Tuesday 3 May 2016 11:25, UK
After 5,000/1 shots Leicester were crowned Premier League champions, we take a look at how the odds changed throughout the season.
There were five Premier League favourites during the course of a remarkable campaign - Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs and, of course, Leicester.
Using Sky Bet's odds, Andy Schooler looks at how the 2015/16 season unfolded from the perspective of the betting markets.
Odds: Chelsea 7/4, Man City 2/1, Man Utd 6/1, Arsenal 10/1, Spurs 50/1, Leicester N/A
When the 2015/16 Premier League book opened towards the end of last season, Chelsea were well on their way to title glory - six points clear of Manchester City with a game in hand - and that was reflected in the new market. Leicester were sat rock bottom, seven points from safety with 10 games to play and seemingly staring relegation in the face. They were not even quoted in the title betting and as short as 1/20 to face relegation.
Odds: Chelsea 13/8, Man City 5/2, Arsenal 7/2, Man Utd 5/1, Spurs 100/1, Leicester 5000/1
Chelsea had shortened slightly during pre-season with City lengthening. However, it was Arsenal who had been the big movers prior to the big kick-off - into third favourites and just 7/2. Leicester were nominally available at the now famous odds of 5,000/1 and Spurs at 100/1. Chelsea's price only went one way from this point, although even a first-day draw at home to Swansea - Eva Carneiro row et al - could not dislodge them from favouritism.
Odds: Man City 4/11, Arsenal 4/1, Man Utd 12/1, Chelsea 14/1, Spurs 250/1, Leicester 5,000/1
A last-gasp win at Crystal Palace made it five wins out of five for Manuel Pellegrini's men. Not a single goal had been conceded and everything looked in their favour. Their odds hit a season-low of 2/7 that day and ended it at 4/11. You could still back Leicester at 5,000/1 despite them having taken eight points from their first four games.
Odds: Man City 8/11, Arsenal 5/2, Man Utd 13/2, Chelsea 22/1, Spurs 100/1, Leicester 1,500/1
Leicester sat fifth heading into the October international break, just three points behind leaders City, but could still backed at 5,000/1 on October 6 - the last time such a price was available. That day their price was 'slashed' into 1,500/1.
Odds: Man City 15/8, Arsenal 9/4, Man Utd 7/2, Spurs 28/1, Chelsea 80/1, Leicester 100/1
City's early-season bluster was dying down and the autumn result which summed that up was a 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool which raised serious doubts about their title credentials. Manchester United had won (in the last minute) at Watford earlier in the day and ended it at 7/2 - their lowest price of the season. Leicester, meanwhile, won 3-0 at Newcastle to hit the top of the table for the first time - not that the bookies seemed that worried. The Foxes' odds shortened from 250/1 at the start of the day but they were still huge outsiders at 100/1.
Odds: Arsenal 10/11, Man City 15/8, Leicester 10/1, Man Utd 18/1, Spurs 20/1, Chelsea 66/1
The final Premier League match before Christmas was supposed to play a major role in the destination of the title and Arsenal's 2-1 home win over City was enough to usurp the losers from favouritism for the first time in months. The Gunners went odds-on that night but would get no shorter. Despite it being a happy Christmas for the Londoners, they were not top - that honour belonged to Leicester, who with just one defeat thus far, sat two points clear of Arsene Wenger's side.
Odds: Man City 11/10, Arsenal 13/8, Leicester 8/1, Spurs 9/1, Man Utd 33/1, Chelsea 250/1
It was almost February and the Foxes weren't going away. Despite having drifted back out to 33/1 at one point, they were still top and the bookies were beginning to take them seriously. A day after Leicester thrashed Stoke 3-0, Arsenal were beaten 1-0 at home to Chelsea and Leicester's price hit 8/1 - they were single figures for the first time.
Odds: Man City evens, Arsenal 3/1, Leicester 5/1, Spurs 6/1, Man Utd 33/1
This was a massive night in the title race and one remembered best for Jamie Vardy's stunning volley which helped Leicester to a 2-0 win over Liverpool. However, it was Manchester City who ended the evening as favourites following their fortunate 1-0 victory at Sunderland as Arsenal could only draw 0-0 at home to Southampton.
