Premier League 2025/26 Title Race: Man Utd backed at 28/1 as opening weekend fixtures revealed | OneFootball

English Premier League

Could the Premier League title be on the way to Old Trafford in 2025/26?

Betfair have revealed that punters have been backing Manchester United to make a dramatic improvement in 2025/26 and win the Premier League...

Bettors have backed Manchester United to undergo a dramatic improvement in 2025/26 and win the Premier League for the first time in 13 years.

The Red Devils endured their worst league campaign for more than half-a-century in 2024/25 and finished 15th in the table.

They are 28/1 to top the table next season - a longer price than they are for relegation at 20/1 - and yet 12% of the bets taken on next season's title race were on United.

The club have decided to stick with manager Ruben Amorim even though the Portuguese has won just seven of his 27 Premier League matches in charge and lost 14. Those backing United presumably think that is the right decision.

They will open their campaign at home to Arsenal on Sunday 17th August after the Premier League fixtures were revealed today.

Amorim will be under pressure at United in 2025/26

Since 2013, the last time they won the title, Manchester United have been a case study in a disastrous succession plan. They won 13 Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson and have failed to win one since the Scot's retirement.

They have finished second in the table twice in the intervening 12 years but have never truly mounted a title challenge.

Why would bettors believe it could be any different in 2025/26? It has to be about price. United are still a big club that expects success and the 28/1 is enough to tempt some punters.

There may be some who believe that Amorim is the right man for the job and, after a summer of shaping his squad, buying and selling players, we will see a United that bears his imprint in 2025/26.

United's transfer business has been positive

United are clearly trying to reshape the squad to suit Amorim and have been among the early movers in the summer transfer market.

They have signed Matheus Cunha from Wolves, are attempting to persuade Bryan Mbeumo to join from Brentford and are trying to sell Marcus Rashford and others.

Whether that will be enough to challenge for the top six - let alone the title - is a big question though. Amorim is the man the Ineos group, who run the United's football operations, trust to put them back in contention for major trophies.

This week, Omar Berrada, the United CEO, said he believed they could win the league by 2028. He also compared Amorim to Pep Guardiola. Based on recent performances, however, both claims are risible.

In 2024/25, United were further off the title race pace than at any time in the Premier League era. But the fact that 12% of bets on next season's title race have been on the Red Devils shows that some people think the glory days are on their way back soon.