SEASON 21-22 ULTIMATE BETTING PREVIEW
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La LigA BUNdESLiga | IIIIIIIIIII LigUE 1
EVERY TEAM IN ENGLAND PREVIEWED
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RELEGATION PROMOTION
every team, every bet, every league covered
It only feels like yesterday since England’s bid to end their 55-year wait for a major trophy ended in the familiar agony of defeat in a penalty shootout. But the club scene is now back on the agenda with the 2021/22 campaign ready for lift-off. So allow us to point you in the direction of our extensive ante-post coverage with comprehensive betting guides covering all divisions, major markets and teams from England, Scotland and abroad. Our aim is always to provide a plethora of thought-provoking pieces, value prices, and pinpoint every possible eye-catching punt before a ball has been kicked. To do so we’ve built a stellar squad of betting behemoths and football boffins to bring you an industry-leading offering. The #WLBSeasonPreview will feature our nominated title winners, promotion contenders, and highlight the sides that will be fearing the dreaded drop. The most intriguing specials selections have been sought, top goalscorers have been collated, whilst the obligatory rundowns and team guides have been stitched together by a collection of league experts. It’s our biggest-ever pre-season production and we hope the enclosed content will provide the insight and inspiration required to procure another successful ante-post portfolio. Enjoy the season ahead, and best of luck with your bets…
Mark O’Haire
Mark O’Haire
Who can stop Manchester City? We cast With uncertainty surrounding Harry Kane’s our eye over the leading contenders who future the Premier League Top Scorer are striving to wrestle the title from Pep market makes for interesting reading. We Guardiola’s men. look at the runners and riders.
86 EURO LEAGUES 18 SACK RACE Inter Milan pulled off a surprise scudetto last season but with Antonio Conte gone, could Juventus wrestle back the Serie A title? Or will a new contender emerge?
Losing your job is an occupational hazard for a football manager, but who’ll be the first to pick up their P45 in the Premier League?
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CHAMPIONSHIP
08 PREMIER LEAGUE 14 TOP SCORER
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@markohaire
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HOW THEY’ll FINISH 22 HOW THEY’ll FINISH 40
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70 BUNDESLIGA
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100 JAMES POTTER
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72 LA LIGA
88 DINO’S BEST BETS
101 MATT KIRBY
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74 SERIE A
90 GERRY’S BETS BETS 102 DAN McCULLOCH
114 ANTE-POST VALUE
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92 LOWER LEAGUES
116 FINAL VERDICT
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HOW THEY’ll FINISH 58 HOW THEY’ll FINISH 76 LIGUE 1
HOW THEY’ll FINISH 96 ADRIAN CLARKE
104 NEIL MACDONALD
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LEAGUE TWO
SCOTTISH LEAGUES
LEAGUE ONE
EUROPEAN LEAGUES
ALL ODDS CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PRODUCTION
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MY BEST BETS ADRIAN CLARKE Adrian Clarke @AdrianJClarke
PRESENTER and pundit Adrian Clarke (@AdrianJClarke) shares his five favourite ante-post plays from the Premier League down to League Two ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.
STING IN THE TAIL FOR HORNETS PREMIER LEAGUE: Watford to be relegated I’m shocked to see Norwich offered at a shorter price than Watford to be relegated in 2021/22. It is never nice to be the Prophet of Doom but I do think evens is a decent offering on the Hornets dropping back down to tier two. With a modest CV, the littleknown Xisco Munoz did a surprisingly good job last term, proving the doubters wrong. But the Premier League will root out any of his tactical shortcomings.
home games, the Hornets have great confidence on home turf, and this will understandably provide fans with optimism for the season ahead. Ten of those victories were by a single goal though, and it will be infinitely more difficult to keep clean sheets against next season’s topnotch opponents. Joao Pedro has great promise in attack and Ismaila Sarr is a class act, but Watford’s squad still looks well short of the firepower required to avoid a relegation battle.
Away from home Watford were suspect en-route to promotion, failing to win 15 of their 23 matches on the road, averaging less than a goal a game. At the highest level, I fear this weak spot will be sorely exposed.
Munoz has a solid enough group of players but there are not many past Premier League success stories amongst them. It’s a good Championship squad that does not look ready for what’s to come.
Vicarage Road is Watford’s fortress. Winning 19 of their 23
Sorry Hornets fans, but this could be a long old season.
ADRIAN’S TITLE WINNERS Premier League – Chelsea (5/ 1 Bet365) Championship – Bournemout h (10/1 William Hill) League 1 – Lincoln (18/1 Unibe t) League 2 - Salford (13/2 Bo ylesports)
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CHAMPIONSHIP: BOURNEMOUTH TO FINISH TOP SIX The Championship feels a little bit weaker in 2021/22 and this, I believe, hands Scott Parker with a great opportunity to hit the ground running at Bournemouth. Yes, the relegated Premier League teams will all enjoy the unfair rocket fuel boost that parachute payments provide but each has a new manager and question marks. Can West Brom adapt quickly to Valerien Ismael’s unique brand of football? Has the losing habit wounded Sheffield United too much? And while Fulham are worthy favourites, the jury is out on Marco Silva, and many of their better performers have departed from loan spells. Bournemouth had two rookie gaffers at the helm last term, first Jason Tindall and then Jonathan Woodgate. This hindered their prospects in my opinion, but
they still came mighty close to gaining promotion via the playoffs. Parker is no Marcelo Bielsa but a definite upgrade. He organises his teams well, has a solid tactical approach and crucially, also knows what it takes to get out of the Championship. The Cherries still have a terrific squad, and even if one or two talents are sold before the close of the window, they still have more quality than most. Dominic Solanke, Arnaut Danjuma, Junior Stanislas, David Brooks, Jefferson Lerma, Ben Pearson, Phillip Billing, Sam Surridge, Jack Stacey and co are quality at that level. I suspect there is also some wriggle room to flex their muscles
in the transfer market. Bournemouth remain a very attractive proposition for talented players looking for a new club, permanently or onloan, and they should utilise that even if their budget is lower than it was.
would not have been on the radar for anybody else. This time around I sense Bournemouth will fare better under Parker.
The Cherries amassed 77 points last season with a pair of inexperienced managers that
To see Bournemouth oddsagainst for a Top Six Finish surprises me. If they fail to make at least the play-offs it will be a serious disappointment.
manager of course after Derek Adams legged it to Bradford just hours after steering Morecambe to success in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.
a real stretch for Morecambe to survive. The Chairboys had far more stability to lean on and gave it their all – but eventually they still went down.
Former Northern Ireland international Stephen Robinson has come in after doing pretty well with Motherwell, but under Adams their prospects of survival would surely have been stronger.
It would be lovely to see a newlook Morecambe team compete in League One and surprise but the 6/5 (Boylesports) on the newcomers being relegated seems a very fair price.
LEAGUE ONE: MORECAMBE TO BE RELEGATED Morecambe produced a remarkable, fairytale campaign to win promotion to League One via the play-offs last season. But that exciting, entirely unexpected achievement could easily be followed by an instant relegation back to the fourth-tier. Budget-wise, the Shrimps are fighting a losing battle, and as we know in football, money makes a tremendous difference. Playing in a division that contains a host of big clubs in 2021/22,
the Lancashire club are massive underdogs. Morecambe are also effectively starting again with a brand-new team. Star man Carlos Mendes Gomes has signed for Luton and just eight of last season’s first team are still on the books. At the time of writing, 13 new faces have arrived (many of them good players) but that’s a lot of change to cope with. The Shrimps also have a new
Just like Wycombe in last season’s Championship, it feels
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