There’s a concept in betting where you exclude heavy favourites from a wager to make things more exciting.
So in the case of the Premier League this year, you might have a “title winner without Man City” bet, or a “top scorer without Erling Haaland bet.”
In La Liga you might get a “league winner without Real Madrid and Barcelona” bet. You get the idea.
In the case of a Chelsea bet this year, there’s one race that feels it’s already decided, barring a sickening injury. If you were to look at the odds for the Blues’ player of the year, Cole Palmer would be way out in front.
But if you had an m88 free credit at a betting site to slap down on a player to win the “POTY without Cole Palmer”, who would you pick? Here are a few candidates.
Nicolas Jackson
In any player of the year betting, it’s hard to look beyond goals and assists. That’s why Palmer would be such a firm favourite. But come the end of the season, Nicolas Jackson is sure to be close behind.
He’s such an all round player too – his work rate and his interplay with teammates are just as important as his final product. Without Palmer, he would be a worth winner of the award.
Levi Colwill
Defensive players are always less likely to win this sort of thing – but as a home grown talent Levi Colwill certainly has a chance. The rest of the defence have had shaky games along the way, but Colwill has been consistent and keeps getting better and better. If we get things right defensively and he keeps pinging those perfect passes forwards, he’d certainly be in the mix.
Moises Caicedo
In midfield, there can only be one candidate. Enzo Fernandez is struggling to find his role in the team and Romeo Lavia has had his playing time limited by injury.
But Caicedo has been consistently available and consistently good when he’s played. After a long year settling in, he’s starting to look comfortable, and we expect his leadership on and off the pitch to grow even more now he’s established himself as a key player.
There are plenty of other players who could get an honourable mention, which is a sign that the team is doing well overall. But with Palmer in the form he’s in, it will take something special to overtake him in this race, even with 6 months to do it…
