Dundalk are odds-on to win the league.
Odds-on.
You might not get huge return on a bet for Stephen Kenny’s men to clinch a third title in succession but it does mean that you can find some great odds elsewhere.
Cork, for example, are as long as 4/1 to be crowned SSE Airtricity League champions by the end of the 2016 season. St. Pat’s are way out at 12/1.
The loss of Richie Towell hasn’t depleted the Oriel Park outfit though and they’re roaring hot favourites with Ladbrokes to do it again.
League winner
Dundalk 4/5
Shamrock Rovers 3/1
Cork City 4/1
St Patrick’s Athletic 12/1
Bray Wanderers 33/1
Bohemians 40/1
Sligo Rovers 40/1
Derry City 66/1
Longford Town 200/1
Galway United 200/1
Finn Harps 500/1
Wexford Youths 500/1
With Richie Towell having romped home with the top scorer gong last season – with 12 goals to spare and all – the top scorer award is right up in the air this time and it is reflected in the odds.
Ladbrokes are backing St. Pat’s and Shamrock Rovers hotshots Christy Fagan or Michael Drennan to lead the way – Drennan bagged 12 last year.
Then Dundalk man David McMillan arrives just behind them but there’s some serious value to be found with Danny North, another Rovers attacker, out at 12/1 but don’t forget about Cork striker Karl Sheppard for God’s sake.
Rory Patterson has returned to Derry City and he’s as long as 20/1. If they’re going to do anything this year, he’ll be firing and he top scored ahead of the rest of the league only three years ago.
Top scorer
Christy Fagan 7/1
Michael Drennan 7/1
David McMillan 8/1
Karl Sheppard 10/1
Brandon Miele 12/1
Danny North 12/1
Ciaran Kilduff 16/1
Ishmahil Akinade 20/1
Rory Patterson 20/1
Dinny Corcoran 20/1
Conan Byrne 20/1
Ronan Finn 25/1
Mark O’Sullivan 25/1
Danny Morrissey 25/1
Enda Curran 33/1
Vinny Faherty 33/1
Jordan Allen 33/1
Patrick McEleney 33/1
Daryl Horgan 33/1
Danny Furlong 33/1
Jamie Mcgrath 40/1
Andrew Lewis 40/1
David O’Sullivan 40/1
Jaanai Gordon 40/1
Kurtis Byrne 40/1
Dean Kelly 50/1
Steven Beattie 50/1
Jake Kelly 50/1
Kaleem Simon 66/1
Mark Quigley 66/1
Gary Shaw 66/1
Philip Roberts 66/1
Padraic Cunningham 66/1
Killian Brennan 66/1
Mark Timlin 66/1
Chris Lyons 66/1
Kieran Sadlier 80/1
Lee Duffy 100/1
Aidan Keenan 100/1
Dean Clarke 100/1
Stephen Dooley 125/1
Ryan Curran 125/1
Nathan Boyle 150/1
Kevin McHugh 150/1
Michael Rafter 150/1
Gerald Pender 150/1
Liam Martin 150/1
BJ Banda 200/1
The race for the wooden spoon. Look away now lads.
To finish bottom
Wexford Youths 6/4
Finn Harps 6/4
Longford Town 8/1
Galway United 8/1
Derry City 9/1
Bray Wanderers 16/1
And, whilst you might not get much value in backing Dundalk to finish in the top six, Derry City are a decent price to mix it in the top half again – being punished in the odds department for two underperforming seasons.
To finish top six
Dundalk 1/250
Shamrock Rovers 1/100
Cork City 1/50
St Patrick’s Athletic 1/25
Bohemians 2/5
Sligo Rovers 10/11
Bray Wanderers Evens
Derry City 10/3
Galway United 11/2
Longford Town 6/1
Wexford Youths 12/1
Finn Harps 12/1
All the SSE Airtricity League odds are available over at Ladbrokes.
