Forget the title race and seek betting value at bottom of Premier League

With the season starting to settle down, now is perhaps a good time to consider a long-term bet on the English Premier League.

Manchester City have blasted off the blocks with five straight wins, but they did the same last season and we all know how that eventually panned out.

The Citizens look a more determined outfit this time with Pep Guardiola, but they will also have serious Champions League ambitions and that potential distraction makes a current top price of 8/11 decidedly unattractive. There’s a case to be made for a handful of other title candidates, but it’s a market that’s just too difficult to call at this stage.

The value could be found at the other end of the table, where Hull City’s surprisingly strong start to the season confounded all expectations after a summer in which they lost manager Steve Bruce and failed to add to their paltry squad under the last days of the transfer window.

There was a late rush to bolster the ranks with six signings in the last couple of days of the transfer window, but the squad still looks short of depth and quality in places.

The 4/1 available with SkyBet for the Tigers to finish bottom of the Premier League looks a decent shout. There are other candidates, notably Burnley, but the odds on the Tigers have appeal given the ongoing chaos surrounding the club under the ownership of the unpopular Allam family.