The latest Premier League 20/21 odds specials for Leeds after promotion
The latest Premier League 20/21 odds specials for Leeds after promotion

Leeds Premier League special bets: What can Marcelo Bielsa's side do next season? The latest relegation and top six finish odds


It's been a long time coming for Leeds, and while they should quite rightly be celebrating their Premier League return, Marcelo Bielsa and his staff will already have one eye on next season, but just what can they achieve?

Leeds are a huge club, with huge fan base and a fine tradition in the game, but those alone are not enough to guarantee you Premier League survival - and survival will be their first aim next season, make no mistake about it.

That will not stop a few fans from dreaming bigger though, and why shouldn't they given what Wolves and, more importantly, Sheffield United have achieved in recent seasons.

The Blades offer a fine blueprint for how a tight together squad with a clear game plan and willingness to run themselves into the ground for their manager can succeed even at the highest level. Aston Villa, by contrast, have shown us exactly what not to do with £100m and promotion to the Premier League.

Bielsa, though, is meticulous - he'll already know what he wants to do, how he wants to play and what players he'll need to stay in the Premier League, or even more, and the odds suggest that they'll have no problem as they're a heavy odds-on chance, at 1/5, to survive next season.

Predicting anything in the current climate is tough - as a jam-packed Elland Road would give Leeds a huge advantage for home games in the Premier League, but having no fans may not be as big a disadvantage to them as some.


Leeds United Premier League 20/21 specials odds

The latest Premier League 20/21 odds specials for Leeds after promotion
The latest Premier League 20/21 odds specials for Leeds after promotion
  • 5/6 - Finish above Sheff Utd
  • 10/3 - To be relegated
  • 7/2 - Top half finish
  • 14/1 - Top six finish
  • 8/1 - Bielsa to win a Manager of the Month award
  • 28-1 - To win a trophy
  • 25/1 - Bielsa v Lampard - Leeds to beat Chelsea home and away

Click here for the full market


Bielsa being Bielsa, and this Leeds side playing the way it does, means they'll be as fit and as sharp and as well-prepared as any team in the league. We've seen already that even a few percent of intensity dropped can create some surprise results - don't expect Leeds to drop below 100 percent.

Transfers could be all-important though, as there's little by the way of experience in this Leeds team, Bielsa is one of the top coaches around, but only he can do so much - they could do with a few older experienced heads in that dressing room for next season.

Essentially, if you're a Leeds fan, anything above just staying in the Premier League is a bonus. You can forget the top four or even top six - the clubs there, plus the likes of Arsenal and Spurs, will only get stronger next season.

That 7/2 on a top half finish could be worth a nibble, as you're taking them to finish above the likes of Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Burnley, West Ham and Southampton - even that would take some doing over 38 games but it's by no means impossible.

Bielsa winning a Manager of the Month gong at 16/1 looks the value shout at this ridiculously early stage for a number of reasons. Firstly, he's got the name, the CV, the PR behind him to mean that any decent run Leeds make will see him given a huge amount of credit. Those things matter in modern football.

In whatever new fixture list we end up having next season, also means the big guns could be playing Champions League football or other cup competitions and Leeds will be among the other sides playign more fixtures - beating a couple of relegation rivals and a mid-table team could easily see Bielsa reel four wins together in a month and walk away with a little trophy.


Leeds in the Premier League - talking points

Leeds have been promoted to the Premier League
Leeds have been promoted to the Premier League

Bielsa's future sealed

It is always impossible to predict with certainty what Bielsa will do next. He is known as El Loco for good reason. But Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is confident the Argentinian will stay for at least one campaign in the Premier League. The contract Bielsa signed when he arrived at the club in June 2018 gave Leeds the option of renewing his deal at the end of the following three seasons. A new extension will have to be thrashed out and the meticulous 64-year-old will seek plenty of assurances, especially given the possibility of new investment in the club.

On the lookout for investors

Radrizzani, who sold a 10 per cent stake in the club to the investment entity behind American football giants San Francisco 49ers in 2018, confirmed last October that of the many offers he has received from potential investors three were of particular interest and one of them was from Qatar Sports Investments, which controls Paris St Germain and is run by his friend Nasser Al-Khelaifi. The Italian stressed concrete talks would only take place with anyone when "we need support to build the club bigger than we could with our own resources". There has been no word from either party since, but now that Leeds are back in the big time speculation will mount, while the 49ers may now be keen to increase their investment.

Stadium improvement plans at Elland Road

They do. Chief executive Angus Kinnear revealed plans during the club's centenary celebrations last October to increase the capacity at Elland Road to 50,000 once they were back in the Premier League. Also, earlier this month planning was approved for a joint venture in partnership with Leeds City Council and the Football Foundation for their £8million 'Parklife' community sports hub on land next to the stadium. The project, which includes four 3G artificial pitches and a pavilion with cafe, meeting rooms, gym, GP surgery and pharmacy, is the first step towards relocating the club's Thorp Arch academy to another inner-city site close to Elland Road.

Transfer window needs

Do not expect Leeds to be big spenders this summer. They have already turned Helder Costa's loan into a permanent £16million deal and will do the same with Illan Meslier (£5m) and Jack Harrison (£8m). Leeds could yet be legally bound to pay the £19m RB Leipzig are expecting to turn Jean-Kevin Augustin's loan into a permanent move following promotion. The striker does not figure in Bielsa's plans, but that uncertainty could impact on the Yorkshire club's budget. Bielsa will want a centre-back given Ben White's expected departure back to parent club Brighton, a striker and a specialist left-back, but he will keep faith with most of his small squad and new arrivals are expected to be initially on loan.

Odds correct as of 2100 BST on 17/7/20

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