There is little dispute that football/soccer is the number one sport worldwide. And when it comes to the top domestic football league on the planet, the English Premier League ranks right up there with the best of them in terms of quality of play, depth of player talent, and competitive entertainment.
Every week throughout the Premier League season, we bring you match previews with an attractive angle or betting line. Most of the Online Sportsbooks we feature here on SportsBettingReviews.com cover all of the action throughout the Premier League Season.
Check back often for updated soccer betting news, tips, updates and Premier League Odds.
Premier League Odds and Betting Previews
Watford vs Manchester City Odds September 16th, 2017 – Soccer Betting Preview
bet365 currently lists Man City as favorites to win the game at 1/3 with Watford 7/1 and a draw at 17/4. 100% SIGNUP BONUS at the #1 Place to Bet Online!Stoke City vs Manchester United Odds September 9th, 2017 – English Premier League Betting Preview
bet365 currently lists Man United as favorites to win the game at 9/20 with Stoke City 13/2 and a draw at 16/5. SIGNUP BONUS at the #1 Place to Bet Online!
Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur Odds September 9th, 2017 – English Premier League Betting Preview
bet365 currently lists Tottenham as favorites to win the game at 21/20 with Everton 13/5 and a draw at 23/10. SIGNUP BONUS at the #1 Place to Bet Online!Leicester City vs Chelsea Odds September 9th, 2017 – English Premier League Betting Preview
Leicester City vs Chelsea Odds - bet365 currently lists Chelsea as favorites to win the game at 3/4 with Leicester 18/5 and a draw at 13/5. SIGNUP BONUS!Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley Odds for August 27th, 2017 – English Premier League Betting Preview
Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley Odds - bet365 currently lists Tottenham as favorites to win the game at 2/9 with Burnley 12/1 and a draw at 19/4. SIGNUP BONUS!
Bournemouth vs Manchester City Odds – English Premier League Preview August 26th, 2017
Bournemouth vs Manchester City Odds - bet365 currently lists Man City as favorites to win at 7/20 with Bournemouth 15/2 and a draw at 7/2. SIGNUP BONUS!Watford vs Manchester City May 21st, 2017 – English Premier League Betting Preview
Manchester City plays their English Premier League finale at Watford this Sunday and could still finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th place in the standings.Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur May 18th, 2017 – English Premier League Betting Preview
Tottenham Hotspur has clinched second place in the English Premier League this season but still, want to go out on a winning note with two games to go.
English Premier League – A Brief History
Founded in 1888, the English Football League had 12 original teams. The League expanded over the years to a four-division professional system which featured a combined 92 teams. Division One was considered the top group or division and Division Four was considered the bottom group. The format created one primary goal – all 92 teams would compete to reach Division One and win the Championship. Of course, this takes time, and teams compete each season to climb the ranks through each division. All professional and amateur teams across the country could try to achieve this due to the hierarchical “promotion and relegation” system.
There are Four Divisions:
The four-division professional system is still in place and consists of the following “divisions”:
- Premier League sits at the top
- the League Championship
- League One
- League Two
This format was introduced in the 2004/05 season with the debut of the Championship League. Between the 1992/93 and 2004/05 seasons, the Premier League was followed in the four-tier system by the First Division, Second Division and Third Division. The First Division was eventually renamed “League Championship”, First Division became “League One” etc.
The Premier League began with 22 teams in the 1992/93 season and was reduced to 20 teams in the 1995/96 season. The other three pro divisions consist of 24 teams in each for a total of 92 teams.
How Do Teams Win the English Premier League Championship?
Premier League teams play the other 19 clubs twice each season, once at home and once away. This 38-game season is played between August and May and at the end of the season, the team with the most points is crowned champion. Points are earned on every match with three points awarded for an outright winner and 1 point awarded to each team for a draw.
Since its inception, 47 different football clubs have competed in the league and only six teams can call themselves past champions.
- Manchester United has 13 Premier League championships
- Chelsea has four
- Arsenal has three
- Manchester City has two
- Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City have one
Promotion and Relegation Rules:
At the end of each Premier League season, the three last-place teams are demoted or ” relegated” to the 2nd-tier Championship League. The League needs to fill those spaces and accomplishes this by promoting three teams from the League Championship. The top two teams at the end of the Championship League season are promoted to the Premier League automatically. The third team earns promotion through a playoff competition where the teams that finish in 3rd through 6th place meet in a home-and-away playoff format. The 3rd-place team plays the 6th-place team and the 4th-place team plays the 5th-place team.
The two winners of this round then face off in a huge one-game, winner-take-all “promotion” battle at Wembley Stadium (widely considered to be the richest soccer game in the world as the winner stands to earn an extra 60 million pounds as a new Premier League member team the following season). TV contracts are huge for every Premier League team!
The League One and League Two divisions also use a promotion and relegation system to keep their divisions at 24 teams. Two teams are relegated from the 4th-tier League Two and these are replaced by teams from the 5th-tier National League. This is the top level of the nation’s National League System which is made up of professional and semi-professional clubs.
To keep clubs financially viable, teams relegated from the Premier League are given financial assistance from the top tier through the what is known as the “parachute payment system”. These generous payments are made over the next two or three years after being relegated depending on how long the team participated in the Premier League.
English Premier League Popularity
The Premier League is generally regarded as the world’s most watched sports league. Games are broadcast to fans in over 200 countries and it is estimated that the potential television audience is close to five billion people.