Favourites sweep Premier League weekend, bookmakers report heavy losses
Manchester City's 3-0 win at Liverpool led a weekend of chalk results across football, darts and the NFL that bookmakers including bet365, Betfred and FDJ United described as costly for layers.
Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on the weekend domestic football returned after the international break, in a fixture played shortly after the club's guilty verdict over financial irregularities, according to EGR.
The game was level until Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card, after which goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki put City back on top of the Premier League table.
bet365's Steve Freeth said Manchester City had been backed into evens before kick-off and remain priced at 13/8 to be relegated pending the outcome of the club's disciplinary case. Betfred's Alan Firkins quoted City at 3/1 to win the league and 6/4 for relegation, calling the split odds "its own telling testimony as to where we are right now".
Arsenal came from behind to beat Leeds 2-1 at the Emirates, while Chelsea, Ipswich and Brighton also won as favourites in the Saturday 3pm kick-offs. Manchester United were pegged back by 10-man Tottenham, Dominic Solanke equalising in injury time to deny Michael Carrick's side a second league win of the season.
FDJ United's Ali Gill described it as a "rough" weekend for layers, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Brighton and Crystal Palace all producing results that left his firm in the red, though the late Tottenham equaliser offered some relief.
Favourites also prevailed across Europe. Real Madrid held on with 10 men to beat Villarreal 1-0 after Vinicius Junior's red card, and Barcelona won 3-0 against Getafe. Atlético Madrid came from behind through a late Cristian Romero goal at Alavés, while Inter, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain all won as odds-on favourites in Serie A and Ligue 1 respectively.
Bayern Munich provided one of the few bright spots for operators, drawn 2-2 with Augsburg after Robin Fellhauer scored the fastest goal in Bundesliga history following an error by Manuel Neuer, a result Freeth called "coupon-busting".
Elsewhere, Jonny Clayton beat Luke Humphries 8-4 in the Swiss Darts Trophy final, denying Humphries a second title after his recent BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix win. The Jacksonville Jaguars secured a last-second field-goal win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their NFL London fixture, a result BOYLE Sports' Brian O'Keeffe said had boosted the franchise's Super Bowl prospects.
Attention now turns to Ascot's Champions Day and the Champion Stakes, where last year's winner Calandagan returns alongside Ombudsman and Almaqam, who finished second and third in 2025. Calandagan is priced at 11/4 to retain the title in a race expected to draw 29 runners over one mile and two furlongs.