Weekend Review: England cruise to victory over Wales as Littler clinches the battle of the Lukes

With no Premier League action over the weekend, bettors were treated to a routine England win over Wales on Thursday night on top of finals in rugby league and darts.

Thomas Tuchel’s side (1/5) made light work of Wales (11/1) at Wembley, thanks to three goals inside of the opening 20 minutes from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka.

Other international fixtures saw bookmakers come out on top, as the weekend action saw Austria (31/50) lose to Romania (4/1) and the Faroe Islands (5/1) defeat the Czech Republic (2/5).

Domestically, the main fixture took place at the Memorial Stadium in Sky Bet League Two, which saw MK Dons (7/4) brush aside Bristol Rovers (8/5) 4-0.

Midnite’s sportsbook experience manager Jordan Willmott remarked: “With the international break in full flight this weekend, England made light work of a Wales team within the first 20 minutes to send patriotic punters home happy with goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka. 

“There were a few bookmaker-friendly results over the weekend, with Austria beaten by Romania who were 4/1 pre match, Faroe Islands managed to claw themselves even closer to a famous qualification to the World Cup with a 6/1 home win against Czech Republic and Albania won away at Serbia to bust plenty of coupons.

“Domestically, with a number of postponements in League One due to international call-ups, the feature of the weekend was in League Two, where MK Dons travelled to an in-form Bristol Rovers side.

“The Dons shot up the table into fourth place after a dominating 4-0 display, a 50/1 pre-match price given a tough away trip was expected for the Dons.”

BoyleSports spokesperson Brian O’Keeffe noted England are currently 13/2 to win the World Cup next year, adding: “Thomas Tuchel’s England showed promising signs as they eased past Wales 3-0. The Three Lions headed into the tie as strong favourites (1/4), with Wales an outside shot at 9/1 to pull off the upset.

“England fans will be hoping their form continues to improve ahead of the World Cup next summer, with England remaining at 13/2 to lift their first major trophy since 1966.”

In the darts, Luke Littler claimed the BoyleSports World Grand Prix title in a 6-1 demolition of Luke Humphries.

Littler’s win meant Humphries finished second for the second year running, while the champion edged closer to claiming first place in the world rankings.

The ease in which the pair made the finals was bad news for operators, with both Lukes among the favourites to take the World Championships at Alexandra Palace in a few months’ time.

O’Keeffe said: “In the BoyleSports World Grand Prix, Luke Littler continued his remarkable year by picking up yet another major title in Leicester.

“It was bad news for us however, as the two joint pre-tournament favourites, Littler (2/1) and Humphries (5/1) cruised into the final as they added another chapter to their extraordinary rivalry.

“Looking ahead, the pair could well be set to meet at Alexandra Palace in the new year at the final of the World Championships. Littler heads into the showpiece event as the 5/4 favourite while Humphries will be aiming to win his second world title, currently priced at 9/2.”

For Midnite, the firm did get a win thanks to Humphries throwing more 180s and the highest checkout of the match.

Willmott  commented: “The battle of the Lukes continued in yet another darting major as pre-tournament favourite Luke Littler (5/2) beat world number one Luke Humphries by six sets to one.

“Fortunately for Midnite, Humphries managed to throw the most 180s and the highest checkout, preventing a 6/4 Super Boost for Littler to win and throw most 180s.”

Over in rugby’s Super League Grand Final, Hull KR clinched their first Grand Final and completed the treble thanks to a 24-6 win over Wigan Warriors.

Mikey Lewis and Joe Burgess took advantage of Wigan being a man down thanks to a Brad O’Neill yellow card, both grabbing tries.

Though Harry Smith grabbed one himself for Wigan, Jez Litten and Burgess scored another apiece to secure the win and add the Super League trophy to a cabinet that already holds the Betfred Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “The Betfred Super League season enjoyed its habitual resounding climax on Saturday with the Grand Final from Old Trafford.

“Hull KR sealed an amazing, all-conquering treble by beating Wigan 24-6 to add to the Betfred Challenge Cup and League Leaders’ Shield already secured in this glorious campaign masterminded by head coach Willie Peters, who afterwards remarked proudly: ‘The players were ready but over-excited. Once we started completing some sets then we started to find our groove a little bit, and they settled. I’m so proud of the staff and everyone involved.’”

Firkins added: “Wigan were a little disappointing by their lofty standards but once again were right there at the sharp end of a pulsating Betfred Super League season.”

At the races, Celtic Dino overcame a mistake at the last jump to take to take the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Chepstow.

The 6/4 favourite beat out Norman Fletcher and Alexei to win by two and a quarter lengths.

At Newmarket on Saturday, 25/1 outside favourite Gewan took the top spot from Gstaad (7/4) and Distant Storm (9/4) in the Dewhurst Stakes.

The win put a disappointing race at Doncaster early last month in the rearview mirror.

While at the Cesarewitch Handicap, Beylerbeyi (7/1) came from last to first and beat out Bunting (5/1) and favourite Reverend Hubert (7/2).

Willmott said: “The return of National Hunt racing came at Chepstow over the weekend, with the favourite Celtic Dino then 6/4 favourite taking the spoils despite a mistake at the last.

“Newmarket took centre stage on Saturday with an upset in the Dewhurst as Gewan – the 25/1 shot – beat the O’Brien favourite Gstaad and the hotly tipped Distant Storm.

“In the feature Cesarewitch, Billy Loughnane managed to steer Beylerbeyi at 7/1 to win, going away at the finish, with a couple of the National Hunt big boys only managing some each way money as Bunting was third at 5/1 for Willie Mullins.”

Firkins added: “In racing, we said a tearful goodbye for the season to both York and Goodwood at weekend, while Chepstow showcased some tremendous National Hunt action on unseasonably fast ground.

“The direction of travel then is clear – over the months ahead the winter game will come to dominate, we’ll have intriguing runups to those iconic festivals as the big guns flex their muscles, culminating in the small matter of Gold Cups, Grand Nationals and the like.”