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The Premier League returns tomorrow as reigning champions Arsenal take on newly-promoted Coventry City.
It’s been a long old summer for football fans, though the 2026 World Cupprobably helped to speed up the wait.
But now it’s back to club football. The English Football League (EFL) kicked off last week and the Community Shield was contested, and now it’s the turn of the most-watched league in the world.
It’s a case of entering into the unknown for many punters, though Arsenal are favourites to regain the Premier League title after only a few minor squad adjustments.
SBC News got the views of Betway’s Lewis Knowles, Per Carlander of BetMGM and Steve Freeth from bet365 ahead of tomorrow’s curtain raiser.
Arsenal are favourites to retain the Premier League title. Are they the most popular pick with your punters?
Lewis Knowles: Arsenal have been the most popular side in our Premier League outright betting, with nearly a quarter of all bets on the market coming for the Gunners to retain their crown.
There were signs that punters wanted to take on Mikel Arteta’s when the market first went up, but with question marks over many of their title rivals, they’ve been particularly well-supported in recent weeks.
Per Carlander: The Gunners have established themselves as frontrunners at 2.25 following their Community Shield triumph, leaving Manchester City (4.50), Liverpool (6.00), and Chelsea (9.00) in their wake.
So far this harmonises with our customers’ picks as well – Arsenal have more than 3 times as many bets as Man City that have second most so far.
Steve Freeth: It was hard not to be impressed by Arsenal’s demolition of Manchester City, and they are proving hugely popular with bet365 customers placing outright multiple wagers.
However, those looking for a bigger price have been backing Manchester United and Chelsea, with the pair accounting for 17.1% and 16.7% of the singles business, respectively.
How much hope do punters have for the newly promoted sides? Is anyone backing an underdog, or is the expectation that the newcomers are destined for relegation?
Carlander: The odds are unforgiving, with Hull, Coventry, and Ipswich all heavily favoured for an immediate return to the Championship. History is on the side of the pessimists, yet Frank Lampard’s return to the top flight with Coventry provides a “romantic” angle that often draws sentimental backing. Right now, we actually have around 90% of our bets on Hull to get relegated.
Freeth: The three promoted teams are expected to find it difficult, but we have seen some eye-catching turnover away from the accumulator business. It has been a challenging summer for Newcastle, with significant changes both on and off the pitch, and we have seen noticeable UK interest in the Tyneside club, with their odds for the drop tumbling from 40/1 to 8/1, taking 46.8% of the UK market.
Manchester City struggled in the Community Shield and are having to deal with the loss of Pep Guardiola, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva. However, their prominence in the liabilities is likely due to the charges that still linger.
Knowles: Of the newly promoted sides, punters aren’t expecting much from Hull or Ipswich, with both backed for relegation, but we have seen a few bets on Coventry at 18/1 to emulate Sunderland and land a top half finish, so Frank Lampard’s side could well be the surprise package this year.
Following a disastrous summer where the Magpies lost their manager as well as three of their key players, Newcastle have actually been by far the best backed side for relegation this season, accounting for over 31% bets on the market.
A total of 11 clubs have had to pivot due to the voluntary ban, which was confirmed back in 2023.
There has been a lot of talk about whether this will be effective, though, as bookmakers have looked to get creative and sign different sponsorships with clubs.
As a partner of a Premier League club, what visibility and fan engagement opportunities are you hoping to seize this season?
Knowles: Manchester United are a fantastic addition to the roster of partners we have in England’s top-flight. We have been one of the most visible brands in the Premier League over the last decade or so.
The 2026/27 season will be no different with Betway branding featuring on either LED or training kit (sometimes both) in an incredible 48% of matches. The global reach of the division extends to all the right places in terms of our key markets.
What new products are you bringing in for the 2026/27 Premier League season?
Carlander: We have just launched our proprietary sportsbook Tiger in our biggest sportsbook markets Sweden and the UK.
Sweden was launched before the World Cup and our customers really seem to enjoy the fast and simple UX paired with innovative features such as Flex Combi and extensive Live Boost coverage. UK customers will now also have all of this when Premier League kicks off this weekend.
Knowles: We will have a range of exciting promotional markets for the upcoming Premier League season, offering 1up/2up, Injury time protection, and Super Sub across all games, offering customers the best chance of maximising their winnings.
