Weekend Review: Magic Marmoush mauls Magpies in City's four-goal haul 

Manchester City (21/20) beat Newcastle 4-0 thanks to a star-studded display from January signing Omar Marmoush to give the punters something to cheer in an otherwise bookmaker-friendly Premier League weekend.

The Egyptian grabbed his first goal for the side since signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in January, quickly following it up with his second and third, all within the first half at the Etihad.  

James McAtee added a fourth goal in the second half as City bounced back emphatically from a midweek loss at home to Real Madrid.  

Tottenham (5/4) beat Manchester United (2/1) 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in Sunday’s marquee bottom-half clash.  

A returning James Maddison scored the winner early in the first half, tapping in from close range after a shot was parried by Andre Onana.  

Liverpool (11/50) survived a late scare to beat Wolves 2-1 at Anfield. An early Luis Diaz strike and a Mo Salah penalty were enough to secure the points, despite a second half reply from Matheus Cunha.  

Both Spurs and Liverpool’s one-goal winning margins were lapped up by the layers, while Aston Villa (21/50) were held at home to 10-man Ipswich and Fulham (11/10) edged out third-placed Nottingham Forest at Craven Cottage in other positive results for the bookies.

Arsenal (3/10) had put the pressure on the league leaders the day before, as a Mikel Merino double helped the Gunners to a 2-0 win away at Leicester.

The weekend’s action started with Brighton (19/10) convincingly dispatched Chelsea on the seaside after a spectacular Kaoru Mitoma strike and a Yankuba Minteh brace.  

David Moyes’ return to Everton (7/2) continued in good stead as the Toffees beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park.  

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill explained why the weekend’s results saw the operator come out on top, overall. 

He said: “A good weekend in the Premier League as results on the whole went our way. Spurs’ 1-0 win over Manchester United was dictated by the lack of goals, that result leaving us in the black. The best result came from the Midlands as Ipswich held Villa to a 1-1 draw, which took a fair few accas out with it as well.  

“Arsenal and Manchester City both managed a win to nil, although with different levels of authority as Arsenal had to leave it late – we managed to finish ahead on both, largely helped by the big names staying off the score sheet.” 

Bet365’s Steve Freeth echoed Gill’s remarks, as he revealed Dango Outtara came in clutch for punters in Bournemouth’s 3-1 win at Southampton.

He said: “We did lose on Arsenal’s victory at Leicester, Everton winning at Crystal Palace and another bold showing from Bournemouth, where we had 652 bets on Dango Outtara scoring with a header at 14/1.

“Aside from that game on the South Coast and the 4-0 at Manchester City, the rest of the card were settled by narrow margins and that was topped up on Sunday with one-goal wins for Liverpool and Tottenham.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins revealed Liverpool are still odds-on for only their second Premier League title with 13 games left to play of the season. He said: “Liverpool are 1/4 to clinch their second crown, it’s 3/1 Arsenal who are seven points adrift. We’ve got City at 100/1, and it’s telephone number-prices the rest.”

Across Europe, both Madrid sides were held to 1-1 draws with Atletico’s (2/5) coming at home to Celta Vigo, and Real’s (2/5) occurring away at Osasuna in a match where Jude Bellingham was shown a red card.  

In Germany, Bayern Munich (5/4) and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 0-0 draw, while Borussia Dortmund (11/20) lost 2-0 away to Bochum.

Juventus (11/4) beat Inter Milan 1-0 in a heavyweight Serie A clash, allowing Napoli (9/4) to maintain their lead at the top of the table with a 2-2 draw away at Lazio.

Freeth noted the slew of high-profile draws across Europe’s top five leagues made it a profitable weekend for the privately owned bookmaker.  

He said: “We made hay in Europe where we got a huge helping hand with a number of draws. In order of profitability we saw 1/2 Real Madrid, 5/4 Bayern Munich, 2/5 Atlético Madrid, 1/2 Atalanta, 7/10 Villarreal all finishing level on Saturday and even when a hotpot won, 1/3 Milan and 1/2 PSG, it was only by a 1-0 margin. 

“On the flip side, we did endure some high-scoring hits including the 7-1 win for Monaco, the 2-2 at Lazio and the 3-3 at Leganes, with all eyes now on the Champions League second legs in midweek.” 

Betway’s Mike Reading added: “Given how heavily backed Inter were in both singles and accumulators, Juve’s win was a real standout result of the day for the layers. 

“In the Italian top league, Atalanta’s goalless draw was our biggest winner, while Lazio’s late equaliser against Napoli was another good result, with many punters backing Antonio Conte’s men to take all three points.  

“Milan’s late winner against Verona, however, was a very punter-friendly result, especially in-play, where we saw plenty of action on them to win.

“In Spain, all four La Liga games on Saturday remarkably ended in draws, with big guns Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid both failing to win. That was a huge boost for us, as those two teams featured in nearly every La Liga accumulator we saw.”

Meanwhile, during the weekend’s horseracing at Ascot, Pic D’orhy (9/5) romped home to beat out 7/4 favourite Corbetts Cross in the Betfair Ascot Chase, with 18/1 Blue Lord coming in third.

The Paul Nicholls-trained winner secured its second successive win in the race after taking victory by 10 lengths from Corbetts Cross.

Elsewhere, 11/4 favourite Altobelli won the Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle ahead of Joyeux Machin (6/1) and Classic King (9/1).  

At Haydock, Famous Bridge (6/1) claimed first place in The Grand National Trial Handicap Chase, beating 11/4 favourite Apple Away and Val Dancer (10/1).  

Winning by three lengths, the nine-year-old has now seen its price for The Grand National itself slashed in half to 50/1.

Gill said: “At Ascot on Saturday, the Ascot Chase went the way of the very impressive Pic D’orhy, who won by 10 lengths at over favourite Corbetts Cross. The winner was very well supported on the day and that one lined punters’ pockets.”

Firkins highlighted the implications the weekend’s racing had on the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, which is only three weeks away. 

He remarked: “At Wincanton, Golden Ace gamely fought off Burdett Road in the Kingwell and has been cut to 8s from 12/1 for the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

“Haydock’s National trial meanwhile threw up Famous Bridge, racing in the legendary Hemmings Racing Hedgehunter silks, who has attracted a little support for the big one at Aintree (50s from 100/1).

“If my maths is resoundingly better than it was several decades ago at school, it’s now just over three weeks until we descend upon that glorious Gloucestershire amphitheatre – a glittering highlight in the sporting calendar. Hugely anticipated, as always.”