Read what bet365's Steve Freeth had to say after the Bank Holiday weekend.
Weekend Review
It was one of those weekends where we threatened to get back on an even keel, only to be hit by favourites and plenty of goals, making it a sore one in the bet365 trading room.
The Bank Holiday weekend kicked off with punters toasting Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki as the pair went to town on Crystal Palace. Haaland was 4/1 to score two or more, Cherki was 28/1 to do the same, and the Norwegian was 9/2 to score a header.
That early advantage was wiped out on Saturday, with all four Premier League favourites being floored. Liverpool (4/9) were the most profitable, followed by a pair of 23/20 shots in Spurs and Bournemouth, and 8/11 Coventry.
Newcastle’s win in North London saw them pushed out to 20/1 for relegation, having been the subject of a pre-season gamble for the drop. Hope was high at Tottenham after a flurry of summer activity in the transfer market; however, Spurs are now into 12/1 from 50/1, having circled the relegation drain for the last two seasons.
Sunday’s games saw punters back in clover, with seven goals scored at both Chelsea and Manchester United. Pedro, Palmer, and Rogers were either scoring or assisting—in the Brazilian's case, both—as Alonso’s new charges continued where they left off at Fulham. The Stamford Bridge side are now 33/1 to break the Premier League goalscoring record of 106 in a season.
Having been embarrassed at newly-promoted Hull, Manchester United fell behind to fellow new boys Ipswich before Bruno Fernandes took control. Fernandes was backed at 100/1 for a hat-trick and has shortened from 8/1 to 9/2 favourite to retain his PFA crown.
1/2 favourites Arsenal ended the long weekend with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa. While a 1-0 victory with two shots on target shouldn’t be sniffed at, the results around Europe added to our woes as the favourites' five-fold landed.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha helped themselves to braces as Barcelona hit five, Roma scored four, and there were also victories for fellow favourites Atalanta and Osasuna.
Prior to this very expensive ending, we had Bayern Munich scoring five in their opening Bundesliga game, and Inter, Milan, and Juventus all winning in Serie A.
Backers of Jude Bellingham to score two or more were again toasting our Sub On Play On concession. The Brummie opened the scoring against Malaga before being replaced by Arda Guler, who went on to add a fourth for Real Madrid in injury time.
The only real shock involving the big sides on the continent was in Lille on Friday night. 8/11 PSG recovered from a 2-0 deficit with injury-time goals from Vitinha and Marquinhos to finish all square at 2-2. We had already paid out on Lille when Dilane Bakwa put them two clear after 84 minutes.
Trading Talk
Bruno Fernandes claimed the PFA award just a few days ago, and the Manchester United skipper is now the favourite to win it for a second successive season—just like his countryman, Ronaldo—following his star showing against Ipswich.
Well done to those bet365 customers who backed him at 100/1 for his hat-trick against Ipswich; the midfield maestro now leads the field at 9/2, having been cut from 8/1, with Haaland, Cherki, and Cole Palmer breathing down his neck.
I wouldn’t say I’ve rushed to watch Chelsea matches over the last year or so, but I had the popcorn ready on Sunday after their showing at Fulham on Monday, and I wasn’t disappointed.
That mouth-watering front three of Pedro, Palmer, and Rogers will cause carnage this season. We’re 33/1 about the Stamford Bridge side breaking the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season, currently held by Manchester City, who bagged 106 in the 2017/18 campaign. Alonso’s side clearly have a lot to do, but seven goals in the first two games is not too Xabi!
This was the season it was going to change. Almost £400m has been spent, including £100m on Sandro Tonali. The midfielder deserted a sinking ship in Newcastle to join a Spurs side under fellow Italian Roberto de Zerbi, which was supposedly being steered towards European football again.
However, they have been cut from 50/1 into 12/1 for relegation and are yet to score a goal, having previously circled the drain with two 17th-placed finishes. Let’s just put those trips to Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich on hold for now and bookmark Lincoln just in case.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
