Weekend Review: Punters hit in Premier League as 2/1 City win the Carabao Cup
Arsenal suffered defeat in the capital to end their chances of a quadruple, while results in Europe were more favourable for punters than in England’s top-flight
Manchester City lifted the first piece of silverware of the season on Sunday after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup, a decent outcome for bookies given City (2/1) went into the game as underdogs.
Homegrown talent Nico O’Reilly found the back of the net twice in four second-half minutes to end the Gunners’ chance of winning the quadruple, a boost for bet365 due to liabilities reaching £5m on the possibility.
It was a final to forget for the league leaders, who never got going at Wembley and will be made to replay what went wrong over the 90 minutes in the capital with no domestic football scheduled until after the upcoming international break.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins said of the final: “Not a bad 90-minute result business-wise, with all the more likely goalscorers eclipsed by City’s just-turned 21-year-old [O’Reilly], having himself quite the season in front of watching England manager Thomas Tuchel; and nothing registered for the Gunners.”
Bet365’s Steve Freeth added: “The wait for a quadruple winner goes on. We’re not complaining, however, as liabilities on such outcome reached £5m having shortened from 1,000/1 with Arsenal falling at the first hurdle.
“A 2-0 scoreline, featuring a brace from Nico O’Reilly was a decent outcome, with the young Englishman a pre-match 25/1 shot for the Player of the Match award.”
Operators were also pleased with Premier League results, with Manchester United drawing 2-2 (11/4) against Bournemouth on Friday night and both Liverpool (5/4) and Chelsea (5/4) suffering defeats on Saturday to Brighton and Everton, respectively.
Down the bottom of the table, Tottenham (7/5) were comprehensively beaten 3-0 in the six-pointer clash against Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon, with West Ham also losing 2-0 to Aston Villa (3/4).
Fulham (1/2) beat relegation-destined Burnley 3-1, in what turned out to be a poor weekend for punters betting on Premier League football.
Freeth remarked: “Manchester United and Liverpool both dropped points on the south coast, putting punters on the back foot early on.
“Chelsea losing their fourth game on the trot was another favourite that bit the dust, followed by Newcastle, who suffered a painful defeat at home to Sunderland, and Tottenham, who lost to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
“Fulham won, as did Aston Villa, putting daylight between themselves and Liverpool and Chelsea, but not much else went the punters way in the English top-flight.”
Firkins said of the relegation battle: “The situation at the foot of the Premier League is daunting for several clubs, with unfortunately West Ham and Spurs both losing crucial matches at weekend.
“One of that pair, plus Nottingham Forest and Leeds, look likely to join Wolves and Burnley; who both appear to need more than miracles.”
Midnite’s Lee Sims added: “Tottenham remain in serious danger of relegation after a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest and are now just 6/4 to be relegated to the Championship.”
Focusing on Spurs’ result, BOYLE Sports’ Brian O’Keeffe noted: “Tottenham’s season is starting to look like a real scrap, and that 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest could be one of the results that really comes back to haunt them. Spurs are now just a point above the drop zone, and the market has reacted with Tottenham at 11/8 to be relegated.”
Punters did see success with results across Europe going in their favour, as well as Celtic losing 2-0 away at Dundee United in Scotland.
Barcelona (1/5) and Real Madrid (1/1) both secured wins in Spain when taking on Rayo Vallecano and Atlético Madrid, respectively, while Bayern Munich ran out comfortable winners against Union Berlin to maintain their nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
In Scotland, Celtic (1/2) were downed by Dundee United. Now five points behind leaders Hearts (2/5), who beat Dundee 1-0 on Saturday, and two points behind rivals Rangers (1/5), who were also victorious with a comfortable 4-1 win over Aberdeen, Martin O’Neil’s side saw their title hopes slip further away.
Freeth said: “This was a weekend where we experienced losses in Europe but secured enough positive results in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup to finish favourably.”
In horseracing, 5/4 Wareeth had a debut to remember, winning by 14 lengths in Newcastle. Despite not having the toughest field to face, the Sea The Stars colt saw off evens-favourite Starglow and 6-1 Showcasing Star.
Firkins noted: “500,000 guineas-worth of talent made its debut in a little Newcastle novice at weekend, and the three-year-old Sea The Stars colt out of a Motivator mare Wareeth impressed many good judges with a blistering 14-length demolition job, over a mile.
“He might have beaten relative trees but keep an eye out for this one – he looks very smart indeed.”