Weekend Review: Layers slash Chelsea title odds as Man City fail to find shooting boots for once

It was a weekend to celebrate for the layers in the Premier League as defending champions Manchester City failed to score a goal, leaving accumulators and lumpy singles in ruins.

Pep Guardiola’s side (7/50) were held to a 0-0 draw by a resilient Southampton (16/1) as their lack of a defined centre forward increasingly looks like an area of concern.

A 1-1 draw in Friday night’s game between Leeds (6/5) and Newcastle (21/10) also served the bookies well as two of the league’s most exciting players, in the shape of Raphinha and Allan Saint-Maximin, got on the scoresheet.

Brentford (4/1), despite being down to 10 men and away from home, managed to ease past a Wolves side (4/5) 2-0 while Aston Villa (11/10) trounced Everton (5/2) 3-0 at Villa Park thanks to a barnstorming second half with goals for Matty Cash and Leon Bailey either side of a Lucas Digne own goal.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “A layers weekend in the Premier League as eight of the 10 games went our way. Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Southampton is about as good as it gets as we took the single bets and the result took mountains of accas with it too.

“The Friday night fixture captured plenty of attention and the draw again was a great result for us as we finished well in the black.

“Brentford’s impressive start to the season with a 2-0 away win over Wolves came in as our next best, just marginally ahead of Villa putting three past an Everton team in good form until Saturday,” he added.

Commitment: 💯

Bodies on the line to secure the point 💪 pic.twitter.com/b72xTDcNJ7

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 18, 2021

There were some positives for bettors, with the majority of City’s title rivals putting three points on the board against lesser opposition.

Chelsea (17/20) looked dominant in a 3-0 victory over London rivals Spurs (333/100) as Liverpool (7/25) beat Crystal Palace (9/1) at Anfield by the same scoreline.

Manchester United (4/5) managed to walk away from London with three points after a 2-1 win when West Ham’s (16/5) Mark Noble failed to convert a stoppage time penalty after being brought on for the job by David Moyes.

Former Hammers loanee Jesse Lingard scored the winner in Stratford after Cristiano Ronaldo had equalised following West Ham’s opener from Saïd Benrahma.

Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool – and after a very dramatic finish at the London Stadium – Manchester United all got the job done for the favourite backers.

If you don't buy a ticket… 😅 pic.twitter.com/b5FNS9kHSJ

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 20, 2021

“Manchester City only getting a point against Southampton after being heavily odds-on was a good result as it knocked out plenty of accumulators and other multiples.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins laid out for EGR how the Premier League title odds are shaping up. He said: “City’s inability to overcome a determined Southampton has seen them drift to 15/8 as they look to defend their Premier League title.

“Chelsea justified heavy support by ruthlessly dismantling Spurs and were cut to 2/1 to take City’s crown come May.”

Elsewhere, in horseracing, the Ayr Gold Cup went the way of the Kevin Ryan-trained Bielsa (15/2) as pre-race favourite Great Ambassador could only manage a second place finish, with Mr Wagyu in third.

Gill said: “[The] Ayr Gold Cup went to the not unsupported Bielsa at 15/2. Although favourite Great Ambassador finished second, we managed to finish with a healthy enough margin on the race to cap a great Gold Cup meeting.”

Bielsa wins Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup! 🏆

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— ITV Racing (@itvracing) September 18, 2021