Weekend Review: Bookies edge ahead as title race and relegation battle heats up

The bookies edged ahead of the punters in the Premier League this weekend as the title race continues to heat up between Liverpool and Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side (1/10) dismantled Watford (22/1) 5-1 to open up a four-point gap to Liverpool ahead of the Merseyside derby.

The Reds (1/5) duly responded with a 2-0 win over local rivals Everton (15/1) to send the Toffees into the relegation zone, with goals from Andy Robertson and Divock Origi sealing all three points.

Elsewhere, Spurs’ Champions League hopes were dealt a blow after being held to a 0-0 draw away to Brentford, while Arsenal (evens) took advantage of a chaotic Manchester United (13/5) to win 3-1 at the Emirates.

Defeat at Arsenal.#MUFC | #ARSMUN

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 23, 2022

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “The goals line not being hit and the names on the scoresheet in the Merseyside derby meant we managed to come out ahead there, and Brentford (15/4) holding Spurs (7/10) to a 0-0 draw was another good one for the book.”

With City just one point ahead of Liverpool at the top of the table, and Everton joining Watford and Norwich in the bottom three, Betfred’s Alan Firkins laid out the latest odds for the concerned sides.

He told EGR: “As for the Toffees, Burnley’s precious victory against Wolves lifts them out of the bottom three at Everton’s expense. The Goodison outfit have been a top-flight club since the mid-fifties, the second-longest such unbroken spell behind only Arsenal.

“That proud record is in massive danger right now, with Everton 10/11 for the drop. It’s then Burnley 11/8, and Leeds 9/2. The latest title odds see City at 4/9, with Liverpool 7/4,” he added.

In Europe, Barcelona went down to a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Rayo Vallecano but it remained one of the only bookmaker-friendly results on the continent.

A late winner for AC Milan against Lazio sent them two points clear at the top of Serie A, while there was a wild 3-3 draw between Freiburg (4/5) and Borussia Monchengladbach (16/5) in Germany.

⚡️ ¡¡¡FINAAAAAAL EN EL CAMP NOU!!! (0-1)!!!
¡Inmensa e histórica victoria que nos hace alcanzar los 4⃣0⃣ puntos en la clasificación!
⚽️ Álvaro García #BarçaRayo #VamosRayo pic.twitter.com/nCPwBMZALK

— Rayo Vallecano (@RayoVallecano) April 24, 2022

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “Rayo Vallecano’s win at Barcelona was the highlight of the results around Europe. Sandro Tonali’s injury time winner for Milan against Lazio gave us our worst result in Europe as the visitors overcame Ciro Immobile’s 26th goal of the campaign to go two points clear at the top of Serie A.

“The Bundesliga figures were a sea of red with the 3-3 draw between Freiburg and Borussia Monchengladbach being the most expensive.

Our two-goals ahead early pay out coming into play as well as goal-fest. Leverkusen’s 4-1 win against Greuther Furth was also bad, in fact we only had one winning game in the German top-flight,” he added.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, the jump season came to a conclusion at Sandown as 16/1-shot Hewick won the Grade 3 bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase to continue his success on British soil.

The seven-year-old added to its win in the Durham National at Sedgefield in the autumn after seeing off pre-race favourite Kitty’s Light (third) with ease to finish strongly ahead of Musical Slave.

🇮🇪 Irish eyes are smiling in the £160,000 @bet365 Gold Cup

Hewick powers to victory in the feature for @GainfordJordan & John 'Shark' Hanlon at @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/fsDGnzNluW

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 23, 2022

Gill said: “At Sandown on Saturday the curtain came down on the jumps season. In the bet365 Gold Cup Handicap, 16/1 shot Hewick ran out a very impressive winner, relegating favourite Kitty’s Light to third from only six finishers in a layer friendly results.

“However, in the Novices’ Championship Final Handicap, 3/1 favourite Knappers Hill got the job done in a result which left punters well ahead.”