Per Carlander. Credit: LeoVegas
With the World Cup seeing huge engagement, being touted as a record-breaking one no less, operators may be expecting an uptick in engagement, particularly at the beginning of the season.
What the World Cup did bring, though, was a huge spike in popularity on player specific markets.
We asked these operators what the impact of the World Cup could be on the Premier League.
Credit: AGIF / Shutterstock
Do you expect the World Cup to have a material positive impact on revenue for the season, or at least the start of it? Will the opening few weekends of the Premier League give you more of an idea on how successful that tournament was in terms of customer retention?
Knowles: Given the overall success and the length of this summer’s World Cup, we’re expecting a positive impact on business on the Premier League.
The World Cup is a hugely popular betting event, but Premier League football is on another level altogether, and it will be interesting to see how this season’s opening weekend compares to last year, but we’re expecting a significant increase off the back of the World Cup for sure.
Carlander: The World Cup was a massive driver of turnover and active customers, particularly in the player-prop space. The critical metric now is retention; the opening weeks of the Premier League will reveal whether those newly acquired customers have become habitual domestic bettors or were simply part of a tournament-specific spike.
I think we need to give it a couple of weeks of Premier League before we have a firm view on the retention from the World Cup, but we are very positive so far!
Have player-specific betting markets become more popular among Premier League bettors in your experience?
Carlander: Absolutely. This shift has been accelerating for several seasons, with the recent World Cup acting as a major catalyst. Player props and bet builders were central to the tournament’s record-breaking turnover, and that momentum is expected to translate directly into domestic engagement.
Player props have grown double digits the last couple of years and we expect even higher growth this year thanks to the World Cup hype around star players.
Knowles: Yes, year-on-year we see them continue to grow in popularity and expect to see this trend continue this season.
Our player markets are becoming more comprehensive each season; this year we have super sub available on all player markets and a range of markets available in-play.
Are there any particular players you expect to make regular appearances on punters’ bet builders this season?
Freeth: UK customers are speculating that Erling Haaland could be laboured by the lack of Pep Guardiola on the touchline.
Either that, or he’s such a favourite for the Golden Boot that it’s worth a look elsewhere for value. Joao Pedro and Alexander Isak are both backed to thrive under new management.
On the other hand, Global customers can’t ignore the big Norwegian for their single bets for the Top Goalscorer market. He takes almost half of the global bets, with Benjamin Sesko the next best backed, with him backed third-most by UK customers too.
Steve Freeth. Credit: bet365
Knowles: Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes will continue as punter’s favourites for goals and assists, but Morgan Rogers was always popular in bet builders as a Villa player, and following his big-money move to Stamford Bridge this summer, he’ll be making regular appearances in punters’ bet builders no doubt.
Christos Tzolis has really impressed for Arsenal during pre-season, and his performance in Sunday’s Community Shield in Cardiff hasn’t gone unnoticed by punters.
Tzolis might not be a household name yet, but he’s tipped to make a big impact for the Gunners this season, and he’s recently halved in price to 14/1 (from 28/1) for the most assists in the Premier League this season.
Carlander: Heavyweight moves for Rogers, Anderson, Guimarães, and Andrey Santos are dominating the narrative. Their massive price tags ensure high turnover in scoring and performance markets.
James Trafford at Leeds also offers an intriguing angle for those eyeing goalkeeper-specific props. We see the biggest interest for Morgan Rogers on Chelsea specific markets so far.
How are punters feeling about Manchester City post-Pep and Rodri?
Knowles: Manchester City were fairly well backed in the outright market up until Sunday’s Community Shield, but that was a worrying performance if you’re Enzo Maresca, and punters have gone pretty cold on City in recent days.
A good performance against Bournemouth in their opening game could change everything, but there are definitely questions to answer for Maresca and his team going into this season, and losing Rodri to Barcelona is undoubtedly a huge blow.
Carlander: The consensus is that City is entering a transition phase. With Pep gone and Rodri moved to Barcelona, the market has cooled slightly, drifting them to 4.50.
While they remain the primary threat to Arsenal, there is a palpable sense of “wait and see” among the betting public. Compared to last year, Man City have around half as many bets on them – speaking to customers being a bit doubtful this year.
Bookies weigh in on who punters are backing as Premier League countdown continues
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The Premier League returns tomorrow as reigning champions Arsenal take on newly-promoted Coventry City.
