Weekend Review: Mersey paradise as Liverpool go 15 points clear

A low-scoring weekend across the Premier League gave the bookies the edge on punters as Liverpool’s grasp on the title strengthened.

Arne Slot’s side (1/10) were the only favourite to win by a two-goal margin over the weekend, coming down from 1-0 to rock bottom Southampton (20/1) to run out 3-1 winners.

Arsenal (7/10), who were unable to replicate the scoring prowess shown in the 7-1 drubbing of PSV mid-week, left Old Trafford with a point following a 1-1 draw with Manchester United (4/1).

The result leaves the Gunners 15 points off Liverpool, with 10 games to go.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “Second-placed Arsenal could only draw at Manchester United, not a bad result for the books, and though Arne Slot’s table-toppers surprisingly trailed Southampton at home for about five minutes the eventual 3-1 outcome was very predictable.

“They’re a fine side, though how goalscorer Nunez avoided a red for a swish at Walker-Peters might confuse historians for some time to come.”

Elsewhere, Chelsea (1/5) could only beat relegation-threatened Leicester City (10/1) 1-0, complete with a Cole Palmer penalty miss, while Spurs (9/5) came from 2-0 down at home to draw 2-2 with Bournemouth (27/20).

Nottingham Forest’s (3/1) Champions League charge continued with a 1-0 win against the maligned Manchester City (4/5), while there were also 1-0 wins for Crystal Palace (3/5) against Ipswich (9/2) and Aston Vila (21/10) away at Brentford (23/20).

Brighton (19/20) kept their hopes of European football next season ticking over with a 98th minute winner from João Pedro following a controversial penalty being award to the Seagulls against Fulham (11/4).

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “A satisfactory if not sensational weekend in which we didn’t see too many goals in the Premier League and, when a favourite did win, they didn’t do it in spectacular fashion.

“Six of the nine games finished with under 2.5 goals and, while Brighton’s 98th minute winner was a sore one, it was more than covered by the low-scoring games at Forest, Brentford, Wolves and Chelsea.

“Additionally, Liverpool were the only favourite to win by a margin of two or more, but they had gone off at 1/10. And while we did pay out on 27/20 Bournemouth when they went 2-0 up at Tottenham due to our early payout offer, we made up for it with the 1-1 at Old Trafford.”

Firkins added: “Chelsea replace City in fourth [place] thanks to an uneventful 1-0 win against Leicester, and we now have Pep’s stuttering troops at 4/9 for a top four finish, with 10 games to play.”

On the continent, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund all lost on the same weekend for the first time since the 2006-07 season, in what was an acca-buster for the ages.

Bayern had been 2-0 up against VfL Bochum before João Palhinha was sent off and it fell to pieces for the Bavarians.

Dortmund fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Augsburg, while Leverkusen also lost on home turf, with Werder Bremen winning 2-0.

In Serie A, AC Milan (4/5) and Inter Milan (7/50) both came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Lecce and Monza, respectively, while Atalanta thumped Juventus 4-0.

Over in Spain, Real Madrid shook off last week’s loss to Real Betis to win 2-1 against fellow capital side Rayo Vallecano as Atlético Madrid lost away to Getafe.

Freeth laid out the action from Europe: “In Europe we paid out on a number of sides going two goals clear before being pegged back, none more so than 1/6 Bayern Munich before relegation threatened Bochum fought back to win 3-2,” he said.

“We also paid out on both Milan clubs’ opposition before the pair stormed back to 3-2 victories against Monza and Lecce.

“We did lose on PSG’s victory over Rennes as the 4/6 shots managed to find the net four times with the usual suspects among the goals which had bet builder-backers celebrating, and punters also profited from Messrs Mbappe and Vinicius Jr both being on the scoresheet for 3/10 Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano.

“Getafe’s late turnaround at home to 9/10 Atlético Madrid was our most profitable result in La Liga while the 0-0 between Freiburg and Leipzig and Werder Bremen’s win at 1/3 Bayern Leverkusen were two highlights in the Bundesliga.”

Looking ahead to the Cheltenham Festival this week, Firkins noted one four-fold being picked up by punters could lead to a big payout for the bookies.

With the action at Prestbury Park kicking off on Tuesday, Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough, Lossiemouth and Constitution Hill are all heading off as odds-on favourites for their respective races.

Firkins said: “All eyes will be trained upon Cheltenham this week, with the Festival starting on Tuesday and culminating with Friday’s Gold Cup. As per a crucial element is how many so-called ‘hotpots’ will oblige, particularly on day one.

“There’s potentially a bruising Tuesday four-fold of odds-on pokes – Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough, Lossiemouth and Constitution Hill – that pays around 7/1 at current prices, evoking memories of Annie Power tipping up at the last in the Mares’ Hurdle in 2015, saving the industry up to a reported £50m after three supposed ‘good things’ had obliged earlier in the afternoon.

“It’s bound to be four days of fabulous; buckle up and enjoy the ride.”