The 2022/23 UK and European football seasons are nearly upon us. Starting earlier than usual this year to accommodate the 2022 Qatar World Cup, most leagues are beginning in early August, rather than towards the end of the month.
So, what can we expect this season? Unfortunately for football fans in England and Germany, the top domestic leagues have become too predictable. Whilst keeping us interested elsewhere, in Spain and Italy, things are expected to be more competitive this season.
Starting in England, let’s take a look at the four of the top leagues in Europe this season.
City Looking for Fifth Title in Six Years
Manchester City have won four of the last five Premier League titles in England. A win for Liverpool in the 2019/20 season interrupted City’s dominance. And despite Liverpool running the Cityzens close on occasions, City always seem to have just had the edge over Klopp’s team.
This season City are odds on to make it three titles in a row, and five in six years. Bitcoin bookmakers, Cloudbet, make City their 1.59 favourites to win again this year. Yes, it may be about the only thing that seems different in the EPL this season, but it is possible to bet on the English Premier League with Bitcoin. It is even possible to bet using all forms of cryptocurrency at Cloudbet, as they are one of market leaders in this genre of the sports betting industry.
Bayern going for Eleven in a row in Germany
Will the loss of Robert Lewandowski prevent Bayern Munich winning an eleventh title in a row? Surely, that’s all that can stop them.
The German champions have signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool. But the Senegalese isn't what could be classed as a like-for-like replacement for Lewandowski.
There are rumours that Munich are interested in signing Harry Kane from Spurs. But that doesn’t sound like a goer given Kane’s age and Bayern’s record in the transfer market.
Even without Lewandowski, Bayern should be too strong for the rest of the Bundesliga. This is further highlighted by their odds of just 1.14. If you are going to bet with Bitcoin on soccer, it would be wiser to find a better value bet. Even though Bayern is still strong, taking them at 1.14 after they’ve just lost Lewandowski isn’t the same bet it would be with the Polish striker still in the team.
Can Barcelona Dethrone Madrid in Spain?
Bitcoin bookmaker’s Cloudbet has La Liga down as a two-horse race this season. Defending champions Madrid are 2.08, with big spending Barcelona at 2.23.
Last season was more like a race to the bottom. Neither side wanted to take the initiative in the early part of the season, and it probably took until the new year before Xavi settled in at the Nou Camp and the club got over the loss of Lionel Messi.
This year both sides have strengthened, although as of yet, it’s Barcelona who have made the better gains. The signing of Lewandowski could be a game changer for Barcelona. Alongside the likes of Ousmane Dembélé, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Ferren Torres, the Catalans really do now have a strike force to fear.
Xavi has also added Raphinha from Leeds, and the talk of signing Bernardo Silva from Manchester City hasn’t subsided. I expect Barcelona to push Real Madrid all the way this season and the La Liga betting could be very interesting to follow.
Three Horse Race in Italy
The two Milan clubs and Juventus are fighting it out to be favourites to win Serie A in the upcoming season. After nine successive championships for Juventus, the Scudetto went to Inter in 2020/21, and AC in 2021/22.
At the moment, Cloudbet make Inter the slight favourites at 2.59, with Juve close behind at 2.68. Defending champions, AC Milan are third in the betting at 4.57. All other sides after that are in double figures odds.
It’s slightly surprising to see AC Milan as the outsiders of the three. The main reasons for this is probably that Inter has got Romelu Lukaku back and Juventus has had a major overhaul of their squad, and included in that overhaul was the signing of Paul Pogba.
Both Lukaku and Pogba enjoyed their most fruitful spells of their respective careers at Inter and Juve, and the best cryptocurrency bookmakers are clearly factoring that into their odds for this season.