It’s been a long old summer for football fans, though the 2026 World Cup probably helped to speed up the wait.
But now it’s back to club football. The English Football League (EFL) kicked off last week and the Community Shield was contested, and now it’s the turn of the most-watched league in the world.
The departure of Pep Guardiola from Manchester City sent shockwaves around the country, and City, Chelsea and Liverpool all go into the season with new managers.
It’s a case of entering into the unknown for many punters, though Arsenal are favourites to regain the Premier League title after only a few minor squad adjustments.
SBC News got the views of Betway’s Lewis Knowles, Per Carlander of BetMGM and Steve Freeth from bet365 ahead of tomorrow’s curtain raiser.
Arsenal are favourites to retain the Premier League title. Are they the most popular pick with your punters?
Lewis Knowles: Arsenal have been the most popular side in our Premier League outright betting, with nearly a quarter of all bets on the market coming for the Gunners to retain their crown.
There were signs that punters wanted to take on Mikel Arteta’s when the market first went up, but with question marks over many of their title rivals, they’ve been particularly well-supported in recent weeks.
Per Carlander: The Gunners have established themselves as frontrunners at 2.25 following their Community Shield triumph, leaving Manchester City (4.50), Liverpool (6.00), and Chelsea (9.00) in their wake.
So far this harmonises with our customers’ picks as well – Arsenal have more than 3 times as many bets as Man City that have second most so far.
Steve Freeth: It was hard not to be impressed by Arsenal’s demolition of Manchester City, and they are proving hugely popular with bet365 customers placing outright multiple wagers.
However, those looking for a bigger price have been backing Manchester United and Chelsea, with the pair accounting for 17.1% and 16.7% of the singles business, respectively.
How much hope do punters have for the newly promoted sides? Is anyone backing an underdog, or is the expectation that the newcomers are destined for relegation?
Carlander: The odds are unforgiving, with Hull, Coventry, and Ipswich all heavily favoured for an immediate return to the Championship. History is on the side of the pessimists, yet Frank Lampard’s return to the top flight with Coventry provides a “romantic” angle that often draws sentimental backing. Right now, we actually have around 90% of our bets on Hull to get relegated.
Freeth: The three promoted teams are expected to find it difficult, but we have seen some eye-catching turnover away from the accumulator business. It has been a challenging summer for Newcastle, with significant changes both on and off the pitch, and we have seen noticeable UK interest in the Tyneside club, with their odds for the drop tumbling from 40/1 to 8/1, taking 46.8% of the UK market.
Manchester City struggled in the Community Shield and are having to deal with the loss of Pep Guardiola, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva. However, their prominence in the liabilities is likely due to the charges that still linger.
Knowles: Of the newly promoted sides, punters aren’t expecting much from Hull or Ipswich, with both backed for relegation, but we have seen a few bets on Coventry at 18/1 to emulate Sunderland and land a top half finish, so Frank Lampard’s side could well be the surprise package this year.
Following a disastrous summer where the Magpies lost their manager as well as three of their key players, Newcastle have actually been by far the best backed side for relegation this season, accounting for over 31% bets on the market.
One major change for this Premier League season is the front-of-shirt ban for gambling sponsorships.
A total of 11 clubs have had to pivot due to the voluntary ban, which was confirmed back in 2023.
There has been a lot of talk about whether this will be effective, though, as bookmakers have looked to get creative and sign different sponsorships with clubs.
Betway and Manchester United have a training kit deal, for example.
As a partner of a Premier League club, what visibility and fan engagement opportunities are you hoping to seize this season?
Knowles: Manchester United are a fantastic addition to the roster of partners we have in England’s top-flight. We have been one of the most visible brands in the Premier League over the last decade or so.
The 2026/27 season will be no different with Betway branding featuring on either LED or training kit (sometimes both) in an incredible 48% of matches. The global reach of the division extends to all the right places in terms of our key markets.
What new products are you bringing in for the 2026/27 Premier League season?
Carlander: We have just launched our proprietary sportsbook Tiger in our biggest sportsbook markets Sweden and the UK.
Sweden was launched before the World Cup and our customers really seem to enjoy the fast and simple UX paired with innovative features such as Flex Combi and extensive Live Boost coverage. UK customers will now also have all of this when Premier League kicks off this weekend.
