The long wait for top-flight football’s return in England comes to an end on Wednesday, 17th June and reigning champions Manchester City are tipped to triumph on the Premier League’s first evening of action in over three months.

With the title out of reach, City will have to settle for securing second place this season and a victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium would all but confirm that.

It has been a disappointing term for the Gunners, who find themselves ninth in the table, and as such, they are priced as big as 8-1 with some football betting sites to upset City.

The best price on a sixth consecutive win for City against Arsenal is 4/11, with 19/4 available on the draw, which has been the outcome of 13 of the North Londoners’ 28 league fixtures this term.

City’s biggest priority will certainly be the Champions League, both in terms of the current tournament which could conclude in World Cup-style, and the appeal against their two-year ban which if unsuccessful would come into effect from 2020/21.

For City’s neighbours Manchester United, it has not been a campaign to remember, but their form had improved significantly in the month-and-a-half before the season was postponed.

It is no coincidence that United’s upturn in performances and results came around the same time as Bruno Fernandes arrived from Sporting CP, with the Portugal international registering three goals and four assists in nine appearances for his new club.

The odds of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men finishing in the top four are currently 7/4, with Chelsea priced at 8/13 to beat them to it.

However, barring an overturning of City’s ban, a fifth-place finish may be enough for United to qualify for the Champions League, and they are odds-on at 1/2 to manage that, with Wolverhampton Wanderers – currently two points behind them in sixth – their closest challengers at 10/3.

Wolves are also the biggest threat to United winning the Europa League according to the bookmakers. The Red Devils are 11/4 favourites, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at 11/2 and Inter Milan next at 6/1.

As well as the Premier League’s resumption, La Liga and Serie A are set to continue in the coming weeks, a month after the Bundesliga became the first major European league to restart.

The best UK bookmakers launched various betting offers around German top-flight fixtures, and the same can be expected with English, Spanish and Italian football.

A mix of free bet offers, existing customer promotions, and matched deposit deals such as the 22Bet UK bonus offer can be claimed by punters and used not only on football, but also the many other sports that are filtering back into the calendar.

Horse racing in the UK came back on June 1st along with snooker while golf, cricket, and F1 are soon to follow.

American sports leagues such as the NHL and NBA have laid out their plans to return during the summer, but MLB is at a standstill.