It's been a painful decade for Manchester United supporters, having to sit and watch ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City, Liverpool, LEICESTER CITY and now Arsenal reign supreme in the Premier League.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils were the undoubted heavyweights of English football, capturing nine top-flight crowns during a trophy-laden spell between 1999 and 2013.
However, since then, top-flight silverware has been non-existent.
Seven different permanent managers have attempted, and ultimately failed, in their bid to reestablish United as the dominant force of English football.
Yes, there have been a couple of triumphs in each of the FA Cup and EFL Cup, as well as success in the Europa League, but for a club of United’s stature, simply put, it just hasn’t been good enough.
Under Michael Carrick however, there is a feeling that they are back on a firm upward trajectory, at long last.
In fact, so enthused by their turnaround under the 45-year-old, United are the best-backed team to win the Premier League this coming season despite their relatively long 7/1 pre-season price.
The former Old Trafford midfield linchpin has helped restore genuine hope amongst the club’s faithful that they are beginning to close the gap between themselves and the cluster of sides who have been regularly finishing above them.
Since appointing the former England man as interim boss in January, he has accrued more league points than any of the other 19 clubs in the top-tier, including the champions, Arsenal.
Carrick's haul of 39 points from 17 fixtures in 2025/26 averaged out at around 2.2 points per game, a tally that over the entirety of last term would have seen Manchester United pip the Gunners to the post, so maybe it’s little surprise to see just over 17% of customers backing them for the title this time around.
Chelsea, at 8/1, are being well-backed too, with 16.65% of single bets on the outright market landing on the Londoners.
Similarly to United, it’s been a difficult period for the Blues, with the most recent of their six Premier League crowns arriving nine years ago.
Revered Italian Antonio Conte was in charge then, but now the onus falls upon recently-appointed boss Xabi Alonso to help turn the tide following a near-decade of over-spending and under-delivering.
Ex-Liverpool man Alonso oversaw Bayer Leverkusen’s sensational 2023/24 campaign, which yielded success in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup and a run to the final of the Europa League.
He will hope to flex his muscle back in the Premier League, just as Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi will on the back of his hugely impressive spell in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion a couple of years ago.
The 47-year-old help navigate Spurs through rocky waters at the tail-end of last season to preserve their Premier League status, and now, following an eye-catching summer that has seen them spend heavily in the transfer market, they are being backed by almost 12% of punters in the outright league winner market.
Reigning title-holders Arsenal wasted little time in dishing out a firm reminder to the rest of the league as to who the current powerhouse of English football are in last weekend's Community Shield in Cardiff.
The Gunners needed just 24 seconds to reassert their domestic authority against Manchester City at the Principality Stadium, before added two further goals to their tally to comprehensively see off Enzo Maresca's side in what was the Italian's first game of any serious note in charge.
Whilst the result will, in truth, have very little baring on what lies in wait over the course of the next nine months, it has certainly helped to fuel an already rampant Arsenal fire, which sees them installed as the strong 5/4 favourites to retain their title.
Mikel Arteta masterminded the club's first league championship triumph in over 20 years last time around, and having strengthened his hand in the transfer market this summer, it comes as something of a surprise that just one in 10 singles bets placed on the outright market are in their favour.
"It was hard not to be impressed by Arsenal’s demolition of Manchester City, and they are proving hugely popular with bet365 customers placing outright multiple wagers," bet365's Steve Freeth said.
"However, those looking for a bigger price have been backing Manchester United and Chelsea, with the pair accounting for 17.1% and 16.7% of the singles business, respectively."
There's a somewhat surprise name in the upper echelons of the list of best-backed teams to win the league too... in the shape of Frank Lampard's Coventry City.
The Sky Blues are dining back at the top table of English football for the first time since 2001 and whilst it seems far more likely that they will be embroiled in a battle for survival, it appears that a section of their supporters are daring to dream of the extremely unlikely, the Premier League title.
At 2000/1, Coventry are the epitome of outsiders, but as 5000/1 Leicester City proved a decade ago, us bookmakers are sometimes left with egg on our faces.
Best-backed teams to win the Premier League title
- Manchester United - 17.01%
- Chelsea - 16.65%
- Tottenham Hotspur - 11.98%
- Arsenal - 10.34%
- Liverpool - 7.88%
- Coventry City - 6.37%
As a percentage of singles bets placed on the Premier League Outright Winner market in the UK.
Odds displayed correct at time of publishing and subject to change or withdrawal at any time.
