Weekend Review: Premier League provides a timely gift for bookmakers on Easter weekend
Kindred Group comes out on top in nine of the ten top-flight matches as the humble draw is resurrected
Bookies celebrated the unpredictability of the Premier League over the Easter weekend after the English top-flight churned out several layer-friendly results.
The race for the top-four and a spot in next season’s Champions League took centre-stage, with Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all vying for just two places.
However, none of those sides won, with Tottenham losing at title holders Manchester City before Arsenal lost to Palace, Chelsea drew with Burnley and United were defeated by Everton.
Kindred Group’s sportsbook analyst Ali Gill said it was the best Premier League weekend for the operator in some time.
Frustrating day at the Emirates. We have to stick to each other now. Four crucial @premierleague matches left this season. #WeAreTheArsenal #M1Ö #COYG @arsenal pic.twitter.com/aEhq6xVp4b
— Mesut Özil (@M10) April 22, 2019
“Outside of the title chasers, none of the remaining top six could muster a win between them, which left us streaking ahead in terms of singles and accas,” said Gill.
“Chelsea vs Burnley was our biggest game of the weekend, but Arsenal’s home loss to Crystal Palace was the game which left us the most in the black, although Chelsea wasn’t far behind.
“All in all across the board we finished ahead in 9 of the 10 games played for an almost perfect Easter weekend, with only Newcastle vs Southampton going the way of the punters,” he added.
It was a similar story for bet365, where Steve Freeth was pleasantly surprised by two top-flight draws between Wolves and Brighton and Chelsea and Burnley after more than a month without one.
He said: “We finally managed to get a few draws on the board – the most high-profile being Chelsea’s 2-2 clash with Burnley.
“Some surprise results from the sides chasing the final two top-four spots and Champions League qualification made it a decent Easter weekend on the Premier League front.”
Manchester United were one of those sides chasing a Champions League place but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side suffered an humiliating 4-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.
Difficult to put what I am feeling today into words. As captain I want to say that the performance of the team today, on top of the result, was not up to the standard expected when you pull on this shirt…
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) April 21, 2019
Betfred’s Peter Spencer said the Red Devils were 90/1 to before kick off to lose that margin, before turning his attention to United’s massive match on Wednesday against rivals Manchester City.
Spencer said: “Man United are 6/1 to beat City at Old Trafford in the derby – the longest odds they have ever had for a Premier League match at home against the Citizens.”