Some of the Biggest Upsets in the Premier League over the Last Decade

At the highest levels of play, no win can ever be taken for granted. The Premier League has seen its fair share of historic upsets, proving that no team, however unbeatable seeming, is ever out of reach of a sound drubbing. When clubs that should win, lose instead, bookmakers, fans and the rest of the League have to reevaluate and adjust their expectations, sometimes leading to long-lasting changes in opinion and odds.

The beautiful game is never more beautiful than when it is unpredictable, and thankfully it is often unpredictable. With so many players and teams competing to play at such a high level, the skill difference between the top of the the Premier League and the bottom of the ladder is typically not actually that stark, and as has been shown again and again, no team is unbeatable. While upsets are unpredictable in their specifics, they are certain in general terms. Upsets will occur, and the bigger they are, the more exciting the effects. 

Not only will an upset shift the involved teams upwards and downwards on the ladder. The ramifications of an upset ripple outwards and are felt everywhere from betting markets like those on BetBrain to fan meets and club meetings, changing perceptions and altering how fans, players and managers feel about the clubs that lose and the clubs that win. This article will cover some of the biggest upsets that Premier League football has seen in the last decade, and touch on the ripple effects of these big upsets.

Fall of a giant

Not for nothing is it said that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. This first entry is not a league match, but it is such a powerful upset that we feel it deserves mentioning. We are, of course, talking about the Victory at Stamford Bridge by the League One team Bradford City over the Premier League top-rated team at the time, Chelsea. This upset is impressive, not just because Bradford took home a big skin, but at 38 minutes they were actually down by 2, making this one of the biggest upsets and most dramatic comebacks at the same time. 

The rise of Leicester City

During the 2014/15 Premier League campaign, Leicester City was newly promoted and spent most of its season attempting to justify its promotion and not slip backwards. They eventually came up against Manchester United and were able to show the first signs of what would eventually lead to a title in the next season. 

United led Leicester City 3-1 with only half an hour of game left, but the newcomer club smelt blood in the water and launched a vicious assault that allowed them to score four goals with United unable to respond. It’s impossible to say if this was the true turning point for Leicester City, or just the perfect storm of chance that allowed them to prove their mettle, but United were surely not expecting a struggling club to have such teeth.

Howl of the giant killers

You might think it odd that so many of the upsets occur between top-of-the-league teams and newly promoted squads, but that’s what makes them upsets! In the case of Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018, the former was hot on the trail of a title race with Liverpool F.C. and had been on a 5-game hot streak against some pretty serious opposition. The fact that the Wolves were able to put them away with a quick three goals in the closing 20 minutes of the match just shows that no matter how hot the streak, at this level of play a single stumble could spell the end. 

Big upsets in the Premier League can have big effects

As we mentioned in the preamble, upsets are important not just because they have an effect on the league table; they can have strong and lasting psychological effects as well. A big enough upset can break the morale of a team, potentially causing them to lose all confidence and spiral into a decline, or for an underdog, an upset in their favour can lead to a hot streak or the minting of a new tier one side.

When it comes to betting odds, upsets have immediate and often drastic effects. While the odds pre-match tend to stick with the consensus across most bookmakers, as soon as an underdog gets its teeth in, mid-match odds can start to fluctuate wildly. Post-match odds will typically reflect the shock and losses that a sportsbook might have had due to an upset. Big teams who have suffered upsets might see their odds lengthen and title odds drop off considerably, while underdog teams could see significant shortening of odds as they prove their mettle.

Conclusion

One of the best things about the beautiful game is how unpredictable it is. Especially when all the teams are as highly skilled as those in the Premier League, no victory is certain, no defeat is guaranteed and no team is unbeatable. It is certainly true that teams will rise and fall to dominance, but at the rise and fall of that dominance there are sure to be upsets, and those upsets can be some of the most exciting football you can watch. Every season has its heroes and villains, and hopefully, it also has upsets.