Weekend Review: Bookies revel in FA Cup magic as Manchester clubs crumble
Punters left frustrated by surprise victories for London-based Arsenal and Chelsea at empty Wembley Stadium
Bookmakers were left punching the air at the weekend after Arsenal and Chelsea ousted much-fancied Manchester opponents in the FA Cup semi-finals to set up an all-London showdown on 1 August.
Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side thanks to a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while Chelsea eased past an in-form Manchester United 3-1. Both outcomes were largely ignored by bettors.
Kindred Group’s Ali Gill labelled it a “good weekend” on the world’s oldest domestic cup competition.
Gill said: “A good weekend in the FA Cup as the best-supported team in both semi-finals were beaten. Arsenal v Manchester City was the biggest match for us, but Chelsea’s win over Manchester United left us with a bigger margin.”
21 times. Nobody does it better.
? #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/vODvq2FDOi
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 18, 2020
Betway’s Chad Yeomans praised the “magic of the cup” for bringing about some positive results for the bookies.
Yeomans said: “The magic of the cup was in the air this weekend as both favourites in the semi-finals were beaten.
“Arsenal were 15/2 on Saturday afternoon to beat Manchester City in 90 minutes, and were largely unbacked by Betway punters, as was Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United,” he added.
William Hill’s Rupert Adams said the FA Cup led to a “good weekend for bookie-friendly results” as many accumulators went bust before the Premier League action had even got going.
Adams added: “It was a strange couple of days as punters built their accumulators throughout the day and then the FA Cup messed it up.
“The Arsenal result against Manchester City was catastrophic for 99% of customers on Saturday and on Sunday, punters put their faith in Manchester United, who, sadly for them, never got going,” he concluded.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins noted: “Despite an all-Manchester final being on the minds of many, we took excellent money on the semi-final ‘London Double,’ which cost us plenty.”
.@MasonMount_10’s message to all Chelsea fans after that big semi-final win! ??#MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/kezQaxDp4y
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 19, 2020
Elsewhere in the world of horseracing, Adams noted it was a difficult weekend for punters, with results tricky to judge.
Adams continued: “It was a weekend when punters struggled to find a winner as the results were difficult to predict, with the biggest turnover race the John Smith’s Cup won by an 11/1 outsider.”