Popular '#WhatOddsPaddy' Markets for the 2021/22 PL Season

The 100 goals mark has only been broken five times by a team in Premier League history, of which is has been done by Manchester City three times.

The first time City managed 100 goals in a Premier League season was in 2013/14 with 102 goals under Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola, whose side managed 102 in 2019/20 and 106 in 2017/18 when his they went on to become ‘the centurions’ thanks to Gabriel Jesus’ late winner on the last day of the season against Southampton as they finished on 100 points, the highest in English top-flight history.

City could only manage 83 last season, although, they did have a slow start due to the Champions League finishing a matter of weeks before the start of the 2021/21 campaign, that effectively saw them find their form on matchday nine, as they started a run that saw them pick up 62 points from the next 69 available to them following just three wins from their opening eight matches.

With the added quality of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for a British record transfer fee of £100m and City being rumoured to be in for the likes of Harry Kane, there is every chance that City could repeat this feat for a fourth time.

Last season all of City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United finished in the top four and they all look likely to repeat this feat once again having all made good additions to their squads.

City have added Grealish to their side and are rumoured to be looking for another striker, whilst Chelsea are set to re-sign Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, Liverpool’s centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have all recovered from long-term injuries, whilst bolstering this area with Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig and United have arguably had the most progressive transfer window of all with the acquisitions of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane from Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Norwich City are one of the favourites to be relegated from the Premier League this time out, mainly due to the perceived lack of quality which they have in their side as a newly promoted club, having lost a key player in Emiliano Buendia this summer, whilst Watford have spent a total of seven seasons in the Premier League and have been relegated three times.

The Hornets are not a particularly stable club when it comes to managers, having had six in the last two seasons due to going through four different ones when they were relegated in 2019/20, having had Javi Gracia, Quique Sánchez Flores, Nigel Pearson and Hayden Mullins in charge in what was a disastrous season.

Last season, Patrick Bamford was one of the surprise packages in the Premier League in what was Leeds’ first season in the top-flight since the 2003/04 campaign. The former Chelsea striker managed 17 goals in 38 appearances, seeing him as the fourth top scorer in the league, only sitting behind Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes.

The 27-year-old had a total of 90 shots in the league last season, with a 53% accuracy, meaning that he had 48 shots on target last season as Marcelo Bielsa’s side managed the sixth-best goal tally in the Premier League with 62.

Bruno Fernandes has been nothing short of sensational since signing for United from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020. The 26-year-old managed 18 goals and 12 assists in the Premier League last season and has been a catalyst for the Red Devils quick rise up the league table and back in contention for the title. Last season, United finished in second place, one place better off than in the previous campaign, and with the additions of Sancho and Varane, it would be a shock to not see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in the top four at the end of the season.

As mentioned above, Leeds and Bamford were the surprise packages in the Premier League last campaign, seeing Bielsa’s men finish in ninth place, just three points behind Tottenham and two points worse off than Arsenal, having finished on 59 points. A season of Premier League experience will likely be beneficial for the Elland Road club’s playing staff, and the Whites will be desperate to add on their summer business, having already signed Junior Firpo from Barcelona.

Aston Villa will be looking to build on their 11th place finish last time out, as Dean Smith’s side will be hoping to make a push for the final European qualification place. The Villains recently sold Jack Grealish for £100m to City, but have re-invested this money via the signatures of Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings, meaning that they will have a lot more goals across the board, as combined these players managed 66 league goal contributions last season, meaning that their squad will be more well-rounded.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney will be desperate to impress in what will be the 25-year-old’s first Premier League campaign. The former Peterborough United man fired in 31 goals and managed 10 assists in 45 Championship appearances for the Bees and will be vital to Thomas Frank’s sides chances of survival.

As mentioned above, Norwich’s aim for the season will solely be to survive, having been relegated in 2019/20 with just 21 points from 38 games. Daniel Farke’s side will have it all to do, as Buendia was involved in 32 of the Canaries 75 goals in the Championship last season as they achieved 97 points on their way to winning the league.

Last season there were just 13 free kicks scored in the Premier League, with James Ward-Prowse scoring for of them, the tally of 13 was significantly lower than in previous seasons.

The 2019/20 season saw 26 direct free-kicks scored, whilst 27 were scored in the 2016/17 season, with Philippe Coutinho who played for Liverpool at the time, heading the chart with three goals. To this day, David Beckham holds the record of the most free kicks scored in a season with five back in 2000/2001, meaning that there will likely have to be an array of players chipping in with goals to beat the 30 mark.

Tottenham’s Lucas Moura had his best Premier League season in 2018/19 under current PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino, scoring 10 goals in 32 matches, whilst Diogo Jota of Liverpool managed nine goals in just 19 appearances last season following a lengthy lay off due to a knee injury, indicating that 10 or more goals is a more than do-able tally for the Portuguese forward.

Sancho will be determined to replicate his form at Borussia Dortmund following his £73m transfer to United this summer, last campaign the England international managed 20 goal involvements in 26 outings in the Bundesliga, compared to the 17 goals and 17 assists he did in 2019/20 whilst playing on both wings for the Black and Yellows.

Ward-Prowse is a reliable free-kick and set-piece taker for Southampton and managed seven assists in 38 matches last season in what was a career-best for the 26-year-old England midfielder. Meanwhile, Grealish managed six goals and 12 assists in just 26 league matches for Villa last campaign which was also his best career season to date and, in a team, full of high quality and world-class players at City, you’d back the Three Lions star to continue to flourish.