Bookmakers profit as Manchester clubs stumble in Premier League weekend
Defeats for Manchester City and Manchester United, alongside a low-scoring El Clásico, left bookmakers reporting a profitable weekend across football markets, according to EGR.
Manchester City and Manchester United both lost at the weekend, handing bookmakers a profitable set of Premier League results, according to trade title EGR.
City, priced at 3/5, saw their winning run end with a 2-1 defeat away at Aston Villa, who went off at 7/2. The result let Arsenal, 9/25 to win, draw level at the top of the table following a 2-0 victory over Everton.
United, priced at 7/5, lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth, who were 7/4, continuing a difficult run under Michael Carrick. Bournemouth had beaten AC Milan by the same scoreline in the Europa League in their previous outing. Eddie Howe, who previously managed Bournemouth and Newcastle, is now bookmakers' favourite to take the Old Trafford job.
Tottenham Hotspur, at 3/1, won 2-0 away at Chelsea, priced 17/20, in what EGR reported was only the club's second Premier League win at Stamford Bridge.
Betfred's Alan Firkins said Bournemouth's win had "wrecked many a weekend acca". FDJ United's Ali Gill said the operator finished ahead across all ten Premier League fixtures, pointing to City's defeat as a result celebrated in the trading room and to United's loss as a result that prompted traders to open a market on the next permanent manager, with Howe installed as the leading contender at even money.
Elsewhere in the division, Sunderland drew 0-0 with Leeds (21/10), Fulham (11/10) won 1-0 at Coventry, and Hull drew 1-1 with Brentford (3/1). Crystal Palace lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle, extending a slow start that EGR said had put manager Pierre Sage under pressure.
Bet365's Steve Freeth said money had poured in for Bournemouth after they opened at 16/5 and shortened to 15/8 once Bruno Fernandes was confirmed among the substitutes. Freeth added that the operator had also profited from Villa's win over City, despite paying out on a boosted Erling Haaland goalscorer price, as well as from routine favourites' wins for Arsenal, Fulham and Liverpool.
In Spain, Real Madrid won El Clásico 2-1 at Barcelona courtesy of a brace from Kylian Mbappé, cutting Barcelona's La Liga lead to three points. Freeth said the low-scoring fixture, played without Barcelona goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who started at 3/1, suited bookmakers despite six cards and a flurry of shots from both sides.
A Betfair customer turned a £4 stake into a payout of £997,385.09 on a 12-leg accumulator built around over 11.5 corners across lower-league fixtures, the operator said on social media.
In horseracing, Giant Sequoia won the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster at odds EGR reported separately as 11/1 and 11/8, with the favourite Noble Exhibit finishing third. Firkins said the win, ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, prompted quotes of 14/1 for next season's 2000 Guineas and 10/1 for the Derby. Boyle Sports' Brian O'Keeffe said the same horse's Guineas price was cut from 16/1 to 10/1 and its Derby odds slashed from 33/1 to 14/1 following the performance.
Firkins also pointed to the Breeders' Cup, taking place at Keeneland on Friday and Saturday, where Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old filly Diamond Necklace was a 6/4 favourite for the Turf.