Weekend Review: Wolves win, City stumble and Madrid mala give bookies a boost

There was welcome relief for the bookmakers after a series of draws in the Premier League and across Europe helped stymie goal-laden games from title challengers.

Liverpool (3/5) kicked off the weekend in the Premier League with a 4-1 win at Brentford which was followed by a 5-0 win for Arsenal (9/25) against Burnley.

With bettors off to a flying start, the remainder of the 3pm games in the Premier League allowed the layers to claw back ground

Wolves (5/1) ran out 2-1 winners against Spurs (1/2) with two goals from Joao Gomes in a Pedro Neto-inspired win while relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest (9/5) brushed past a poor West Ham (17/10) 2-0 in the Midlands.

The evening game between Manchester City and Chelsea put an even bigger smile on trading team members’ faces, as after Bournemouth and Newcastle drew 2-2, the pair played out a 1-1 draw.

The VIBE in our dressing room 🕺 pic.twitter.com/R1kgU8nosm

— Wolves (@Wolves) February 18, 2024

Raheem Sterling scored to put Chelsea (11/2) in front against his former side (3/10) before Rodri slammed home to level affairs late on.

The results mean Liverpool sit two points clear at the apex of the table from Arsenal, with City four points behind the leaders, albeit with a game in hand.

Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “Saturday’s games saw some great results for the bettors as Liverpool kicked things off with a thumping 4-1 away win at Brentford that saw four different names on the scoresheet, including one from punters’ favourite Mo Salah. Arsenal’s game saw us paying out even more in the goalscorer markets as they put five past Burnley.

“Welcome relief came in a surprise victory for Wolves away at Spurs, and then the result of the weekend for us as Chelsea held on for a draw at the Etihad despite City’s best efforts,” he added.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins also pointed out the benefits of Wolves’ win and the Bournemouth draw before reflecting on City’s failure to take all three points at home.

He said: “A huge weekend of Premier League action and, in the aftermath, something of a seismic shift in the outright betting. Manchester City have drifted to Evens after being held at the Etihad by Chelsea, with rampant Liverpool in to 7/4. It’s then 4/1 free-scoring Arsenal, and a whopping 80s bar the three.”

On Sunday, Brighton (3/5) put Sheffield United (7/2) to the sword with a 5-0 win at Bramall Lane which saw United defender Mason Holgate sent off for a horror tackle.

Manchester United (Evs) then squeaked past Luton Town (14/5) after rushing into a two-goal lead within seven minutes before the Hatters put in a spirited performance, but ultimately fell to their 14th defeat of the season.

Yeomans added: “Sunday’s top-tier fixtures provided a nice double for the punters as Brighton put five past relegation favourites Sheffield United, while Manchester United just did enough at Luton to collect their three points and continue their push for Champions League football next season.”

Meanwhile, over on the continent, Bayern Munich (3/10) and Harry Kane’s woes continued after their mid-week Champions League loss to Lazio by 3-2 away to Bochum (8/1) put the Bavarians eight points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

In La Liga, Real Madrid (3/5) were held to a 1-1 draw away to fellow capital side Rayo Vallecano (4/1) despite leading after three minutes thanks to former Stoke City striker Joselu.

Title rivals Barcelona (17/20) won 2-1 away at Celta Vigo (11/4) to close the gap to the top to eight points, while Girona could go within three points of Real Madrid with a win tonight.

Rayo Vallecano are a thorn in Real Madrid’s side 😳

They’ve pulled out the draw double against the Madrid giants 👏 pic.twitter.com/dRXYGcQTzV

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 18, 2024

Francisco Cano, LiveScore Group head of trading, said the Premier League result were good for the operator’s margin, before reflecting fondly on the European results.

Cano remarked: “We saw some other good results across Europe with numerous games finishing 1-1, including Real Madrid’s disappointing draw away to Rayo Vallecano.

“We received another strong result in the Bayern Munich game in which they suffered a third consecutive defeat, meaning they are now eight points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race.”

Yeomans added that Los Blancos dropping points was the “big result of the weekend” while traders at Betway were “buoyed” by Bayern’s loss.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, Betfred’s Firkins said the battle between layers and backers ended “just about even overall” over the weekend.

Firkins also highlighted wins for Botox Has and Cuthbert Dibble in the Virgin Bet Rendlesham Hurdle and the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle at Haydock, respectively, as being well enjoyed by the punters.

✅ Round one in the bag!

🥁 @UncleJoesSweets #WWRL #SLWIGCAS pic.twitter.com/5evIE0ScTR

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) February 17, 2024

Finally, the Betfred Super League got underway this weekend, with thumping wins for Wigan Warriors and St Helen’s Saints.

Firkins said: “The new Betfred Super League season got off to a great start, with perennial big fish Wigan and St Helens gorging themselves at the expense of Castleford and London Broncos, respectively. The BBC are more involved than ever, and it looks like being a vintage campaign for fans of the game in terms of visibility.”