Odds: Leicester 7/4, Arsenal 11/4, Man City 3/1, Spurs 9/2, Man Utd 33/1
The day the bookies finally woke up to Leicester's title challenge was when they went to the Eithad Stadium and dismantled their hosts with a 3-1 win. From 5/1 for the title pre-match, they ended the day as 7/4 favourites thanks to two Robert Huth goals and a fabulous Riyad Mahrez strike. City's odds ballooned from evens to 3/1 and things would go downhill rapidly - the loss would be the first of three on the spin, the team responding poorly to the news that Pellegrini would be replaced by Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
Odds: Arsenal 13/8, Spurs 5/2, Leicester 11/4, Man City 7/1, Man Utd 100/1
Another huge day began with Leicester losing 2-1 in the last minute at Arsenal, a rearguard effort with 10 men failing to protect a first-half lead at the Emirates and Danny Welbeck scoring an injury-time winner. Spurs, rarely talked of as potential champions up until this point, won 2-1 at Man City a few hours later. Suddenly they had gone to 5/2 second favourites, Arsenal were back at the head of the market and City, 12 days after being even-money favourites, were out to 7/1.
Odds: Leicester 15/8, Spurs 2/1, Arsenal 11/4, Man City 6/1
Inactive Leicester were the beneficiaries of another swing day in a fascinating title race. Arsenal lost 3-2 at Old Trafford in the lunchtime kick-off before Spurs beat Swansea 2-1. The Foxes, two points clear of Spurs and five ahead of Arsenal at close of play, were back as favourites. Arsenal had lost that tag for the final time.
Odds: Spurs 6/4, Arsenal 9/4, Leicester 3/1, Man City 5/1
Leicester's home slip-up against West Brom, who held them to a 2-2 draw, saw Spurs become Premier League favourites for the first time in their history. A win the next night at West Ham would have taken them top of the table. It did not happen and Leicester were back as favourites for good.
Odds: Leicester 10/11, Spurs 5/2, Arsenal 9/2, Man City 10/1
Manchester City's goalless draw at Norwich proved enough for Leicester to go odds-on for the title for the first time. It was a position they would hold until the end of a truly remarkable campaign.
Odds: Leicester 4/9, Spurs 7/4
Any thoughts that Leicester would choke under the pressure of odds-on favouritism looked daft as the Foxes won four in a row but having opened a seven-point lead and gone as short as 1/10, doubts finally emerged when they were held to a 2-2 draw by West Ham. However, despite having Jamie Vardy sent off and falling 2-1 down, they still managed to claim a point thanks to Leonardo Ulloa's last-minute penalty. They were duly moved out and when Spurs were convincing 4-0 winners at Stoke the following day, they were back out at 4/9.
Odds: Leicester 1/20 Spurs 10/1
Without the suspended Vardy, Leicester answered their doubters in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 demolition of Swansea to pile the pressure on Spurs heading into their home clash with West Brom the following night. The Londoners felt it too. Despite taking the lead via a Craig Dawson own goal, the same player levelled in the second half and the hosts had no answer in the remaining 20 minutes. Leicester's odds plummeted to new lows. They needed just three more points from their final three games and would not flinch to complete the greatest upset in sporting history.
You may be surprised to see how short some teams got during the campaign.
Man City - 2/7 - Sep 12
Arsenal - 4/5 - Dec 21
Spurs - 5/4 - Mar 5 (in-play)
Chelsea - 13/8 - Aug 8
Man Utd - 7/2 - Nov 21
Liverpool - 6/1 - Dec 5
Leicester are 33/1 shots to win next season's Premier League - a far cry from last summer's 5,000/1 quote. Ahead of Pep Guardiola's summer arrival, Manchester City are firm favourites at 11/8. If you fancy another shock, perhaps 1,500/1 about Watford is the price for you but no one is 5,000/1. The layers have learned their lesson.