Knowles: We will have a range of exciting promotional markets for the upcoming Premier League season, offering 1up/2up, Injury time protection, and Super Sub across all games, offering customers the best chance of maximising their winnings.
With the World Cup seeing huge engagement, being touted as a record-breaking one no less, operators may be expecting an uptick in engagement, particularly at the beginning of the season.
What the World Cup did bring, though, was a huge spike in popularity on player specific markets.
We asked these operators what the impact of the World Cup could be on the Premier League.
Do you expect the World Cup to have a material positive impact on revenue for the season, or at least the start of it? Will the opening few weekends of the Premier League give you more of an idea on how successful that tournament was in terms of customer retention?
Knowles: Given the overall success and the length of this summer’s World Cup, we’re expecting a positive impact on business on the Premier League.
The World Cup is a hugely popular betting event, but Premier League football is on another level altogether, and it will be interesting to see how this season’s opening weekend compares to last year, but we’re expecting a significant increase off the back of the World Cup for sure.
Carlander: The World Cup was a massive driver of turnover and active customers, particularly in the player-prop space. The critical metric now is retention; the opening weeks of the Premier League will reveal whether those newly acquired customers have become habitual domestic bettors or were simply part of a tournament-specific spike.
I think we need to give it a couple of weeks of Premier League before we have a firm view on the retention from the World Cup, but we are very positive so far!
Have player-specific betting markets become more popular among Premier League bettors in your experience?
Carlander: Absolutely. This shift has been accelerating for several seasons, with the recent World Cup acting as a major catalyst. Player props and bet builders were central to the tournament’s record-breaking turnover, and that momentum is expected to translate directly into domestic engagement.
Player props have grown double digits the last couple of years and we expect even higher growth this year thanks to the World Cup hype around star players.
Knowles: Yes, year-on-year we see them continue to grow in popularity and expect to see this trend continue this season.
Our player markets are becoming more comprehensive each season; this year we have super sub available on all player markets and a range of markets available in-play.
Are there any particular players you expect to make regular appearances on punters’ bet builders this season?
Freeth: UK customers are speculating that Erling Haaland could be laboured by the lack of Pep Guardiola on the touchline.
Either that, or he’s such a favourite for the Golden Boot that it’s worth a look elsewhere for value. Joao Pedro and Alexander Isak are both backed to thrive under new management.
On the other hand, Global customers can’t ignore the big Norwegian for their single bets for the Top Goalscorer market. He takes almost half of the global bets, with Benjamin Sesko the next best backed, with him backed third-most by UK customers too.
Knowles: Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes will continue as punter’s favourites for goals and assists, but Morgan Rogers was always popular in bet builders as a Villa player, and following his big-money move to Stamford Bridge this summer, he’ll be making regular appearances in punters’ bet builders no doubt.
Christos Tzolis has really impressed for Arsenal during pre-season, and his performance in Sunday’s Community Shield in Cardiff hasn’t gone unnoticed by punters.
Tzolis might not be a household name yet, but he’s tipped to make a big impact for the Gunners this season, and he’s recently halved in price to 14/1 (from 28/1) for the most assists in the Premier League this season.
Carlander: Heavyweight moves for Rogers, Anderson, Guimarães, and Andrey Santos are dominating the narrative. Their massive price tags ensure high turnover in scoring and performance markets.
James Trafford at Leeds also offers an intriguing angle for those eyeing goalkeeper-specific props. We see the biggest interest for Morgan Rogers on Chelsea specific markets so far.
How are punters feeling about Manchester City post-Pep and Rodri?
Knowles: Manchester City were fairly well backed in the outright market up until Sunday’s Community Shield, but that was a worrying performance if you’re Enzo Maresca, and punters have gone pretty cold on City in recent days.
A good performance against Bournemouth in their opening game could change everything, but there are definitely questions to answer for Maresca and his team going into this season, and losing Rodri to Barcelona is undoubtedly a huge blow.
Carlander: The consensus is that City is entering a transition phase. With Pep gone and Rodri moved to Barcelona, the market has cooled slightly, drifting them to 4.50.
While they remain the primary threat to Arsenal, there is a palpable sense of “wait and see” among the betting public. Compared to last year, Man City have around half as many bets on them – speaking to customers being a bit doubtful this year.