Major League Baseball 2023: Houston favourites for more World Series glory

• Houston favourites on opening day of season

• Check out range of outright markets on Betfair

• Yankees 8/1 to win first title for 14 years

Defending champions the Houston Astros are the favourites for World Series glory again in 2023 as the Major League Baseball season gets underway in the US.

The reigning champions, who defeated Philadelphia to claim the World Series in October, get their campaign underway at home to the Chicago White Sox tonight in the American League.

It's a game the Astros will expect to win and they are odds-on on the Betfair Exchange for an opening day victory.

Yankees 8/1 to end World Series wait

The Astros are 11/4 favourites to win the American League where their nearest rivals in the market are the New York Yankees 7/2.

There is always fascination about the Yankees - the most famous team in the sport - but you have to go back to 2009 for the last time they won the World Series. In fact, that was the last time they reached one.

Star man Aaron Judge hit an American League record 62 home runs last season and they will need another big-hitting season from him if they are to end the drought.

In the meantime, Judge is 17/2 to hit the first home run of the season by an MLB player when the Yankees host the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.

Fancy a New York double? The Mets have a decent roster this year - like the Yankees they are 8/1 to win the whole thing - and you can get 7/2 on either the Yankees or the Mets winning the World Series.

Braves v Dodgers in National League

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers are 7/2 joint favourites with Atlanta Braves to finish the season top.

The Dodgers saw an exodus of veteran players in the off-season but retain a strong line-up with the likes of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

Fellow California franchise San Diego Padres, meanwhile, also look primed for an impressive campaign and are 9/2 to win the National League.

The Phillies, who triumphed in the National League last season, are 7/1.

They were superb in the play-offs en route to the World Series and will aim to carry that momentum into 2023.

Another epic MLB season awaits, with a long way for all teams to travel between now and October. It will be fascinating to see if the markets have got it right and the teams at the top are the ones in contention in 2023.