Premier League: Top four race is open while West Ham and Newcastle can be optimistic

Reasons to be cheerful for Pardew

It was a goal-packed weekend in the Premier League with incidents aplenty but what can punters learn from it all? Dan Thomas looks at the betting pointers in our regular Monday column...

1) The race for top four is wide open

While it looks like Chelsea and Man City are locked in for the top two slots - trading at 1.071/14 and 1.422/5 respectively - the race for the top four is very much open to question, with none of the main contenders looking too good at the moment. Despite their wobbly start, Manchester United are as short as 1.625/8 to make it, with Arsenal at 1.738/11 but neither side are looking capable of going on a long winning run right now. Liverpool can be backed at 2.1411/10 but they were desperately lucky to win at QPR and will need to seriously improve, while Spurs (7.26/1) need to find a way to beat the bigger sides if they want to challenge. Eight-goal heroes Southampton have a nice looking run of fixtures coming up and look to be a good back-to-lay proposition at 9.617/2.

2) Newcastle are playing for Pardew

Having traded as low as 1.171/6 in the 'Next Manager to Leave' market, Alan Pardew is now out to 3.711/4 and it's easy to see why with his Newcastle team on a run of just two defeats in nine games in all competitions. The victory over Leicester may have been the Magpies' first in the Premier League this season, but since the 4-0 humbling at Southampton (the north-east teams don't like it down there do they?) there has been nothing wrong with their desire and workrate. They are now shorter to finish in the top 10, at 5.39/2, than they are to be relegated, at 5.69/2. 

3) West Ham are the real deal

On the subject of (formerly) under pressure managers, Sam Allardyce will have enjoyed his 60th birthday celebrations over the weekend after an excellent 3-1 victory at Burnley for his West Ham team. Few teams look to have had better summer transfer windows than Big Sam, with Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Morgan Amalfitano and Alex Song all hitting the ground running, while Stewart Downing is providing real threat from wide areas. The Hammers are now just 2.35/4 for a top 10 finish, while value hunters may be sniffing around the 17.016/1 on offer for a top six berth.

4) Sergio Aguero - the best player in the Premier League?

Ahead of his side's trip to the Etihad, Mauricio Pochettino compared Sergio Aguero to Mozart and the City forward lived up to the billing, orchestrating his team's victory with an unplayable performance. After his four-goal haul against Spurs, the Argentine is now 2.526/4 favourite to be top scorer, ahead of Diego Costa, and if he can stay fit, it's hard to see anyone catching him. Tottenham's defending may not have been great but there are few players who can shoot from the tight angles that Aguero does, with power and precision. Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard fans might argue, but the Argentine is surely the best player in the league...

5) Swansea v Leicester will be a real test of their respective seasons 

Garry Monk may have taken the headlines with his outburst over Stoke's penalty on Sunday but the defeat means that Swansea are now without a Premier League win since August. They are still sitting in eighth place, thanks to their flying start to the season, but they need to stop the rot and no better place than at home to Leicester on Saturday evening. Similarly, the Foxes have only got one point from nine since the memorable win over Manchester United and need a positive result to ensure they don't start sliding down the table. It could well be a tense game - the draw looks a runner at 3.711/4.

Vote for Betfair in the Football Blogging Awards!

We have been nominated in the Gambling category for the 2014 FBAs. Vote for us on Twitter, on Facebook or at the FBA website.