Premier League Review: Citizens 2/5 to retain their crown

A day after the Citizens demolished Luton 5-1 at the Etihad, Liverpool slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Crystal Palace before the Gunners fell to a 2-0 Emirates defeat to Arsenal.

The battle for the top four and the European places also featured major twists and turns as Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham all dropped points against Newcastle, Bournemouth and Fulham respectively.

In the relegation dogfight, Brentford compounded Sheffield United’s misery with victory while Nottingham Forest and Burnley had to settle for draws in their bids to avoid the drop against Wolves and Brighton.

Gunners out to 4/1 following Villa loss

Reigning champions Manchester City were the first of the three title contenders to take to the field over the weekend and Pep Guardiola’s men produced a professional and dominant display as they cruised to a 5-1 victory over Luton at the Etihad Stadium.

There was an element of fortune in how the Citizens took the lead when Daiki Hashioka found his own net after just two minutes, but City ran rampant in the second half with goals from Mateo Kovacic, Erling Haaland - his 20th of the campaign - Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol securing the points.

That victory moves City two points clear at the top of the Premier League standings and last season’s treble winners are now 2/5 to retain the title, while Luton are 4/9 to drop back down to the Championship.

With the pressure on, Liverpool and Arsenal failed to keep up the gallop as both suffered damaging Sunday defeats.

The Reds were once again architects of their own downfall as poor finishing saw them suffer a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace - their first Anfield league defeat since October 2022 - with Eberechi Eze grabbing the only goal of the game for the Eagles.

Arsenal also struggled in front of goal, failing to find the back of the net as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to a brilliant Aston Villa side who kept their top-four ambitions alive.

Late strikes from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins secured three points for the Villans, who moved three points clear of Tottenham and are now 1/2 to finish in the top four.

Arsenal are now out to 4/1 to win the Premier League while Liverpool can be backed at 6/1 having hit 9/1 before the Arsenal game.

Spurs now 13/8 for top six after damaging defeat

Tottenham’s Champions League ambitions took a major hit on Saturday as they were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by an impressive Newcastle side at St James’ Park.

A brace from in-form striker Alexander Isak either side of Anthony Gordon’s composed finish put the home side out of sight after 51 minutes, before Swiss defender Fabian Schar rose highest from a corner kick to put the cherry on top of a brilliant performance.

The Magpies are now 10/11 to finish in the top six while Spurs, who are ten points clear of sixth placed Newcastle, have seen their top-four odds drop to a 13/8 with defeat.

Newcastle’s top-six hopes were helped by favourable results across the weekend as both Manchester United and West Ham were unable to claim victory.

The Red Devils extended their winless run in the league to four games with a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, with captain Bruno Fernandes twice equalising for Erik ten Hag’s men to salvage a point.

The Hammers, meanwhile, produced an underwhelming display in front of their home fans as they deservedly lost 2-0 to city rivals Fulham at the London Stadium.

A brace from Cottagers midfielder Andreas Pereira proved for Fulham to claim three points and the loss leaves West Ham two points off of the European places.

David Moyes’ side have dropped to 66/1 to finish in the top six, while Manchester United's draw on the south coast means that they are 5/4 in the same market.

Wolves draw sees Forest move clear of struggling Luton

Nottingham Forest have edged one point clear of relegation after an enthralling 2-2 draw at home to mid-table Wolves saw them pushed out to 2/1 in the relegation betting.

Strikes from Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo either side of half-time overturned Matheus Cunha’s opener and had Forest heading for victory. However, Cunha managed to grab an equaliser with 30 minutes to go to silence the City Ground.

Brentford, meanwhile, took a giant leap towards securing their Premier League status for another season after claiming a 2-0 victory over the division’s bottom side Sheffield United.

Chris Wilder’s men frustrated the hosts for large spells at the Gtech Community Stadium but the Bees eventually took the lead when Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross deflected into the back of the net off of the unfortunate left boot of Ollie Arblaster.

The three points were sealed in added time when Kevin Schade, making a first appearance for Brentford since September, found Frank Onyeka who slotted home for his first goal of the campaign.

Sheffield United, meanwhile, slumped to their 22nd defeat of the season, leaving the Blades 10 points short of safety with six games left to play and they are now just 1/500 to drop back into the Championship at the first time of asking.

There was also less joy and optimism at Turf Moor as Burnley failed to claim a valuable win in their 1-1 home draw with Brighton after Josh Brownhill’s opener was cancelled out by a calamitous own goal from keeper Arijanet Muric.

The Clarets, who are 1/25 to be relegated, are five points from safety ahead of their crunch battle with Sheffield United next weekend, while Luton are 4/9 for the drop after their defeat to Manchester City.