 bet365

Although challenging for the title may prove a bridge too far, there is every reason to think Tottenham will be the third-best team behind Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League this season.

Spurs made great gains following the arrival of master tactician Antonio Conte in November and thrived under the Italian's 3-4-3 system, winning ten of their final 14 matches to pip north London rivals Arsenal for fourth.

Tottenham were still within three points of third-placed Chelsea and are fancied to leapfrog the Blues, particularly after what appears to have been a super summer of recruitment.

James Milton

Nottingham Forest top Midlands club
14-1 Hills

Nottingham Forest knocked Arsenal and Leicester out of the FA Cup last season and ran Liverpool close in the quarter-finals so they should relish the chance to take on top-flight opponents every week.

Their Championship form after Steve Cooper took charge last September was remarkably consistent and, bolstered by some smart summer signings, Forest look tempting outsiders to finish ahead of underwhelming Midlands rivals Leicester, Aston Villa and Wolves.

Kevin Pullein

Liverpool to win Premier League
13-5 Coral, Ladbrokes

Not the most likely outcome, but in my opinion the best bet.

Manchester City won in four of the last five seasons, but in two they beat Liverpool by only one point and over the last four seasons they have gained only one more point. The odds say City are twice as likely as Liverpool to win this time, but I disagree.

Steve Davies

Jamie Vardy to score more Premier League goals than Luis Diaz
11-10 bet365

Jamie Vardy had a quiet season in 2021-22, starting only 20 matches and scoring 15 goals. That was his lowest haul for five seasons.

It is also, however, more than Luis Diaz has ever scored in a single season, and while the Liverpool man is by some distance younger than the Foxes' frontman, the Colombian is not a natural finisher in Vardy's class.

Vardy still looks Brendan Rodgers' chosen one, even at 35, still takes penalties and should get double figures easily. I'm not sure the same can be said for Diaz.

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