Weekend Review: Regular results resume in Premier League as racing returns at Cheltenham
Goal frenzies freeze up as punters and bookies lock horns with all eyes on Frodon for Gold Cup
After several weeks of mind-boggling scores and performances, normality was partially restored in the Premier League this weekend as Sunday’s results saw layers regain the upper hand.
West Ham’s resolute performance in their 1-1 draw with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Everton’s hot run of form coming to an end thanks to a 2-0 defeat to Southampton were the main surprises from a weekend of run-of-the-mill results.
A battling performance wins us another important point
#WHUMCI
— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 24, 2020
Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “For the first time this season, the football is starting to settle down and the results are starting to look a little more ‘normal’.
“Plenty of Betway punters thought Manchester City would continue their fantastic record against West Ham. However, it was another very resilient defensive performance from the Hammers. They fully deserved the point they took from the game,” he added.
William Hill’s Rupert Adams told EGR how pre-match betting for Sunday’s fixture list made for a positive day for the bookmaker.
Adams said: “Sunday was a very strong day for pre-match football, with all top three spots going our way (Juventus, Wolves and Arsenal). In-play figures were also good, with Vardy’s 80th minute winner [against Arsenal] helping to provide the best result of the day.”
Vards
scoring vs. Arsenal
Name a better duo… pic.twitter.com/9oSa6eLFeO
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 26, 2020
Yeomans went on to detail how just a handful of Betway punters remain in the running to secure the £50,000 weekly prize pot for the bookmaker’s F2P ‘4 to win’ game.
He said: “Our free-to-play game ‘4 To Win’ is into this weekend’s final leg between Burnley and Tottenham tonight, with just a small handful of players still left in the game for the £50,000 weekly prize pot.
“No doubt they’ll all be watching the game this evening, hoping that the first goal scorer they have chosen manages to bag the game’s opening goal,” he noted.
Elsewhere, horseracing returned to Cheltenham for the first time since the Festival in March.
The Paul Nicholls-trained Frodon forced its way into the Gold Cup conversation after securing a sixth victory at Cheltenham in testing conditions.
A brilliant performance from Frodon as he wins the Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap Chase!
Watch LIVE
@ITV4
https://t.co/HGM9TtXkhB#itvracing pic.twitter.com/qbbehCCiXX
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) October 24, 2020
Adams said: “Racing was solid turnover with Cheltenham on Saturday and Aintree on Sunday. Paul Nicholls caused us a headache on Saturday with a 14/1 double – his second winner on the day (Frodon) is a particularly popular horse with punters.”
Yeomans added: “The performance of the day was undoubtedly Frodon’s success off top weight in the feature race and he is now 25/1 with Betway for the Gold Cup in March!”