Weekend Review: Liverpool quadruple hopes quelled, much to delight of bookies
Merseysiders only able to muster 1-1 draw at home to Spurs as City take three-point lead in Premier League title race
Manchester City (1/5) firmly put one hand on the Premier League trophy after a 5-0 trouncing of Newcastle (14/1) following Liverpool’s failure to put away a resilient Spurs side at Anfield.
Antonio Conte’s men (11/2) took the lead on Saturday evening after a well-worked move saw Son Heung-min send the away fans into raptures.
Liverpool’s latest star, Luis Díaz, drew the game level with a deflected effort from outside of the penalty area but Jurgen Klopp’s side (2/5) could not find a winning goal to put pressure on Manchester City.
City, left reeling from their capitulation against Real Madrid in the Champions League, returned to domestic action with a vengeance, sweeping aside Newcastle 5-0 at the Etihad thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling (2), Aymeric Laporte, Rodri and Phil Foden.
Two against the Magpies for @sterling7! ⚽️⚽️#ManCity pic.twitter.com/79d0bWFw8a
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 8, 2022
Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati said: “A good weekend for us, notably with Liverpool dropping points. We’ve seen a lot of interest in the quadruple over the last few weeks, so we’re breathing a sigh of relief on that front.”
With Pep Guardiola’s side three points ahead of their rivals with three games left to play, Betfred and Smarkets told EGR how the outright title odds have shifted dramatically.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “There was a seismic shift in the outright Premier League betting at weekend, with Manchester City now a prohibitive 1/9 to retain their title. Liverpool now trade at 11/2 after Spurs fought hard for a share of the Anfield spoils on Saturday night.”
Smarkets’ Pascal Lemesre added: “Dropped points for Liverpool against Spurs means that City are now at 1.14 (88%) on Smarkets to win the Premier League.
“That’s a jump of 20 percentage points after the pair started the weekend at 68-32 in terms of league win chance. Liverpool now stand at 8.4 (12%) to claim the title,” he added.
At the other end of the table, Everton’s (17/10) escape looks well and truly on after a 2-1 win away at Leicester (8/5), as Leeds (11/2) lost 2-1 at Arsenal (1/2) and Aston Villa (3/2) ran out 3-1 winners over Burnley (2/1).
Lemesre said: “At the other end of the table, it’s starting to look like a straight fight between Leeds and Burnley to avoid the drop.
“Leeds’ defeat at Arsenal means they now occupy 18th place, and they can be backed at 2.08 (48%) to be relegated. Burnley are 2.22 (45%) to go down, while Everton’s win at Leicester means they are out to 11.5 (9%) for the drop,” he added.
Elsewhere, West Ham (7/10) bounced back from their Europa League heartbreak by putting four past a woeful Norwich (19/5) side, while Wolves (7/1) scored a dramatic stoppage time equaliser at Stamford Bridge to secure a 2-2 draw against Chelsea (2/5).
Never in doubt from @manulanzini! ❄️ pic.twitter.com/Tv67uR4jHP
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 9, 2022
Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “Some good results scattered around Europe and Liverpool being pushed out to 16/1 for the quadruple was also well received after their 1-1 draw against Spurs.
“West Ham’s 4-0 victory at Norwich was our worst result on the Premier League front and our two goals ahead early pay-out offer came to the rescue of Chelsea backers with us paying out on both singles and multiples on the full-time result market,” he added.
Atletico Madrid (3/4) secured a 1-0 win over city rivals and La Liga champions Real Madrid (16/5), which coupled with a series of draws in the Spanish top-flight and a less than stellar performance from Bayern Munich, helped the bookies out.
Freeth said: “La Liga results were very good with Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid being the highlight in a weekend with a number of low scoring draws in Spain’s top tier. More dropped points from Bayern Munich over in the Bundesliga helped enormously on the coupon front.
In horseracing, United Nations strengthened its position as a hotly-favoured Epsom runner after winning the Lingfield Derby Trial over the weekend.
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien
Jockey: Ryan MooreIs this the best partnership on the flat? pic.twitter.com/1MKl8VJRGk
— My Racing Tips (@myracingtips) May 9, 2022
Ridden by Ryan Moore, the Aidan O’Brien-trained second-favourite held off the challenge of pre-race favourite Walk of Stars in a field of just four runners.
Lemesre said: “In the Derby Trial, there was a slight upset as Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien’s scintillating form continued with United Nations edging out favourite Walk of Stars.
“In the Oaks Trial, we were cheering on SBK ambassador George Boughey’s filly Mystic Wells but she was just headed by Rogue Millennium in the final strides,” he added.