The international break might be the sort of week United fans would love to do without, but the England games offer the opportunity to deliver a first, early doors, verdict on this Premier League season.
Those who predicted a two-horse race between Manchester City and Chelsea have so far been left disappointed, but with less than a third of the season gone, there’s still plenty of time to place your bet on who will lift the Premier League trophy this season and if you fancy a bit of a cheeky punt, why not head to freebets.org to take advantage of all the best free bets on offer courtesy of Britain’s biggest bookmakers?
Seven games into the season, the Premier League looks set to be on the most open and exciting of the last decade, with only six points separating top of the table Arsenal from 11th-placed Newcastle, while United are sitting in ninth position, a largely unfamiliar position considering their record in recent seasons.
Having started the season in thrilling fashion with an inspired 4-1 win at Swansea, United drew with Chelsea before stumbling to defeats at Liverpool at Manchester City and at home against West Bromwich but, despite their poor form so far this season, last Sunday’s come-from-behind win at Sunderland put United only six points behind Arsenal.
Six points are probably a bigger gap than United fans would have been happy with at this stage of the season but with another 31 games to go, there’s plenty of time for David Moyes’ men to make up ground over the next three games, in which United host Southampton and Stoke, before facing Fulham away a week before welcoming Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Having opened their campaign with a home defeat against Aston Villa, Arsene Wenger’s men have since embarked on an impressive run, winning five consecutive games before drawing away at West Brom a week ago, a result which was good enough to keep them top of the table alongside Liverpool.
Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool have left a turbulent summer and the rumours surrounding Luis Suarez behind them and have made the most of a relatively easy set of fixtures in the first two months of the season, which has seen them beat Manchester United at home – where they’ve also lost against Southampton – as the red half of Merseyside enjoyed their best start to a Premier League campaign since the 2008-09 season.
Liverpool, however, have not been the only surprise package so far this season, an award that must go to Mauricio Pochettino’s Southampton, a side who three years ago played in League One and that now sits in the last Champions League spot, boasting the league’s best defensive record.
The Saints have as many points as Chelsea who, despite Jose Mourinho’s return, are still to runaway with the league as many had predicted but are a point clear of fellow big-spenders Manchester City.
City’s season looked to have finally kicked on as they thrashed Manchester United 4-1, but a week later Pellegrini’s men fell to their second league defeat this season, losing 3-2 at Villa Park and leaving many wondering whether their back four – which will have to do without Vincent Kompany for the next four weeks – will be solid enough to mount a sustained title challenge.
City, however, remain the bookies’ favourite at 3/1 to be crowned champions in May, with Chelsea fluctuating between 3/1 and 4/1, while Arsenal have dropped to around 5-6/1 after their impressive start of the season, their odds slightly shorter of United’s at 7.5/1.
Who knows, perhaps David Moyes will turn United’s fortunes around and those who have placed a free bet on United on freebets.org will be laughing more than others come May.
