How Leicester’s Title Run Changed The Shape Of Betting Odds

Van P

9 years ago

We all know what Leicester did last year&period; According to the bookmakers, the fairytale Premier League triumph was the most unlikely occurrence ever, as they started the season at the unbelievable 5,000/1 &&num;8211&semi; yet defeated the odds with stunning performances and utmost determination&period; Here is how it happened chronologically&period;<&excl;--more-->&NewLine;March 18, 2015&NewLine;Chelsea 7/4, Man City 2/1, Man Utd 6/1, Arsenal 10/1, Tottenham 50/1, Leicester N/A&NewLine;When the 2015/16 Premier League book was presented towards the end of last season, the Blues were steady on their way to title glory&colon; six points ahead of Man City with a game in hand – and the market surely reflected it&period; Leicester, sat rock-bottom at this stage, seven points from the safety zone with ten games to play, seemingly at the brink of relegation&period; They were as certain as 1/20 for relegation and not even quoted in the title betting&period;&NewLine;August 8, 2015&NewLine;Chelsea 13/8, Man City 5/2, Arsenal 7/2, Man Utd 5/1, Tottenham 100/1, Leicester 5000/1&NewLine;During pre-season, Chelsea had shortened slightly with Man City lengthening, but it was Arsenal who had been the real movers ahead of the big kick-off – into third favorites, now at just 7/2&period; Spurs were available at 100/1, while Leicester were at the now legendary 5,000/1&period; Chelsea’s odds only went one way from here, although even the first-day draw at home to Swansea couldn’t dislodge them from being the favorites&period;&NewLine;September 12, 2015&NewLine;Man City 4/11, Arsenal 4/1, Man Utd 12/1, Chelsea 14/1, Tottenham 250/1, Leicester 5,000/1&NewLine;The win at Crystal Palace made it five consecutive wins for the Manuel Pellegrini’s men, without a single conceded, so everything looked in their favor and their odds dropped to a season-low of 2/7 that day an ended at 4/11 after the match&period; You could still bet on Leicester at 5,000/1 in spite of their eight points from the first four games&period;&NewLine;<img class="aligncenter wp-image-4209 size-full" src="https&colon;//medusamagazine&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/27859481336&lowbar;a76b1b7ae8&lowbar;z&period;jpg" alt="How Leicester’s Title Run Changed The Shape Of Betting Odds" width="640" height="427" />&NewLine;October 6, 2015&NewLine;Man City 8/11, Arsenal 5/2, Man Utd 13/2, Chelsea 22/1, Tottenham 100/1, Leicester 1,500/1&NewLine;Heading into the October break only three points behind leaders Man City, Leicester was fifth but was still at 5,000/1 – and it was the last time such an odd was available, remember the people behind https&colon;//sport&period;netbet&period;co&period;uk/&period; On that day, their price was dramatically reduced &&num;8211&semi; to 1,500/1&period;&NewLine;December 21, 2015&NewLine;Arsenal 10/11, Man City 15/8, Leicester 10/1, Man Utd 18/1, Tottenham 20/1, Chelsea 66/1&NewLine;The last Premier League game before Christmas supposedly played a major role in the battle for the title, and Arsenal’s 2-1 home win over Man City was just enough to usurp the losers from favoritism, for the first time in months&period; It is true to say that The Gunners went odds-on that night, but would get no shorter&period; It was a merry Christmas for the Londoners, but they were not top, as that honor belonged to Ranieri’s lads, who with a single defeat thus far, were two points ahead of the Arsene Wenger’s side&period;&NewLine;January 24, 2016&NewLine;Man City 11/10, Arsenal 13/8, Leicester 8/1, Tottenham 9/1, Man Utd 33/1, Chelsea 250/1&NewLine;February was around the corner and the Foxes weren’t giving up&period; In spite of going back to 33/1 at one point, Leicester was still the leader, so the bookies were starting to take them really seriously&period; After the Leicester’s thrashing of Stoke 3-0 and Chelsea’s 1-0 at Arsenal, Leicester’s odds came to 8/1 – single figures for the first time&period;&NewLine;<img class="aligncenter wp-image-4208 size-full" src="https&colon;//medusamagazine&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/26304259624&lowbar;5baf458783&lowbar;z&period;jpg" alt="How Leicester’s Title Run Changed The Shape Of Betting Odds" width="640" height="427" />&NewLine;February 14, 2016&NewLine;Arsenal 13/8, Tottenham 5/2, Leicester 11/4, Man City 7/1, Man Utd 100/1&NewLine;Another important day began with Foxes’s last-minute 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, as the 10 men Leicester failing to preserve a first-half lead and Welbeck clenching an injury-time winner&period; Rarely considered as potential champions before this day, Spurs won 2-1 at Man City a couple of hours later and suddenly went to 5/2 second favorites&period; Arsenal were back at the top, and Man City, less than two weeks after being even-money favorites, went to 7/1&period;&NewLine;March 1, 2016&NewLine;Tottenham 6/4, Arsenal 9/4, Leicester 3/1, Man City 5/1&NewLine;Leicester’s 2-2 home draw against West Brom, saw Tottenham become the Premier League favorites, for the first time in their long history&period; Winning at West Ham the next night would have made them leaders, but it didn’t happen, so Leicester were back as favorites for good&period;&NewLine;March 12, 2016&NewLine;Leicester 10/11, Tottenham 5/2, Arsenal 9/2, Man City 10/1&NewLine;City’s goalless draw at Norwich was more than enough for the Foxes to go for the title odds-on for the first time&period; They would hold this position until the very end of a truly astonishing campaign&period;&NewLine;&NewLine;