Tom Winch’s Top Five Outright Best Bets 2023/24: Hopefully More W’s than Liverpool, Leicester and Langstaff

The season openers are just around the corner, which means there’s some value to be had in the outright selections. There’s plenty of variety in the preview below as we’ve taken a bet in each of the big four leagues in England and then a trip to Spain to finish.

Of course, there are always plenty of different opinions and disagreements ahead of the new campaign, but only time will tell who comes out on top. Let’s get into it.

In this article:

• Premier League Team To Score The Most Goals Outright
• The Midlands Regional Winners Outright
• League One Top Six Finish Outright
• League Two Top Goalscorers Outright
• La Liga Without Barcelona & Real Madrid Outright

Premier League Team To Score The Most Goals Outright: Just attack, leave the defending for later

England, Premier League, Premier League Team To Score The Most Goals

Liverpool’s 2022/23 Premier League season was poor and, to put it bluntly, an embarrassment at times. Jurgen Klopp’s side recorded their lowest points tally since 2015/16, a stark contrast from the year before when they almost completed football.

The abundance of attacking quality the Reds possess is almost frightening; it certainly is up there and potentially even more substantial than the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.

Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Mo Salah all have goals in them. No player is guaranteed a start in Jurgen Klopp’s side, so making an impact will be vital. The additions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield are great pieces of business. The pair will also be expected to chip into the goal tally.

Liverpool scored 75 goals last season, 19 and 13 less than Man City and Arsenal, respectively. The difference was large, but I can only see huge improvements from the club in attacking output.

Across the final ten games in the 22/23 Premier League season, Liverpool bagged 27 goals, more than any other side. The quality is evident, and if Klopp gets his side playing at their best, they can outscore any side on their day.

The 6.00 punt on Liverpool to score the most Premier League goals is an interesting one and maybe a brave move, given Erling Haaland is about. We’ll see a hugely motivated Liverpool this campaign, as they’ll want to put things right after last season’s disappointments.

One more thing, if you’re after a bit more meat on the bones in terms of Premier League coverage, check out: bettingexpert’s Premier League ante-post 23/24 preview.

• Selection: Liverpool – Premier League Team To Score The Most Goals Outright
• Odds: 6.00
• Bookmaker: Skybet
• Stakes: 4/10 (TRACKED)

The Midlands Regional Winners Outright – There’s quality here and it should prevail

England, The Championship, The Midlands Regional Winners Outright

Leicester’s relegation was one of the many shocks across the 22/23 Premier League campaign, they looked hopeless at times, but they should thrive in the Championship with the squad they possess. Leicester are the favourite for the title, as short at 4.00 in places, but I’ve taken a slightly different angle to get the Foxes on side.

There are five clubs in the Championship representing the Midlands, those being Leicester (1.90), West Brom (5.00), Stoke (6.00), Coventry (7.50) and Birmingham (11.00).

Enzo Maresca’s side most recently played Liverpool in a pre-season friendly, they were well beaten, but their starting lineup consisted of Ricardo Pereira, Timothy Castagne, Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks, Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Albrighton and Patson Daka. An impressive amount of talent for a Championship side, and that’s even without Vardy, Iheanacho, Soumare, Souttar, Faes, and Coady.

It’s clear why Leicester are outright favourites for the title; they arguably have the best squad in the division. The Baggies may be their closest challengers in the standings, a side who earned just 66 points last campaign. With Viktor Gyokeres departing Coventry, it’ll be a tough ask for Mark Robins’ side to come close to their 5th-place finish in 23/24.

Leicester will be up challenging near the top next campaign, I’m sure of it, they may not lift the trophy, but it’s tough to see any other Midlands side finish higher. The price isn’t huge, yet it represents a decent value.

• Selection: Leicester City – The Midlands Regional Winners Outright
• Odds: 1.90
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 10/10 (TRACKED)

League One Top Six Finish Outright: This year is their year

England, League One, League One Top Six Finish Outright

The EFL is never straightforward at the best of times, and backing any outright selections can be an impossible task, with sides often making you look a bit daft as the season progresses. Regardless, I’m backing John Mousinho’s Pompey to be right up there in League One come May as they look to improve ever so slightly on their previous campaign.

Keeping the bulk of the squad was always crucial for the Hampshire club; they’ve done so with the likes of Marlon Pack, Joe Morrell, Joe Rafferty, Connor Ogilvie and most importantly, Colby Bishop all staying put at Fratton Park.

Bishop bagged 20 goals last term with just Conor Chaplin, Jonson Clarke-Harris and David McGoldrick ending with more; the latter two will be playing their trade elsewhere come the 23/24 campaign.

Portsmouth relied on Bishop more often than not for goals last season; Marlon Pack and Connor Ogilvie both netted five, Pompey’s next best—something they may need to improve if a promotion push is on their wishlist.

