You would be forgiven for thinking that the football season never ends. The fact that we have had the European U21 Championship, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Copa America and the African Cup of Nations (which is now at the semifinal stage) over this end of season period means that as hard as it is to believe, the new season is on the horizon and teams are already back in pre-season training in readiness for it.
Of course, for football lovers that enjoy the game, or like a bet on it, then this is great news. The pre-season is also a very important time for punters as it is then many like to put their bets on which teams will be the top dogs in their respective leagues and divisions each season. Many punters dream of landing the big one, as a few did when 5,000/1 outsiders Leicester City landed the Premier League title back in 2016.
With teams now back in training, playing pre-season friendlies and in some cases even playing preliminary rounds of cup competitions, including the Europa League and Champions League qualifiers, the season is almost here and football lovers across the world are looking forward to the big kick off across Europe over the coming weeks.
Of course, when placing a bet, football fans will tend to back their favourites to win the title, but they can also have their pick from other divisions in their country, such as the Championship, League One and League Two in England. These bets are very popular with punters and as such, bet365 Sport has a new offer which will appeal especially to punters that enjoy these bets.
League Winner Early Payout Offer
With bet365’s League Winner Early Payout Offer, simply place a bet on the To Win Outright market on any team from selected leagues up to and including Friday 13th September 2019, and if the team you back takes a lead of 10 points or more in their league, and all teams have played the same number of games, we will settle your bet early as a winner.
Offer applies to bets on the To Win Outright market for the 2019/20 season for teams from the English Premier League, English Championship, English League 1, English League 2, Scottish Premiership, Scottish Championship, Scottish League One, Scottish League Two, German Bundesliga I, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga and French Ligue 1. If your team is leading the league and the other teams have games in hand but cannot get to within 10 points of your team by winning those games, we will settle your bet early as a winner.
This offer will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out the bet will be settled on, and this offer shall apply to, the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is amended using your Edit Bet feature prior to 23:59:59 UK Time on Friday 13th September 2019 the bet will be settled on, and the offer shall apply to, the new selection and/or stake. This offer will not apply if your qualifying bet is amended using out Edit Bet feature after 23:59:59 UK Time on Friday 13th September 2019.
T&Cs apply. Only available to new and eligible customers.
We are going to bring you a much more detailed look ahead to the Premier League season in an article nearer the time, but for now, with many teams now making the first steps back to full fitness in pre-season, we are going to quickly review some of the other top leagues around Europe and give you our tips on which teams we think will be challenging for the top honours in each league, starting with the action in Serie A in Italy.
Who will be Champions of Serie A?
I’ve started with Serie A because of all the leagues across Europe, perhaps with the exception of Ligue 1, I think this is the most nailed on certainty of any league. Juventus have won Serie A in each of the last eight seasons stretching back to 2010/11 when Milan were winners, and since then they have improved their squad hugely by signing the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Adrian Rabiot and the soon to arrive Mattias De Ligt.
In contrast, the chasing pack have done little to really close the gap on the Turin giants who were already the clear favourites to win the title and who I think are absolutely nailed on favourites to make it nine-in-a-row this season.
Who will be Champions of Ligue 1?
Paris St Germain’s era of dominance, kick started by their acquisition by the super-rich Qatari royal family, has seen them win six of the last seven Ligue 1 titles and in truth, they look absolute nailed on certainties to win the title once again this season, even if their star player Neymar does manage to force his way out of the club.
You can expect the likes of Lyon, Lille, Nice and Marseille to try and match them again this season but given the spending power of PSG and the quality of the squad that they possess, even if they lose Neymar and do not replace him directly (which is unlikely) then they should still be more than strong enough to win this league at a relative canter.
Who will be Champions of the Primera Liga?
Perhaps the most interesting title race in the top league’s in Europe this season could come in Spain where Barcelona have snapped up Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann to add to their already stellar squad and there are even rumours Neymar could be on his way back. In response, Zinedine Zidane has overseen his Real Madrid squad sign a number of new players including Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic and perhaps their biggest star signing, Eden Hazard.
As such, these two teams should be much more on an even keel this season and the difference between the two should be very small. Barcelona have held the edge in recent seasons and especially since Ronaldo left for Juventus, but this time around, I feel Real Madrid may just have enough to clinch the win, but expect things to be much closer this time around.
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