The best football bets to make in 2025: Premier League, Champions League and more

Is this finally Mikel Arteta's year with Arsenal? Can Carlo Ancelotti lead Real Madrid to yet another European title?

Who will take home the Champions League golden boot? Plus can Ange Postecoglou be the man to break Tottenham's trophy curse? FIRST looks into the crystal ball to give our comprehensive football betting tips for 2025. 

Check out the best UK bookmakers to claim free bets worth up to £850!

Premier League 

Outright winner 

Now that perennial champions Manchester City have all but thrown the towel in, the title race is wide open.

Arne Slot has taken to English football like a duck to water, but Liverpool are far too short at 5/6. I wouldn't say they're running away with it, even if they are six points ahead with a game in hand.

It's third-placed Arsenal who get the nod for me at 4/1. While it's not been vintage Arsenal so far, there's every chance of making ground on Liverpool. Had they taken their chances against Fulham and Everton in their last two, they'd be three points off.

FIRST’s top tip: Arsenal (4/1) with Betway

Top four 

It’s hard to get my head around these odds. Only three points and three teams separate Aston Villa from the top four. With City in freefall and two of the other clubs in front being Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, Villa are well-positioned to capitalise.

FIRST’s top tip: Aston Villa (10/1) with Betway

Relegation 

Everton have been flirting with relegation for the last three seasons and it's the same old story this year. Lack of firepower is the real concern again for Sean Dyche's side, who feature Wolves' Craig Dawson among their top scorers courtesy of a couple of own goals in December.

Relegation is more of an inevitability with every season for the Toffees, and 100/30 feels like good value for it to be this one.

FIRST’s top tip: Everton (100/30) with Betway

Carabao Cup 

Outright winner 

Liverpool beat Southampton to make it into the semi-finals, with the first leg being played next week against Spurs, and move a step closer to defending the trophy they’ve won for two of the last three seasons.

The Reds remain the Carabao Cup's most successful club having lifted the trophy 10 times. With City and Chelsea out of the picture, Slot's men are well-priced to make it 11 in 2025.

FIRST’s top tip: Liverpool (12/5) with Betway

Underdogs 

Spurs boss Postecoglou put his neck on the line back in September, claiming he always wins silverware in his second season at a club. The Carabao Cup is arguably his best shot to keep that run going.

They came out on the right end of a topsy-turvy 4-3 victory over Manchester United in the quarter-finals and proved just how entertaining they are to watch. Tottenham face Liverpool in the two-legged semis with odds of 4/1 to win the whole competition.

FIRST’s top tip: Tottenham (4/1) with Betway

FA Cup 

Outright winner

Despite spending £230m in the summer, no one expected Chelsea to be doing this well under new boss Enzo Maresca. They're very much in the Premier League title race and cruised to top spot of the Europa Conference League table having won all six games at a canter.

What Chelsea have over the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal - who are all ahead of them in the market - is no Champions League football. Maresca has the luxury of playing an entirely different XI in the Conference League, meaning he can prioritise FA Cup games later down the line.

Starting their campaign at home to Morecambe in the third round, 7/1 looks like excellent value.

FIRST’s top tip: Chelsea (7/1) with Betway

Underdogs 

Brentford have dropped out of both English cups at the third round in the previous two seasons, so won't be on many betslips this time round. But the Bees' incredible form at the Gtech Community Stadium could make them dark horses this year.

At the time of writing, Thomas Frank's men boast the best home record in the Premier League and also beat Sheffield Wednesday and Leyton Orient there to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

If they keep getting the luck of the draw, Brentford are well worth a punt at 40/1. Starting with Plymouth on 11 January.

FIRST’s top tip: Brentford (40/1) with Betway

Champions League 

Outright winner 

This one feels like a no-brainer. The most successful Champions League team, managed by the most successful Champions League manager. Not only are Real Madrid 15 times European champions, they've also won it in six of the last 11 years.

