Weekend Review: Bookies bouncing with bore draw as Liverpool lead title race

A bore draw between Manchester City (17/20) and Arsenal (3/1) on Sunday afternoon was not the Easter treat the neutrals were after, but left traders pleased with the lack of goalmouth action.

With both teams vying for the title and looking to chase down Liverpool (2/5) after the Merseysiders edged past Brighton (6/1) 2-1 earlier in the day, the reality was a damp squib of a game.

Erling Haaland failed to get into the contest and defensive structures from both sides failed to let the game flow, in what had promised to be an exciting match between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.

Draws were the order of the weekend, with Manchester United (8/5) having seemingly snatched victory from the jaws of mediocrity thanks to Mason Mount’s first goal of the season in stoppage time letting Brentford (9/4) centre back Kristoffer Ajer equalise in the 99th minute.

Chelsea’s (3/10) bang average season continued with a 2-2 draw against relegation shoo-ins Burnley (10/1), while Fulham spoilt Sheffield United’s party with after clawing back to 3-3 in the Steel City and Nottingham Forest (8/5) and Crystal Palace (7/4) drew 1-1.

Francisco Cano, LiveScore Group head of trading, said: “It was yet another good weekend of footballing action after the international break, with some key games in the battle for top spot in the Premier League.

“The biggest event over the weekend was, of course, the City versus Arsenal game, which saw neither team score in a rather dull 0-0. However, this returned a great margin for the bookies.”

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill added: “After the fairly drab across-the-board international break, it’s always great to have the Premier League back.

“Unfortunately, City and Arsenal hadn’t read the script and produced a game to make us yearn for the international break to return.

“However, no surprise from a trading side that was a fantastic result for the book, to round out what was a great weekend on our side. Chelsea and United drawing with Burnley and Brentford, respectively, bought more cheer to the traders in a weekend where we finished ahead in eight of the 10 games played.”

Elsewhere, West Ham capitulated in spectacular fashion after rushing into a 3-1 lead against Newcastle before going down 4-3 after a stunning showing from Harvey Barnes and a cameo to forget from on-loan midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

There were also wins for Spurs, despite going 1-0 down at home to Luton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth as the battle for Europe and to stave off relegation heads into the final furlong.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “Saturday also started badly, paying out on West Ham when the Hammers went 3-1 up, thanks to our ‘2 Goals Ahead’ early payout, before a ‘Barnes-storming’ finish for the hosts and Spurs in-play at 7/5 wasn’t pretty either.

“The rest of the Saturday card went our way, barring an early payout on Sheffield United when they trigged our two-goal concession.

“You never quite know which Chelsea or Manchester United will turn up this season – fortunately for us, it was the bad version with the 1-1 between Forest and Palace also playing out how we liked,” he added.

With Liverpool now two points clear of Arsenal and three of City with nine games left to play, Betfred’s Alan Firkins laid out the tale of the tape for a thrilling title race.

He said: “A glorious Jurgen Klopp farewell with that massive trophy tucked neatly under his arm is most definitely on; and the traders agree.

“It’s now 5/4 Liverpool, 2/1 City and 5/2 Arsenal. The Reds lead the Gunners by two points and City three. It’s in their hands but, between now and 19 May, watch for a few twists and turns yet in this enthralling race.”

Over on the continent, Bayer Leverkusen have all but sealed the Bundesliga title after another last-minute winner and Bayern Munich’s failure to win, again, came to a head.

Despite going down 1-0 at home to Hoffenheim, Robert Andrich’s 88th minute equaliser and Patrik Schick’s 91st minute winner put Xabi Alonso’s side in the driving seat.

Bayern Munich then proceeded to surrender to a 2-0 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund to fall 13 points behind Leverkusen, with seven games to go.

Freeth said: “In Europe we were saluting Bayern Munich’s failure at 1/3 against Borussia Dortmund and 2/7 Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Las Palmas.

“We certainly weren’t patting Xabi Alonso on the back after his Bayer Leverkusen side – 2/11 pre-game – turned it around late for what feels like the umpteenth time.

“The runaway leaders touched 20/1 in-running before Andrich and Schick secured three points. And bet365 customers wouldn’t have been too concerned to see both 1/2 Bochum and 3/10 Stuttgart throwing away two-goal leads thanks to you know what.”

Betway’s Chad Yeomans added: “In Europe, the big news came from Germany and the Bundesliga, where a poor Bayern Munich lost at home to Borussia Dortmund and all but mathematically ended their chances of winning the title as they now sit a mammoth 13 points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen. 

“Pre-season, many punters thought that with the arrival of Harry Kane, Bayern were a shoo-in to win their 12th league title in a row at 3/10, while the few punters who thought Xabi Alonso’s men could spring a huge upset were taking odds of 50/1!”

Finally, in horseracing, Intense Raffles won the Irish Grand National after holding off Any Second Now to give trainer Thomas Gibney another win in the race 12 years since Lion Na Bearnai’s victory.

Ridden by JJ Slevin, Intense Raffles made a mistake four out, but led proceedings by three out and went clear when approaching the last.

While the six-year-old’s lead decreased as 14/1 Any Second Now pushed on, with Willie Mullins’ 20/1-shot Minella Cocooner in third, Slevin managed to hold on for the win.

The 4/1 favourite Nick Rockett, another Mullins’ runner, finished back in seventh.

Betfred’s Firkin noted: “Intense Raffles won the Irish National as a well-backed and well-touted 13/2 second favourite, so the punters certainly knew what they were about there.

“We’re less than a couple of weeks away from the big one, of course, the Aintree version, and Corach Rambler heads our lists at 5/1, bidding to do a Red Rum, a Tiger Roll, and repeat. Could be another big day on Merseyside – seems it’s the place to be right now.”