Aston Villa provide late top-half challenge
There's no shortage of football-related markets available for Betfair customers to bet on and one of the many Premier League ones is to punt on which teams will end this unprecedentedly close season in the top half of the table.
Seven of the ten from Manchester United down to Everton appear fairly secure, while Bolton are widely fancied to hold on to their spot at [1.18] despite their humiliating 5-0 FA Cup semi-final loss to Stoke at Wembley, which some believe could provoke a slump. If you do, they are a [1.21] lay.
The final two places are something of a lottery though because of how cramped things have been in the bottom half this season, with teams rapidly shifting from battling relegation to gaining a more secure mid-table position and vice versa.
The biggest movers are Aston Villa who, after delivering successive victories against Newcastle and West Ham, have climbed from 16th and two points off the drop to ninth and seven shy of the bottom three. As a result, Gerard Houllier's side are now [1.8] to stay in the top ten.
It would be the fourth campaign in a row that they have finished above the halfway mark if they sustain their recent form, and there's no reason to suspect that they won't with home games against Stoke and Wigan still to come.
While Stewart Downing deserves plenty of credit for their revival, Darren Bent will receive most of the praise after grabbing six goals in 11 appearances since joining from Sunderland, a record that has established him as the frontrunner to be the Premier League's top English goalscorer at [1.72].
If they do maintain their momentum, it would leave one berth up for grabs and Fulham, who are one point off the pace having played a match fewer than several rivals, are the best backed to claim that at [2.2].
Will Villa finish 2010-11 in the top ten? Have your say in the box below...
Published: 18 Apr 2011
jackson ogada (April 19, 2011 5:38 AM) said:
yeah sure villa should finish in the top 10,with Downing in such outstanding form