They're currently 20th in the league table which probably explains their odds of 6/1, but you'd back them to beat anyone in a play-off to make the last 16.

FIRST’s top tip: Real Madrid (6/1) with Betway

Champions League finalists 

Unai Emery’s European pedigree could guide Aston Villa to an unlikely final. He's won the Europa League four times with Sevilla and Villarreal and lost in the final with Arsenal.

With a solid showing in the league stage so far – winning four of six – their 40/1 odds are too generous to ignore.

FIRST’s top tip: Aston Villa (40/1) to win the Champions League, 20/1 to reach the final with Betway

Top goalscorer

Harry Kane already has five goals in the Champions League this year, with favourable games against Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava to come before the knockouts.

Julian Alvarez has enjoyed a brilliant start to life at Atletico Madrid, with four of his 12 goals coming in Europe. In short, he shouldn't be 50/1 to claim the Golden Boot in the form he's in.

FIRST’s top tips: Harry Kane (9/2) / Julian Alvarez (50/1 outsider) with Betway

Europa League 

Outright winner 

Manchester United haven't had quite the new manager bounce they'd have hoped for under Ruben Amorim but their derby win before Christmas showed their campaign could be heading in the right direction.

They'll probably need to beat both Rangers and FCSB to qualify for the last 16 without the hassle of a play-off, but you'd do well to find a better squad in this year's Europa League. 

United are 5/1 with BetMGM to reclaim the title they won in 2017, or a modest 11/4 to at least reach the final.

FIRST’s top tip: Manchester United (5/1) (or 11/4 to reach the final) with BetMGM

Europa League finalists 

Ernesto Valverde is in his third and arguably best spell at Athletic Bilbao. He led them to Copa del Rey glory last season and has them in the mix for La Liga's title race.

It helps to have a couple of European champions in the form of Spain internationals Nico Williams and Unai Simon. If they continue their form on the continent (W5 D1), they'll be a snip at 3/1 to reach the final.

FIRST’s top tip: Athletic Bilbao (3/1) to reach the final / (or 11/2 to win outright) with BetMGM

Championship 

Outright winner 

It's not often you get a league leader at this point of the season at 5/2 to go on and win it. Especially the form Sheffield United are in. The Blades have lost just twice, one fewer than last season's runaway champions Leicester at this point of the season.

Leeds (8/11) are their biggest challengers for the title but they fell away last season with a far superior squad and Daniel Farke can't seem to find consistent form this time round.

FIRST’s top tip: Sheffield United (5/2) with Betway

Promotion 

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season and losing 27-goal star man Sammie Szmodics, Blackburn are defying all expectations this year. They are fully in the mix for promotion as we head into the second half of the season.

Rovers are stringing wins together and their stingy defence is not conceding many. This is their best chance of ending their 13-year absence from the Premier League and you can back it at a huge 7/1.

FIRST’s top tip: Blackburn (7/1) with Betway

Relegation 

Newly promoted sides tend to struggle in their first year back in the Championship and that's no different for Oxford (20th) and Portsmouth (22nd). Lack of goals has been a major issue for both sides with 21 goals apiece  from their first 20 and 19 games respectively - the joint-second lowest in the division. They're just shy of evens to go straight back down.

For a value pick, struggling Stoke could be worth a shout at 7/1. The Potters were on a miserable run of form in the run-up to Christmas and there's talk of Leicester recalling leading goalscorer Tom Cannon from his loan in January.

FIRST’s top tips: Oxford/Portsmouth (4/5) or Stoke (7/1) for value with Betway

FIRST’s quick fire top tips

Conference League: Chelsea to win at 8/11 with Betway 

Nations League: France to win at 4/1 with Betway

Women's Euros: Spain to win at 11/4 with BetMGM 

Club World Cup: Real Madrid to win at 4/1 with BetMGM 

AFCON: Nigeria to win at 10/1 with Betway

Odds correct at the time of writing.