Weekend Review: FA Cup giant killings leave layers with a smile

The FA Cup kept up its long tradition of giant killings as a number of Premier League sides were knocked out of the competition by lower-league opposition, much to the delight of the bookies.

The biggest shock of the third round saw League One side Cambridge United (14/1 in 90 minutes) secure a famous 1-0 win over struggling Newcastle at St. James’ Park.

Joe Ironside scored the winner to pile further woe on Eddie Howe’s men as the travelling Cambridge support were treated to an afternoon they’d never forget.

The moment we stunned St James' Park. #CamUTD pic.twitter.com/ReWnW0hsvX

— Cambridge United FC (@CambridgeUtdFC) January 9, 2022

In the East Midlands, for the second time in four years, Nottingham Forest (11/2 in 90 minutes) knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the third round stage.

A late goal from Lewis Grabban ensured Forest passage through to the next round for a derby game against FA Cup holders Leicester City.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “The Premier League made way for the FA Cup third round this weekend, which served up more than a few shock results making it a layers’ weekend.

“Nottingham Forest beating Arsenal wasn’t the biggest shock in footballing terms, but it was the best result in the book for us, topping the chart for the weekend as a whole as well,” he added.

Elsewhere, non-league sides Boreham Wood and Kidderminster Harriers secured victories against AFC Wimbledon and Reading, respectively.

Punters were able to claw something back as odds-on favourites Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool all won out against lower-league sides, despite Spurs and Liverpool initially going behind in their fixtures.

Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “You can always expect an upset or two in the third round of the FA Cup, but perhaps we saw more than usual this weekend with Kidderminster Harriers beating Reading, Borehamwood beating AFC Wimbledon, Cambridge beating Newcastle and on Sunday, an under-prepared Arsenal got dumped out of the competition by Nottingham Forest.

“Obviously, on the flip side, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and a whole host of other expected favourites got the job done for punters, so it wasn’t a completely perfect weekend for us layers,” he added.

Manchester United face Aston Villa in the final fixture of the round, with Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati telling EGR: “Arsenal were the second best-backed side in the outright betting, behind only Manchester United. We’re hoping Villa can dump United out this evening, or that the game goes to extra time.”

Bet365’s Steve Freeth detailed how a mixed bag of results in European football over the weekend left both the punters and the layers pleased.

Serie A saw a gluttony of goals including a 4-3 win for Juventus over Roma, while the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich failed to secure all three points in an unusual blip for the dominant domestic forces.

⏰ ??? ?? ????? ??????????? ??????? ?#RomaJuve #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/Oojmle7kAF

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 9, 2022

Freeth said: “It was business as usual in Serie A with goals, goals and more goals. The highlight for punters being Juventus’ 4-3 win at Roma having been 3-1 down with 20 minutes to play. That two-goal margin triggered our 2 Goals Ahead Early Payout offer on singles as well as multiple and Bet Builder bets, as we also ended up paying on Juventus after their late fightback sealed a memorable 4-3 victory.

“Punters also enjoyed Atalanta’s 6-2 win over Udinese, likewise Sassuolo’s 5-1 hammering of Empoli, but it wasn’t all one-way traffic in Europe thanks to PSG and Bayern Munich’s failure to land all three points,” he added.

In horseracing, Constitution Hill asserted himself as the 2-1 favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham after breezing to a 12-length win at the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown.

Janis Strauts, Virgin Bet head of trading, said: “Horseracing over the weekend was busy for us with ITV racing at Wincanton and Sandown taking centre stage. The feature race in Sandown was the Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle.

“Although the favourite won at a short price of 2/5, we fared out well in this race and the result was a small winner in the book for us. The final two races at Sandown on Saturday were very much bookmaker friendly results with 18/1 and 25/1 winners, respectively.”

William Hill’s Rupert Adams warned the Nicky Henderson-trained runner could pose a serious threat to layers come Festival time.

A pleasure to ride Constitution Hill at @Sandownpark today in the @UnibetRacing Tolworth. He’s a very exciting horse for all the team at home @sevenbarrows ? pic.twitter.com/AflgmsE13b

— Nico de Boinville (@NdeBoinville) January 8, 2022

He said: “Constitution Hill did deliver but at 4/11 he did not represent a betting opportunity for the majority of our customers. That said he is now the favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and could cost us dear come March.”

Finally, Betfred’s Alan Firkins revealed some major wins for the punters over the weekend.

He said: “Huge winners at weekend included 80/1 and 40/1 shots, and two shrewd Betfred customers included them in a £1.50 each-way Yankee and 20p win Lucky 31 respectively, winning £104,000 and £57,000.”