Weekend Review: Bookies blessed with Kiss from a Rose as Cherries pip United

A weekend of woe for Manchester had the bookies cheering as City and United slipped to defeat in the Premier League.

Manchester City’s (3/5) winning streak came to an end after losing 2-1 away to Aston Villa (7/2), allowing Arsenal (9/25) to draw level at the top of the table with a 2-0 win against Everton.

Manchester United (7/5) and Michael Carrick’s desperate run continued, losing 3-0 at home to a Bournemouth side (7/4) fresh from beating AC Milan in the Europa League by the same score.

Eddie Howe, the former Bournemouth and Newcastle boss, is now the favourite to take on the Old Trafford job with the bookmakers.

Spurs (3/1) secured a historic 2-0 away win at Chelsea (17/20) to give the layers another boost. The win was just Spurs’ second at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League era.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins remarked Roberto De Zerbi’s side had “wrecked many a weekend acca”.

FDJ United’s Ali Gill said the operator had “managed to finish ahead in all 10 games” over the weekend.

He noted: “Friday night started with a draw between Ipswich and Forest which got us off to a nice start.

“Next up, the early Saturday kickoff saw Man City lose their perfect start to the season, a fantastic result cheered loudly in the trading room. However, the late game on Saturday saw our best result of the weekend, as Spurs’ season finally got lift off with a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“Another rotten performance from Man United on Sunday was a great result in the book and pushed the traders to open the market on the next United manager; Eddie Howe leading that charge at even money. We finished with a 0-0 draw on Sunday, another good result to round off a tough weekend of Premier League action for punters.”

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Sunderland drew 0-0 with Leeds (21/10), Fulham (11/10) won 1-0 away at Coventry and Hull and Brentford played out a 1-1 draw (3/1).

Crystal Palace’s slow start continued as they lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle. Manager Pierre Sage is under pressure to keep his job at Selhurst Park.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “The money poured in for a Bournemouth side that opened at 16/5 and went off at 15/8 following confirmation that Bruno Fernandes had dropped to the bench. Punters were justified in supporting the visitors.

“We profited on Saturday from Aston Villa recording a fourth consecutive home win against Manchester City, although we did pay out on a super-boosted Erling Haaland to score at Evens from 4/7.

“Likewise, we gained from Saturday’s late game, as Tottenham recorded two wins in five days with a rare victory at Chelsea. Routine low-scoring wins for favourites Arsenal and Fulham, as well as Liverpool on Sunday and Brentford being held at Hull was also helpful.”

In European football, Real Madrid (3/1) won El Clásico 2-1 thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappé to close the gap to Barcelona at the top of La Liga to three points.

Freeth said the low-scoring game was helpful for the layers in Spain’s standout fixture.

He added: “We’re still waiting to see whether the late surge for Kylian Mbappé in the Ballon d’Or was correct, but his brace at Camp Nou won El Clásico for Real Madrid and the returning Jose Mourinho.

“Los Blancos were without Thibaut Courtois, who started the game at 3/1, and the victory sees them cut Barcelona’s lead to three points at the top of La Liga.

“The game itself had bits for both bookmakers and punters with Mbappé and Raphinha on the scoresheet, six cards and shots from all the superstars, but just three goals helped enormously.”

In horseracing, Giant Sequoia won the William Hill Futurity Trophy at Doncaster to effectively hand Aidan O’Brien the trainers’ championship.

The 11/8 favourite Noble Exhibit finished in third as Giant Sequoia went clear inside the final 110 yards.

Firkins remarked: “Over at Doncaster Aidan O’Brien’s Giant Sequoia sluiced up by 3l in the Futurity at 11/1, earning quotes of 14/1 for next season’s Betfred 2000 Guineas and 10/1 for the Betfred Derby. The brilliant Dylan Browne McMonagle was on board – perhaps a glimpse of things to come.

“Cheltenham’s first meeting of the season happily took place at weekend, but international flat racing’s not quite done with yet and their big championship party, the Breeders’ Cup, is happening on Friday and Saturday in Keeneland.

“Aidan O’Brien, as ever, has a strong-looking hand and his three-year-old filly Diamond Necklace is a firm 6/4 fav to take the Turf.”

BOYLE Sports spokesperson, Brian O’Keeffe, said: “Giant Sequoia produced an eye-catching performance to win the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday. His performance sparked an immediate reaction in the betting, with his 2000 Guineas odds cut from 16/1 to 10/1 and his Epsom Derby price slashed from 33/1 to 14/1.”