Weekend Review: Draws delight for the layers as international break looms
Wins for both Manchester clubs provide punters with some solace as bookies clean up on Liverpool’s 1-1 tie with title challengers Chelsea
A swathe of draws in the final weekend of Premier League football before the first international break of the season helped the layers claw back some ground on the punters.
Bettors had the rub of the green in the first two gameweeks but with half of the weekend’s matches ending all square, the bookies were able to avoid another washout.
Title challengers Liverpool (11/8) and Chelsea (19/10) played out a 1-1 tie with Reece James receiving a red card for the Blues after blocking a goal-bound shot with his arm.
A frustrating afternoon but we move on. Amazing atmosphere like always, see you after the international break! 😃 pic.twitter.com/oeIBEIE0BM
— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) August 29, 2021
Elsewhere, West Ham (11/20) and Crystal Palace (6/1) couldn’t be separated in East London following a 2-2 thriller, while Leeds (6/5) and Burnley (11/5) finished 1-1 at Turf Moor.
Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said that despite the draw-heavy weekend, some punters managed to sneak ahead thanks to results elsewhere.
He said: “Round three of the Premier League just about went to the punters as most of the big boys got the job done.
“The big layer-friendly result was of course Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, which also came in as our biggest event of the weekend. A draw there was always going to be bookie friendly, and so it proved.”
Indeed, some picks paid out for the punters and none more so than Manchester City’s (3/10) 5-0 demolition job of a woeful Arsenal (8/1) side.
Goals from İlkay Gündoğan, Ferran Torres (2), Gabriel Jesus and Rodri gave the champions a well-deserved win as Arsenal’s shocking start to the season continued, with the club now bottom of the top-flight table.
Elsewhere, Manchester United (3/4) edged past Wolves (15/4) 1-0 thanks to a Mason Greenwood goal after confirming the return of club legend Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus.
🇵🇹🔴 𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗔 𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗗𝗢 🔴🇵🇹
🏡 @Cristiano is back!#MUFC | #RonaldoReturns
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 31, 2021
Gill added: “All told it was five games in the red and five games in the black for us in terms of the results, but the main damage came from City’s destruction of a poor Arsenal side, with punters going to town on that one and loving the result.”
Betfred’s Alan Firkins told EGR how both Manchester clubs threatened to tip the balance of the weekend to the punters.
He said: “Punters have held the whip hand thus far in this fledgling Premier League season – until Saturday.
“A raft of favourable results for the books then, and even though both Manchester City and Manchester United justified heavy support over the weekend, there were enough upsets to have layers on very decent terms with themselves.”
What a performance from the boys! 5-0 = a perfect Saturday 💙⚽️ pic.twitter.com/yjn0r3rm1S
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) August 28, 2021