With the 2012/13 title all but decided, there are nonetheless plenty of betting opportunities still available and here we review some of them.
Relegation. Reading have already been written off by the bookmakers and QPR are heavily odds on for the drop also. The battle to avoid the third spot is keenly contested. Southampton are generally available at 11/10 while Aston Villa are available at 7/4. Villa are suffering a wretched run and despite a canny manager in Paul Lambert, their squad lacks both depth and experience. Recently they shipped 15 goals without reply in just 3 matches and look the weakest team in the division right now. Wigan can be backed at 2/1 but have experience of surviving relegation struggles. Meanwhile the two northeastern sides are each available at 7/1. Sunderland seem to be an unhappy ship while Newcastle have a depleted squad and they have acquired the awful habit of scoring 3 goals but still losing.
Top scorer.Van Persie is favourite at 6/5 but is injury prone. Meanwhile second favourite Luis Suarez can be backed at 5/2 though is vulnerable to suspensions.Swansea's Michu has been the revelation of the season and is currently available at 14/1. Given that Swansea are unlikely to have any cup distractions beyond January, and that Swansea don't have a squad that will be rotated too much, this looks exceptional value. Newly transferred Demba Ba is 9/1 but has the disadvantage of being second choice striker at Chelsea while cup distractions may also mean a high level of rotation at his new club.
Next manager to leave. You can get 10/1 that all 20 Premier League managers will survive the season. This is unlikely to occur so it is a question of which club will panic first. Paul Lambert is current favourite to go at 5/2 and given his team's desperate form this does not seem too surprising. Third favourite is Alan Pardew depsite having recently signed an 8 year contract. Perhaps a better option is a surprise like Roberto Mancini or Rafael Benitez, available at 12/1 and 16/1 respectively. Manchester City have a turbulent squad and the latest antics of Mario Balotelli will not have strengthened Mancini's position. Meanwhile Benitez has done little to improve Chelsea's fortunes and will never be popular with the Chelsea fans. The big factor pointing to either of these candidates is the spectre of Jose Mourinho who seems to be in his final season at Real Madrid. City and Chelsea would both be good fit destinations for him - certainly better than Manchester United or Arsenal where issues of footballing style would count against him.
To bet on these markets or any others available in the Premier League, click here premier league 2012 betting .