Weekend Review: No clear winners as punters and bookmakers share the spoils

Results across the Premier League left both punters and bookmakers with wins and losses on both sides, as Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the table with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday evening.

The Gunners’ title hopes were boosted on Monday night when Manchester City (4/9) dropped points in what was a thrilling second half at Everton, salvaging a 3-3 draw on Merseyside thanks to a cool finish from Jeremy Doku deep into stoppage time. 

The Gunners head into the final three games of the season with a five-point lead and are a best-priced 1/4 to secure their first title in 22 years. City, who have a game in hand but their fate no longer in their hands, can be backed at 7/2 in places. 

Elsewhere, Manchester United (13/10) survived a second-half wobble to beat Liverpool 3-2 on Sunday, as Tottenham (2/1) managed a desperately needed win against a rotated Aston Villa side to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.

Helped by West Ham’s poor showing in their 3-0 defeat to Brentford (4/5) 24 hours earlier, Spurs are now a point ahead of the Hammers with nine points left to fight for.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest (5/1) made light work of a struggling Chelsea side, beating the Blues 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, to move six points ahead of West Ham and all but secure their Premier League status for another season. West Ham are 2/7 to drop into the Championship while Spurs are now 11/4 to be relegated. 

Betfred’s Alan Firkins called the action a “mixed bag of results” which favoured neither punters or bookmakers.

“The Gunners disposed of Fulham in fairly routine fashion, while rivals Manchester City shared six goals with Everton on their first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night,” he said. 

“They managed to rescue a solitary point, as Erling Haaland and another Jeremy Doku ripper deep into added time salvaged something from the wreckage, but the Gunners now lead by five points, having played one more game than Pep Guardiola’s men.

“Elsewhere, West Ham and Spurs have flip-flopped as far as the last relegation place is concerned, with Tottenham now a precious point to the good after they beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Midlands. It was a typical mixed bag of results to keep both the layers and punters on their toes.”

Bet365’s Steve Freeth highlighted the number of goals scored in England’s top-flight across the weekend, alongside the latest “twist” in the race for the title.

“There were goals aplenty this weekend with every game either going over 2.5 goals or featuring both teams scoring, with 37 across the 10 matches and another twist in the title race,” Freeth remarked. 

“Arsenal showed no nerves when recording a routine win over Fulham, prior to Manchester City taking the field at Everton and dropping points on Merseyside.

“Elsewhere, punters and Manchester United manager Michael Carrick enjoyed at good result at Old Trafford. It’s advantage Spurs in the relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League, with Roberto de Zerbi’s side benefitting from a much-changed Aston Villa in between Europa League semi-final legs.

“However, Villa’s Europa League opponents, Nottingham Forest, were able to do the business at Chelsea.”

Across Europe, PSG were held 2-2 against Lorient, Juventus drew at home when welcoming Verona to Turin and Bayern Munich could only manage a 3-3 draw against Heidenheim.

Milan’s 2-0 away defeat to Sassuolo (7/2) were among several results favouring operators.

However, the top six in Spain all picked up three points, much to the delight of punters, with highlights including Barcelona’s (3/5) 2-1 win over Osasuna and both Real Madrid (3/4) and Atlético Madrid (4/1) winning on the road.

In Scotland, Hearts (2/1) came from behind to beat Rangers 2-1 to move a point above their opponents and three points clear of Celtic in third place. The Old Firm Derby is this weekend, while Hearts play Celtic on the final day of the season, on 16 May. 

Freeth noted: “Derek McInnes’ half-time team talk worked a treat with Hearts turning around a 1-0 deficit to beat Rangers.

“On the continent, we saw heavily rotated teams from the Champions League semi-finalist trio of Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG with only one winner – Diego Simeone’s side in his 1,000th match in charge as Atleti won at Valencia.

“PSG were held by Lorient, while Bayern Munich needed Michael Olise to come off the bench to score a 100th-minute equaliser versus Heidenheim.

“In La Liga, Villarreal sealed Champions League qualification as the Yellow Submarine sunk Levante 5-1. The top six of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid, Real Betis and Celta Vigo all won this weekend.”

As for the equine action, Saturday’s highlight was the 2,000 Guineas, with Bow Echo (9/2), ridden by 20-year-old Billy Loughnane, powering up the stands side to take the showpiece at Newmarket. 

The Irish-born jockey has become the youngest winner of the first Classic of the Flat season since 19-year-old Donnacha O’Brien aboard Saxon Warrior in 2018. 

Joint-favourites Gstaad (3/1) and Distant Storm (3/1) passed the winning post in second and third, respectively.

On the Sunday it was the turn of the fillies with the 1,000 Guineas, as True Love (5/1) under Wayne Lordan put to bed any stamina doubts to give trainer Aiden O’Brien his eighth win in the race. 

Evolutionist (16/1) took an early lead and managed to come second, ahead of Venetian Lace (33/1), yet O’Brien-trained favourite Precise (9/5) finished well out of the places in seventh. 

Firkins said: “Well-supported Bow Echo won the 2,000 Guineas in scintillating fashion for 20-year-old jockey Billy Loughnane and 34-year-old trainer George Boughey, while Aidan O’Brien took the fillies’ equivalent, the 1,000, not with favourite Precise but stablemate True Love.”

Finally, there was a nail-biting conclusion to the 2026 World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, as the final went to a final frame decider for only the fourth time in the game’s modern era. 

In the end, China’s long-potting machine Wu Yize, a 14/1-shot in the outright market before the 17-day tournament started, took the title by 18 frames to 17 against a resurgent Shaun Murphy, who was aiming to be crowned champion for the second time since his maiden win way back in 2005. 

It means Chinese players have claimed the sport’s biggest prize two years in a row, following compatriot Zhao Xintong’s victory in 2025.