The 2024/25 Premier League season is underway.

After an exciting Euro 2024 campaign and pre-season, the world’s most watched football league has made its long-awaited return. As always, anticipation levels are high and fans of every club are eager to see how the season will unfold.

Will Arne Slot be a success at Liverpool? Who will qualify for the Champions League? And will the newly promoted teams of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton manage to survive the drop? There’s nothing quite like the EPL.

The biggest focus point of them all, though, is whether Manchester City are going to win the league. Currently, the Blues are chasing their fifth – yes, fifth — title on the bounce. If Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, and Co. are able to pull this off, it will solidify City as the most dominant team to ever play in the Premier League, despite controversy surrounding the club’s financial history and 115 FFP charges.

As things stand, Manchester City have not officially been found guilty of breaking any financial rules. However, a verdict is due in 2025 and it could potentially see City get hit with a significant points reduction, providing Arsenal or Liverpool an opportunity to win the league. But even with the possibility of this hanging in the air, it hasn’t stopped the bookies from listing City as the outright favourites to win the 2024/25 Premier League.

Premier League 2024/25: Manchester City 11/10 Favourites

Manchester City are 11/10 favorites to win the Premier League.

This comes following a great pre-season, the signing of Brazil winger Savinho, and the exciting return of İlkay Gündoğan, who is officially back with City after only 1 year at Barcelona.

Already, City are off to a flying start, having comfortably brushed aside Chelsea, Ipswich, and West Ham. The likes of Haaland and De Bruyne look excellent while Pep himself hasn’t missed a beat, despite now being in the final year of his City contract.

Even though there’s a strong possibility that City will receive a points deduction after the 115 FFP charges case hearing, the recommended bookies on bettingtools.com have decided to keep City as title favorites — and their odds would have been even stronger had it not been for the court case.

Arsenal Third Time Lucky?

The next favourites are Arsenal at 2/1. Outside of City, Arsenal are seen as the team most likely to take home the 2024/25 title, having featured in back-to-back title races under Mikel Arteta over the past two seasons. However, Arsenal have failed to sign an out-and-out striker and haven’t strengthened in other key areas, which could prove to be a fatal mistake.

The signings of Raheem Sterling, Mikel Merino, and Riccardo Calafiori are good, but will they be enough to land Arsenal that all-important title? Probably not. This is especially true now that Arsenal have had a slightly shaky start to the campaign and pressure has already started to grow on Mikel Arteta, who has now started his fifth full season in charge of the Gunners.

An Inspired Title Run Under Arne Slot for Liverpool?

Liverpool are the only other team with a fair shot at stopping Manchester City from winning their fifth title in a row. As things stand, Liverpool have been listed at 9/2 to win the Premier League, with most bookies going with the assumption that this will be a transition season for the Reds as they find their feet under new manager Slot.

Interestingly, Liverpool do look strong, having just dismantled Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford while sending a major message to the rest of the Premier League that there’s going to be no hangover from Jürgen Klopp. It’s certainly likely that Liverpool will be in and around the top 4 come the end of the season, but dethroning Manchester City will prove to be too much of an ask this early into Slot’s reign.

Will Manchester City Be Found Guilty?

The main hope for Arsenal and Liverpool fans is that Manchester City will be found guilty when an official verdict on their 115 FFP charges is made in early 2025.

If the Blues are found guilty, a range of punishments could be inflicted on them, ranging from a huge fine to a potential points deduction. If the points deduction is significant, it would mean that Manchester City automatically fall out of the title race, providing a gateway for Arsenal or Liverpool to sneak in and clinch the title. Not only would this shock the football world, but it would also bring an end to City’s iconic run, which has seen them dominate the Premier League for almost five straight seasons on the bounce.

At this moment in time, no-one knows for sure what the verdict will be. Many figures in the media believe there’s a strong chance that City will be punished, but the current betting odds from leading sportsbooks indicate that the club is likely going to escape punishment and not receive a points deduction. This will make it a fair race for the title — and Manchester City still look too strong for either Arsenal or Liverpool to catch.

Conclusion

The 2024/25 Premier League season is set to be an all-time classic. It will end with either Manchester City lifting their fifth title in a row or one of Arsenal or Liverpool pulling off a shock title victory, which could happen if a City points deduction becomes reality. As is always the case, there will be plenty of drama, VAR decisions, and huge fixtures along the way — so don’t miss a second of the action.