Weekend Review: Lack of Premier League action sees punters flock to AFCON, EFL and Australian Open

A weekend without Premier League football meant bettors focused instead on lower leagues, international tournaments and alternative sports over the weekend.

With the Premier League on a brief hiatus for a winter break, punters were forced to look elsewhere for a football bet, with the EFL and Africa Cup of Nations proving to be the most popular alternatives.

In the Championship, league leaders Fulham (3/10) were held to a 1-1 draw with Blackpool (9/1) after Josh Bowler equalised for the Seasiders following Aleksandar Mitrović’s early opener for the London side.

Promotion challengers Blackburn (11/5) could only muster a 0-0 draw away to Luton Town (6/4) in the absence of star striker Ben Brereton Díaz.

The points are shared.#FULBLK pic.twitter.com/ZUR6N7Lukx

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) January 29, 2022

League One leaders Wigan (Evens) were also denied three points after a 0-0 draw away to Cheltenham (11/4)

In Cameroon, Mo Salah’s Egypt and Sadio Mane’s Senegal secured their places in the semi-finals of AFCON.

Egypt (3/1) edged past Morocco (23/20) 2-1 after extra time with Salah scoring one and assisting the other while Mane starred as Senegal (11/20) beat Equatorial Guinea (7/1) 3-1.

Virgin Bet head of trading Janis Strauts said: “The Championship and AFCON were both in the spotlight at the weekend and produced some mixed results for our book.

“In the Championship, our highest turnover fixture was Fulham’s 1-1 draw with Blackpool, which provided great profit margins and killed most weekend accumulators as a result.

“This was in stark contrast to AFCON, where Senegal’s victory against Equatorial Guinea left punters with impressive 50% profit margins,” he added.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth commented: “No Premier League action but plenty going on in the EFL. We were given a helping hand by both Fulham and Wigan as the respective league leaders of the Championship and League One were unable to take maximum points, two coupon-busters.”

The other two quarter finals at AFCON saw hosts Cameroon (11/20) win 2-0 against Gambia (15/2) while Burkina Faso (3/1) beat Tunisia (6/5) 1-0 thanks to a goal from teenager Dango Ouattara, who was later sent off.

An assist for Sadio Mane as #TeamSenegal qualify for the #AFCON2021 semi-finals 🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/TkrtAbr9hw

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 30, 2022

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill noted: “Africa Cup of Nations football took the punters interest with a lack of Premier League, with all four games over the weekend finishing in the black. Egypt’s extra time win over Morocco was our best result of the quarter final round.”

Elsewhere, in horseracing, Gordon Elliott’s Pied Piper won at a canter at 11/8 in Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham, boosting his hopes for the Festival, while Nicky Henderson-trained Champ, the red-hot 8/15 favourite, lost out to the popular Paisley Park at odds of 5/1 in the Cleeve Hurdle.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “At Cheltenham, Gordon Elliott’s Pied Piper led the rest a merry dance indeed, sluicing up in the Triumph Hurdle trial.

“He’s now 5/2 for the real thing in March, with the same trainer and owner’s Fil Dor at 3/1, Willie Mullins’ Vauban at 4/1, and then it’s 12/1 bar. The Irish have a real stranglehold on this year’s renewal,” he added.

Strauts noted: “Results went our way Cheltenham and Doncaster on Saturday. Chantry House winning The Cotswold Chase was a loser in the books but not as bad as we had anticipated. Champ getting beaten at 8/15 in The Cleeve Hurdle was one of our best results of the weekend.

“Life Is Good winning The Pegasus at Gulfstream Park was not the best result for us but we had a positive Sunday with favourable results at Sedgefield, Fontwell and Naas.”

In Australia, Rafa Nadal (1/2) made history after securing his 21st Grand Slam title after looking dead and buried in the middle of the third set to win the Australian Open in a five-set thriller against Daniil Medvedev (8/5) in Melbourne – the second longest Australian Open final ever.

Your #AusOpen Champion: @RafaelNadal 🇪🇸⚡️#AO2022 pic.twitter.com/e0dLl3tOUz

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 30, 2022

Nadal, 36, moved ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who was refused entry to Australia to compete over his lack of requisite Covid-19 vaccination status, in the list of Grand Slam winners.

In the women’s final, Ashleigh Barty (1/5) secured the title on home soil as the Australian beat American Danielle Collins (19/5).

Gill said: “The finals of the Australian Open topped the weekend activity, with the men’s and woman’s final coming in as first and second on the turnover side. Unfortunately, both went the way of the punters, with Nadal’s epic comeback hitting the book as the biggest loser of the weekend.”