After the 1992 PASPA Act was overturned back in 2018, the fledgling US sports betting sector developed rapidly, providing millions of American sports fans with the chance to bet on their favorite sports, and in many states, to bet on sports online.
Of course, there are many gambling opportunities in the US in 2023, ranging from live online roulette sites to sweepstakes casino platforms, but sports betting is the fastest growing. Naturally, US sports attract the most interest, but there is always lots of betting action on the big international sports competitions, such as soccer’s Premier League.
The top division of English soccer, the Premier League can trace its roots back to the 1880s, and is one of the highest profile, richest soccer leagues in the world. Premier League fans have been enjoying another dramatic season in 2022-23, and these are some of the highlights so far:
Erling Haaland’s impact
With an eight-goal lead over his nearest challenger, Erling Haaland is odds on to be the top scorer at the end of this Premier League season, and few star players have had quite as dramatic an introduction as the tall Norwegian, who was signed from Borussia Dortmund.
In his first Premier League game, against West Ham, he scored twice. He then scored hat-tricks in his fourth and fifth appearances, eventually building up a run of seven games in which he scored at least one goal. Going into the latest round of games, he has scored 26 goals in the Premier League, including four hat-tricks, the joint-most by a Man City player in a single campaign in the competition, matching Sergio Aguero’s tally from 2014/15.
That record is under serious threat over the next few weeks, as is the Premier League record of 34 goals in a season – set at a time when there were 22 teams in the top division – held jointly by Shearer and Andy Cole. Manchester City’s challenge may be wavering, but Haaland continues to dominate and no one seems to know how to stop him.
Arsenal 1-3 Manchester City
The collapse of Liverpool and Chelsea this season, combined with Arsenal’s inconsistency in recent weeks, has opened the door for reigning champions Manchester City, as they returned to the top of the Premier League table for the first time since November.
In the biggest game of the domestic season, Pep Guardiola’s team capitalised in the second half as the Gunners paid a high price for individual errors.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring before Bukayo Saka equalized for Arsenal in the first half. Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland clinched the game late on for the Citizens as they earned a critical three points.
Even if the Gunners have a game in hand, this will be a stinging setback for Mikel Arteta’s players.
Arsenal’s five goal thrillers
Mikel Arteta’s attacking and youthful team has continued to match the best in the league and set the pace at the top of the table. Their exhilarating brand of football was best exemplified by the brace of 3-2 wins that they produced against Liverpool and Manchester United.
At the start of October, they entertained the Reds at the Emirates Stadium, in a huge test of their title credentials and in a thrilling spell just before half time took control of the game, eventually winning 3-2. Then, at the end of January, they showed their newfound resilience against Manchester United, taking the lead three times and winning 3-2 against stubborn opponents.
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool had made a slow start to the season, dropping points against Fulham and Crystal Palace, but they were widely expected to reassert themselves against their bitter rivals, who had made an even worse start to the season, losing to both Brentford and Brighton.
Instead, over 74,000 fans watched United dominate the game from the start, scoring a goal in each half and overwhelming their opponents, whose late goal through Mohammed Salah was fooling no one. Liverpool thrashed Bournemouth 9-0 in their next game, but a psychological blow had been struck and Jurgen Klopp’s team has continued to decline while Man United has ascended.
Brighton 4-1 Chelsea
The controversial decision to fire Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel appeared to have paid off for club owner Todd Boehly as the Blues picked up 11 points from their next five games under the guidance of the rising star of the English management ranks, Graham Potter, recruited from Brighton.
When Chelsea visited Brighton on October 29th, it was expected that Potter’s new team would take care of business against his old team. It didn’t quite work out like that.
An early goal for Brighton from Leandro Trossard set the tone and before Chelsea could get themselves back in the game, Ruben Loftus-Cheek put the ball into his own net. Brighton added a third just before half-time and though Kai Havertz pulled one back for the visitors after the break, they went on to lose 4-1, which was a humiliating setback for Potter and for the club.
Chelsea went on to lose four of their next six games, as injuries and loss of confidence took their toll. By the end of January, they were languishing in tenth place, four places below Brighton.