Weekend Review: Bookies salvage something with Saturday score draws

Some decent results for the bookmakers on Saturday in the Premier League were bookended by punter-friendly games in a flip-flopping football weekend.

Manchester City (3/5) dispatched Crystal Palace 4-1 on Friday night, with backers happy to see Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki each notch up a brace.

Saturday saw the tide turn, with four favourites in Liverpool, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Coventry all failing to win.

Liverpool (11/25) needed a late equaliser from new signing Victor Muñoz to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest, while big-spending Spurs (11/10) slumped to a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle.

In a battle of the newly promoted sides, Hull (7/2) made it two wins from two after winning 1-0 away at Coventry. Bournemouth (6/5) were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “The bank holiday weekend kicked off with punters toasting Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki as the pair went to town on Crystal Palace. Haaland was 4/1 to score two or more, Cherki was 28/1 to do the same, and the Norwegian was 9/2 to score a header.

“That early advantage was wiped out on Saturday, with all four Premier League favourites being floored. Liverpool (4/9) were the most profitable, followed by a pair of 23/20 shots in Spurs and Bournemouth, and 8/11 Coventry.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins added: “After a whole two games of the new Premier League season, a quick glance at the table has Manchester City top and Arsenal second. Mind you, Hull have the same number of points as do Chelsea, so no accusations of boring predictability, please.

“Hull arguably took the honours at weekend beating Coventry away from home with a solitary late intervention, and other decent results for the desk were Liverpool being held 2-2 at Anfield by Nottingham Forest, and stalemates at Leeds versus Brentford and Bournemouth versus Everton.”

On Sunday, Manchester United (9/25) demolished Ipswich Town 5-2 despite going 1-0 down to the Tractor Boys, while Chelsea’s (4/5) leaky defence just about survived the 4-3 win over Brighton.

Leeds (9/5) secured a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford after going behind to a sublime Kevin Schade flick and Sunderland (5/4) beat Fulham 1-0.

On Monday, a 1-0 win for Arsenal (11/25) against Aston Villa was a low-scoring affair that kept the Gunners’ 100% record intact.

Firkins remarked: “Arsenal sneaked past a somewhat resurgent Aston Villa on Monday night 1-0, while City kicked off the weekend on Friday with a demolition of Crystal Palace in the capital, winning 4-1. Two for Erling Haaland was expensive, and Rayan Cherki was at his mercurial best with a couple for himself.”

Freeth said: “Sunday’s games saw punters back in clover, with seven goals scored at both Chelsea and Manchester United. [João] Pedro, [Cole] Palmer and [Morgan] Rogers were either scoring or assisting – in the Brazilian’s case, both – as [Xabi] Alonso’s new charges continued where they left off at Fulham.

“1/2 favourites Arsenal ended the long weekend with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa. While a 1-0 victory with two shots on target shouldn’t be sniffed at, the results around Europe added to our woes.”

That included wins for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter, AC Milan, Juventus and Roma.

“The only real shock involving the big sides on the continent was in Lille on Friday night. 8/11 PSG recovered from a 2-0 deficit with injury-time goals from Vitinha and Marquinhos to finish all square at 2-2. We had already paid out on Lille when Dilane Bakwa put them two clear after 84 minutes,” Freeth added.

Finally, a shock first-round exit for tennis great Novak Djokovic saw the Serb break down in tears at the US Open during his 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 4-6 6-2 6-1 loss to Mariano Navone.

The 39-year-old, who is a 24-time Grand Slam champion, was beaten in the first round at Flushing Meadows for the first time in his career.

BOYLE Sports’ Brian O’Keeffe said: “Meanwhile at the US Open, the draw has been blown wide open. Novak Djokovic’s first-round exit – his first since 2006 – and Jannik Sinner’s absence means two major names are now missing.

“Carlos Alcaraz is 7/4 to win it, although his return from injury leaves room for doubt, while French Open champion Alexander Zverev remains firmly in the picture at 3/1.”