They’ve recruited some smart additions in the forward line; Abu Kamara has joined on loan from Norwich, Christian Saydee has made the short trip on a permanent from Bournemouth, whilst Kusini Yengi promises to be an exciting talent from Western Sydney Wanderers.

The squad has a strong core with a mix of young talent and experience, a vital factor in a side looking to compete at the higher end of the table. Pompey has strengthened over the summer, and I expect them to have an impressive season; a ‘Top 6’ finish is well in reach.

• Selection: Portsmouth – League One Top Six Finish Outright
• Odds: 2.25
• Bookmaker: Unibet
• Stakes: 8/10 (TRACKED)

League Two Top Goalscorer Outright: He’s going back to back to back

England, League Two, League Two Top Scorer Outright

Notts County are third-favourites to win League Two after their promotion from the National League last season. They racked up a massive 107 points but had to win the play-offs to earn their spot in the football league. They didn’t make things easy for themselves in either match, being 2-0 down in the semi-final, with penalties being the difference at Wembley.

Macaulay Langstaff has proven to be a fantastic piece of business, the forward bagged 42 goals last campaign despite none coming from the penalty spot and was crowned top scorer. I’m backing the 26-year-old once again this year, although he’s priced up as the favourite.

There’s plenty of attacking talent in League Two. David McGoldrick found the back of the net 22 times in the division above last year, his best-ever return. He’ll for sure be expected to hit a decent tally for Luke William’s side, but at 35, he may not play as many minutes.

When backing a striker to score goals, you need a strong team around him, and Notts County have that in abundance. Sam Austin, Adam Chicksen, Aaron Nemane and Matty Palmer are just a few of the names who made an impact last campaign. John Bostock has plenty of experience at this level and above. His passing range will be hugely important this term.

I expect Langstaff to have no trouble finding the back of the net once again, he’s a real threat to any side in this division, and the 3-4-2-1 formation suits the forward perfectly. Paul Mullin, Andy Cook, Mohamed Eisa and Will Swan are some of his nearest competitors, but I believe Langstaff will come out on top.

• Selection: Macaulay Langstaff – League Two Top Goalscorers Outright
• Odds: 7.00
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 4/10 (TRACKED)

La Liga Without Barcelona and Real Madrid Outright: The third best in Spain can be trusted once again

Spain, La Liga, La Liga Without Barcelona & Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid is, of course, Spain’s third-best team behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. The trio have all finished in the top three for 11 consecutive years. Barca have won the title on six occasions, Real Madrid three, whilst Diego Simeone’s Atletico side were crowned champions twice.

There were suggestions of Diego Simeone leaving Atletico over the summer, but it seems all the noise has been put to bed. The Argentinian has been as passionate as ever over pre-season. Love him or hate him; he’s massive for the Spanish club.

The 2011/2012 season was the last time that this selection failed to win in La Liga. It lacks originality and isn’t a monstrous price at all, but you should never count AM out whatsoever.
Only their huge city rivals, Real Madrid, scored more goals than them last campaign, something you don’t tend to associate Simeone’s side with. They conceded the second-lowest amount of goals, with eventual winners, Barcelona, taking that crown.

There’s been no real standout departures from the Atleti camp, something that’s always a huge positive. Cesar Azpilicueta and Caglar Soyuncu have moved from Chelsea and Leicester, respectively, whilst Javi Galan has come over from Celta Vigo.

Antoine Griezmann was the standout performer last season; the Frenchman bagged 15 times and recorded 16 assists in 38 appearances. Keeping his signature is massive, and he’ll be expected to play a huge part in the upcoming campaign.

Memphis Depay looked a decent player in his short cameo before his injury; he scored a sublime goal in his first game back in a friendly against Man City.

Jan Oblak, Jose Gimenez, Mario Hermoso, Nahuel Molina, Koke, Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente Saul Niguez, Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Carrasco, Angel Correa and Alvaro Morata are all still with the club. There’s certainly huge amounts of quality, and they should be expecting to challenge the big boys at the top.

The consistency of Atleti makes me want to get them onside; they finished six points ahead of 4th placed Sociedad last campaign, who’ll most likely be their nearest challengers, with Sevilla expected to perform exceptionally better this time round.

• Selection: Atletico Madrid – La Liga Without Barcelona & Real Madrid Outright
• Odds: 1.83
• Bookmaker: Skybet
• Stakes: 8/10 (TRACKED)

Odds via various as at 07:11, July 31st, 2023. Odds may now differ.

What are Football Best Bets?

Our best bets are posted by some of the best tipsters around. These are our tipsters best value bets. A best bet can be placed on any number of different markets. The most common of which are 1X2, the Asian handicap, BTTS, and the goals markets. Value can be found in matches from leagues across the world. Be sure to follow bettingexpert for the latest best bets.

RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a responsible approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Responsible Gambling hub.