Manchester City are 12/1, from 14/1, to finish in the Premiership’s top six, according to Ladbrokes.
The Eastlands club had been a 33/1 chance at the beginning of the close season. But Taksin Shinawatra's takeover and the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson has persuaded punters to back them into 12/1
Ladbrokes spokesman, Nick Weinberg, said: “Eriksson will be able to attract top quality players to City in a way that previous managers could not.
“He’s got the added bonus of having a chairman who’s willing to splash the cash.
“There’s plenty of work to be done but they’ve finally got the resources to make a decent fist of it.”
The bookies have cut City’s chances of finishing inside the Champions League places, from 100/1 to 66/1.
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To finish in top six
Arsenal 1/20
Tottenham Hotspur 2/5
Newcastle 2/1
Aston Villa 3/1
Everton 3/1
Blackburn 5/1
Portsmouth 5/1
West Ham 5/1
Bolton 8/1
Sunderland 8/1
Manchester City 12/1
Middlesbrough 14/1
Reading 14/1
Birmingham 25/1
Fulham 33/1
Wigan 33/1
Derby 66/1
To finish in the top four
Manchester Utd 1/100
Chelsea 1/100
Liverpool 1/16
Arsenal 1/4
Tottenham Hotspur 11/4
Newcastle 7/1
Aston Villa 10/1
Everton 10/1
Portsmouth 25/1
Blackburn 25/1
Bolton 33/1
Sunderland 33/1
West Ham 33/1
Middlesbrough 50/1
Reading 50/1
Manchester City 66/1
Birmingham 100/1
Wigan 200/1
Fulham 200/1
Derby 500/1
Without the big two
Liverpool 4/6
Arsenal 2/1
Tottenham 8/1
Newcastle 25/1
Aston Villa 40/1
Everton 40/1
Blackburn 66/1
West Ham 66/1
Portsmouth 80/1
Bolton 100/1
Sunderland 100/1
Middlesbrough 125/1
Reading 125/1
Man. City 150/1
Birmingham 300/1
Fulham 350/1
Wigan 500/1
Derby 1000/1
Without the big four
Tottenham 6/4
Newcastle 5/1
Aston Villa 7/1
Everton 7/1
Blackburn 14/1
Portsmouth 14/1
West Ham 14/1
Bolton 20/1
Sunderland 20/1
Middlesbrough 25/1
Reading 25/1
Manchester City 33/1
Birmingham 66/1
Fulham 100/1
Wigan 100/1
Derby 150/1
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