Revealed: Who Are The Premier League’s Most Profitable Team?
Winners
Beating Manchester City did you plenty of favours in this competition, and so it’s no surprise that Crystal Palace, the only team to win at the Etihad, were the Premier League’s most profitable team.
Roy Hodgson’s side were 18/1 to beat the champions when that Andros Townsend volley helped them secure the victory that secured their place at the top of this league table.
The Eagles – 5/1 to be relegated next season in the latest football betting – sprung surprises elsewhere, too.
They beat Wolves away at 3/1 in January, before sealing their status as alternative champions by winning 3-2 at the Emirates at 5/1 in April.
Ebbs and flows
Watford flew out of the traps early on in the season, winning all of their first four matches to post a profit of close to £100, four times more than any other team.
Despite strong challenges from Bournemouth, Tottenham and Brighton, the Hornets sustained their lead through the Autumn months, until a fateful week at the end of December.
Palace won at City on 22 December to briefly move top, but a combination of Leicester’s victories over Chelsea on the same day and City four days later ensured that they were the Boxing Day leaders.
Newcastle’s victory over Pep Guardiola’s side in January saw them settle into the top five with Watford and giant-killers Wolves, but Palace and Leicester continued to dominate.
The two traded blows until the end of the season, but the Eagles’ shock 3-2 win at Arsenal in April ultimately proved decisive.
The top six
Interestingly, had you placed £10 on all the top six to win each week, none of them would have made you more than £30 profit.
In the case of Manchester City and Liverpool, that is largely down to their skinny price to win most matches, with the two available at evens or higher just eight times combined.
As for the other four, the fluctuating race for the Champions League spots, in which no team ever looked dominant, undermined any progress towards serious profit.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United turned over a loss, while the fact that Tottenham drew one game all season meant they were a team of extremes.
Mauricio Pochettino’s were marginally profitable if you backed them to win every match, but no team would have won you more money had you always backed them to lose.
The Christmas period
Four of the six biggest shocks of the season came within seven days of each other, which seems too many to be simply a coincidence.
Palace won at Man City (18/1) and Leicester won at Chelsea (9/1) on 22 December, the Foxes beat City (8/1) on 26 December before Wolves turned over Spurs at Wembley (7/1) on 29 December.
Given that the only other upset in the top five – City’s defeat at Newcastle (14/1) – fell just a few weeks later on 29 January, we can assume that the Christmas fixture congestion is a contributory factor towards a shock result.
That could be something worth considering next season.
This data and article was provided by Betway.
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