Premier League season kicking off..

With this Summer's World Cup not long over, we haven't had to survive long without top level football.  The Premier League season kicks off at White Hart Lane between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.  These two teams fought to the end to claim the final Champions League berth last season, but City fans will be setting their sights a little higher than fourth place this season.  With top names being linked to the Eastlands outfit on an almost daily basis, its sure to be an exciting 9 months for the sky blues.  Whether they can claim the title remains to be seen, but this fixture not only marks the return of Premier League action, it also offers one of the best pieces of value for the weekend.  Spurs have looked a little further forward than City in pre season friendlies and at 2.4 are overpriced to get off to a winning start.

Another team who have impressed recently are Everton.  Unlucky to have been hit badly by injuries in the first half of last season, the Toffees really got going after the turn of the year and could be underrated this season with so much hype surrounding many of the more fashionable teams in the table.  They certainly look to have been underrated for their opening fixture away to Blackburn, and while trips to Ewood Park are never going to be easy, Everton are a much better side than their opponents and any price from 2.50 and higher is worth taking about David Moyes's men.

Many punters like to have a few bets in the outright markets before the start of the season, but value looks hard to come by in the Premier League.  Chelsea are deserved favourites, but are too short to back in a year that could bring one of the most open title battles in years.  Manchester United are always there or thereabouts, but it's hard to see where their improvement is going to come from with so many of their key players in the twilight of their careers.  Manchester City are hard to weigh up, and their current price factors in the prospect of more signings, so until that happens and we see them gel as a team, I can't recommend putting your hard earned on them.  Arsenal had plenty of injury problems last year, but if they can keep Robin Van Persie fit they have the potential to lift the trophy. My advice would be to wait until the squad lists have been submitted and revisit the market then.

There is an outright bet I like in the Premier League though, Didier Drogba is a general 5.5 shot to collect back to back top goalscorer honours and that is a price that deserves to be backed.  Sure to be Chelsea's top man again and with no African Cup of Nations this year, Drogba will be banging them in for the blues.  His main rivals look to be Torres, Rooney, Van Persie and a host of Manchester City strikers.  The hitmen at City will have to share their goals around, so I expect the United, Liverpool and Arsenal forwards to provide the competition, and with injury never too far away for any of them, I expect Drogba to play more minutes this season than the others, and that could be crucial.