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For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the Premier League will begin with a club not called Manchester City atop the odds board in the United States.

Reigning champion Liverpool is the favorite to win the Premier League for the 2025-26 campaign, showing +175 odds at ESPN BET.

Arsenal, the runner-up for last season, is second-favorite at +225, with Man City rounding out the top three at +350.

It's the first time during Pep Guardiola's tenure, which began ahead of the 2016-17 season, that the club has not been the favorite to win the league going into the campaign.

It also marks the first time since 2011-12 that City was not one of the top two favorites, according to ESPN Research.

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The lack of faith extends from the sportsbooks to the bettors themselves: Man City has just 11.2% of the bets and 7.6% of the handle in the league winner market at ESPN BET, fifth-most for each.

BetMGM and ESPN BET both have the Red Devils as their handle leader for the market, with over 30% of the money share.

Liverpool is the favorite to win the Premier League among bettors in the United States. AP Photo/Jon Super

"Chelsea has been heavily bet this year because they won that Club World Cup last month...

So those two I'd say are probably our biggest hazards."

The Premier League is easily the most-bet soccer league at American sportsbooks, with BetMGM saying that 80% of its league winner wagers are for the Premier League compared to the other four big European leagues.

On a match-to-match basis, the Premier League attracts double the amount of tickets and money compared to the next closest league, LaLiga.

Still, these leagues attract a fair amount of handle, with Avello saying that "there's been growth every year" for soccer overall.

LaLiga is likely going to be a two-club race this season as usual, with Real Madrid the odds-on favorite at -120 and Barcelona right behind at +110, according to ESPN BET odds; the sportsbook reports a combined 97% of wagers backing either of the two clubs, with Barça attracting an astounding 93.2% of handle on its own.

Elsewhere, Napoli (+150) leads a tighter field in Serie A, which has five teams within +900, while Bayern Munich (-400) and Paris Saint-Germain (-800) are laughably huge favorites in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, respectively.


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