Manchester City remain favourites to retain the title at 91/100 in bwin’s Premier League outright winner odds after a solid, if unspectacular, victory at home to Burnley.
Sean Dyche’s side had lost 5-0 on their last four visits to the Etihad but made City work hard for their win after Bernardo Silva’s 12th-minute goal, with Kevin De Bruyne sealing the victory on 70 minutes.
Pep Guardiola was without first-choice goalkeeper Ederson and forward Gabriel Jesus due to their international commitments while Ferran Torres has suffered a broken metatarsal to limit the Spaniard’s attacking options.
“My players always play good because they give everything and they gave it in a difficult game after the international break,” Guardiola said.
“Burnley are organised and you have to adjust and adapt to the way they play. I am so satisfied for the game we played and the victory we got.”
City were responding to a resounding 5-0 lunchtime victory for unbeaten Liverpool at Watford.
It was a tough baptism for new Hornets boss Claudio Ranieri as Liverpool ran riot, with Roberto Firmino scoring a hat-trick, Mohamed Salah netting another superb individual effort and Sadio Mane registering his 100th Premier League goal.
Liverpool finished the weekend in second, a point ahead of City and one behind leaders Chelsea. The Reds are 7/2 to reclaim the Premier League crown.
Tuchel shows off strength in depth
Chelsea returned from the international break with a number of issues, especially in defence, with Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva ruled out of a testing trip to Brentford.
Boss Thomas Tuchel handed a Premier League debut to Malang Sarr alongside youngster Trevoh Chalobah and Andreas Christensen at the back while in midfield Ruben Loftus-Cheek continued his resurgence with another fine display.
It was not a line-up many would have expected to see from Tuchel at the start of the season but, while the Blues were indebted to a superb display from goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to secure a 1-0 win, it was a further show of Chelsea’s strength in depth.
The European champions and league leaders are 5/2 second favourites for the title but one concern for those thinking of backing Chelsea may be the form of key striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian has gone six games without a club goal but Tuchel is not worried.
“I am not concerned as I felt him a bit tired and then isolated because we were defending too deep as a block,” said Tuchel.
“I felt him a bit tired. Altogether we produced a very strong 60 to 75 minutes, including Romelu and Timo (Werner).”
Manchester United odds slump
Another chastening afternoon for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United has seen the Red Devils, who are sixth and five points behind Chelsea, drift out to 33/1 to win the title.
Their defence, with Raphael Varane injured and Harry Maguire rushed back from injury, was torn apart in a dramatic 4-2 defeat at Leicester and the pressure is building on Solskjaer ahead of a tough run of fixtures.
“To be honest, we’ve been having those kind of games for a long time and we haven’t found the problem,” midfielder Paul Pogba told broadcasters. “We need to find what’s the problem.
“We need to be more mature, I think. We need to play with more experience, arrogance in a good term, meaning we have to take the ball and play our football.”
Join bwin today and receive up to £20 money back as a FreeBet if your first wager (3+ selections at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater) is a loser! Terms and conditions apply.
