Chelsea Premier League title odds now a big price after Hull draw

The bookies pushed Chelsea’s Premier League title odds out again after the Blues could only manage a draw at home to Hull.

After back-to-back wins to start the season, Chelsea went from around 8/1 to 5/1 to win their first title in ten years. Defeat at Arsenal and a failure to win at home to newcomers Hull mean the club is now available at 18/1.

Arsenal and Man City both managed victories under difficult circumstances, cementing their places at the top of the betting. The Gunners are now 8/11 favourites with City at just over 2/1.

With no European football, any hope of silverware is purely on the domestic front. The same three heavyweights lead the betting for the League Cup. However, Chelsea are the second favourites there after booking their place in the fourth round.

Chavarria calls for better defending

If the Blues are to stand any chance of challenging for the title, they will have to sort out a leaky defence that has conceded nine times in four league matches.

“Our team is very competitive and we always have a lot of energy to score goals, but we need to defend better, I think that is the key,” said Pep Chavarria after the match.

Only Coventry, Crystal Palace, and Ipswich have conceded more than Chelsea this season. They have now gone 20 matches without a clean sheet.

Pedro second favourite to be top scorer

At the other end, only Brighton has scored more than Chelsea. The Blues now have ten goals in four matches, while they also hit Leeds for six in the League Cup.

Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers scored their third goals of the season and were briefly the league’s joint top scorers before Erling Haaland netted a controversial goal against Man United.

The bookies give Pedro the better chance of usurping the Norwegian at the top of the scoring charts, making the Brazilian 8/1 second favourite. Rogers remains 80/1 despite having the same number of goals so far.

Palmer’s odds shorten to have most assists

Pedro also notched his third assist of the season, a joint league high. He is 33/1 to end the season with the most assists. Cole Palmer laid on Pedro’s goal at the weekend, his second assist in the league after only managing one all of last season.

Palmer is shorter odds to finish the season with the most assists at a price of 12/1. Rogers has one to his name so far and is also 33/1.

With the trio working well together, they could all finish in double figures for both goals and assists. While the defence will need to be tighter, the firepower going forward gives cause for encouragement.

The odds of taking the title may have lengthened, but Chelsea remain odds-on to finish in the top four at a price of 8/13. Their hopes were boosted at the weekend as both Liverpool and Man Utd dropped points.