Market movers: Man Utd shorten in Premier League title betting

What a difference a win makes. A £150m plus splurge on overhauling the Manchester United squad has paid off for Louis van Gaal.

It was enough to crush fluky Championship play-off winners QPR, and Coral have slashed the Red Devils’ odds for lifting the Premier League to 8/1 (from 12/1). Unsurprisingly, Chelsea remain odds-on favourites at 8/11 to be crowned champions following their 100 per cent start, which included a 4-2 victory over high-fliers Swansea City.

United have also swapped places with bitter northwest rivals Liverpool in the top four finish market. Prior to Brendan Rodgers’ Reds slumping to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, the Merseyside outfit were 1/2 to record this again, but have now lengthened to 8/11. Van Gaal’s charges are now cut to 4/7 from 10/11 to regain Champions League football.

Newcastle United fans have cause to be alarmed after dropping into the Premier League basement off the back of another thrashing by Southampton. Alan Pardew comes under major pressure yet again, and Coral have cut his side’s odds for relegation in half to 9/2. The Magpies manager’s own future remains a hot topic.

Crystal Palace (6/4) have seen West Bromwich Albion (11/8) move ahead of them in this market, following the Eagles’ battling draw with Burnley and the Baggies enduring defeat at home to Everton. Villa, meanwhile, have lengthened to 5/1 for the drop as they continued their impressive start to the campaign.

Punters will hardly be surprised to learn that Diego Costa is even-money from 9/4 in the Premier League top scorer market. Chelsea’s Brazilian-born Spain international striker has netted seven times in just four outings, and that makes him look in unstoppable form. Manchester City frontman Sergio Aguero is the best of the rest in this market at 9/2 to overhaul Costa.