Betting Week in Review 13/2/2023 Premier League Stalemates Delight Operators

by , 13 February 2023

In our betting week in review, the Premier League threw up lots of surprises, much to the delight of bookmakers. Over half of the fixtures on Saturday ended in draws, which would have taken down plenty of accumulator bets. Join us as we recap the best of the weekend’s football action.

Pictures of different sports 13-2-2023

Big Spending Chelsea Frustrated Again

In the dreaded 12:30 kick-off slot on Saturday, West Ham United played host to Chelsea in the Premier League and earned a 1-1 draw against their opponents. Despite Chelsea fielding a new-look £200m forward line and taking the lead, they were once again frustrated and have only won one of their seven Premier League matches this season. Joao Felix became the first Portuguese player to score a Premier League goal for Chelsea since Raul Meireles in 2012, with a volleyed finish from an assist by Enzo Fernandez on 16 minutes. Kai Havertz thought he had doubled the lead, but it was ruled offside shortly after.

West Ham equalised twelve minutes later through Emerson Palmieri, a former Chelsea player, who scored his first Premier League goal for the club after Vladimir Coufal’s cross was flicked on by Jarrod Bowen. It was a rare goal for the 28-year-old, who the Hammers use as a defensive midfielder on the left, although he has been used as a central defender once this season.

Despite creating better chances, Chelsea could not make them count. In a dramatic finish, West Ham thought they had won it with a goal by Tomas Soucek, but it was ruled offside. The Blues also thought they should have had an 89th-minute penalty when Soucek handled in the area, but the referee dismissed the shouts, and VAR didn’t overrule the decision.

Chelsea continues to struggle under Graham Potter, who has won just five of his 16 top-flight matches since taking charge in September.

League Leaders Stung by The Bees

Leandro Trossard scored his first goal for Arsenal. However, the Premier League leaders missed the chance to move eight points clear at the top as Brentford earned a deserved point at the Emirates Stadium.

The first half ended goalless, with Brentford hitting the woodwork through Ivan Toney.

Trossard opened the scoring for Arsenal four minutes after coming off the bench; however, Toney equalised for Brentford, nodding in Christian Norgaard’s cross from close range. The goal was confirmed after a lengthy check by the video assistant referee for a possible offside in the build-up. Despite Arsenal’s search for a winner in the closing stages, Brentford held firm for a point.

Arsenal was undefeated on their own turf this season, winning eight and drawing one of their nine games at the Emirates before the visit of Brentford. However, the Bees were in-form, having won four of their previous five league games, and they posed a formidable test to the Gunners. Despite plenty of possession, Arsenal found breaking down a disciplined Brentford defence difficult until Trossard’s strike midway through the second half. The Belgium forward almost added a second soon after with a shot from a distance, but a one-goal lead proved insufficient against Brentford, who equalised through Toney.

This draw for Arsenal follows successive league, and FA Cup defeats to Everton and Manchester City, respectively. How they respond to this stumble will be vital in determining their chances of winning their first Premier League title since 2003-04. On the other hand, Brentford is having another fine campaign, pushing for a European place. Thomas Frank’s side had not conceded a goal in their three league games before the trip to Arsenal, and it was evident at Emirates why they are such a difficult side to break down.

Brentford is one of only two sides this season to take anything from the Emirates, and with their excellent defence allied to Toney’s threat, there is a good chance they can secure European football next season. Toney’s goal was his 15th of the season, making him the third top scorer in the Premier League, behind only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

VAR in the Dock Over Mistakes

Arsenal fans must be wondering what they have done to upset the VAR gods, as they suffered another controversial decision against Brentford on Saturday. The Gunners were denied a clear penalty in the first half when David Raya brought down Bukayo Saka in the box, but neither the referee nor the VAR saw any foul.

This game was not the first time Arsenal have been on the wrong end of a VAR error this season. In fact, they have lost more points than any other team in the Premier League due to VAR mistakes, according to a Sky Sports analysis. The analysis shows that Arsenal have lost six points because of VAR, while their rivals Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City have gained four, three, and two points, respectively.

The video assistant referee had a bad weekend and is the centre of attention in the media today. In the game between Brighton and Crystal Palace, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Brighton had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside because of human error. John Brooks drew the lines incorrectly, which caused the mistake. As a result, Brooks has been removed from his duties at tonight’s Merseyside derby and Arsenal’s game with Manchester City on Wednesday. As mentioned, Chelsea was also aggrieved when VAR failed to spot a handball which most pundits called a ‘stonewall penalty’ in their game with West Ham.

Brendan Rodgers’ Resurgence Continues

Following their humiliating 4-1 loss to Leicester City, Tottenham’s mentality has come under scrutiny, and assistant manager Cristian Stellini apologised on the team’s behalf for the terrible performance.

Rodrigo Bentancur’s goal after Victor Kristiansen’s error gave Spurs an early advantage, but Leicester immediately recovered and scored four goals to win the game. Nampalys Mendy scored the opening goal, his first since 2015, and then James Maddison scored after Kelechi Iheanacho had assisted. Iheanacho added a goal of his own, and Harvey Barnes gave the Foxes a three-goal advantage.

Stellini acknowledged that the team’s performance was inadequate and that the group’s mentality had to improve.

The win continued Leicester’s resurgence following a slow period after the World Cup, which had led to manager Brendan Rodgers being a long-term favourite to lose his position with the Foxes. However, Leicester’s two wins in two weeks have changed the atmosphere at the club and moved them into 13th, six points clear of the drop zone. Rodgers, who has become football’s Houdini, was pleased with the team’s performance, which was filled with bravery and outstanding football.

Leicester’s games against Tottenham have produced the most goals of any fixture in the Premier League since the Foxes’ promotion in 2014, and this game was no exception, with both teams playing an entertaining match.

Tottenham’s defeat was a setback after a string of wins, including against Fulham and Manchester City.

With first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris out for at least six weeks with a knee injury and assistant manager Antonio Conte still recovering from a gallbladder removal, the team had a lot of changes to deal with. However, the performance was disappointing, with just four shots on target and top scorer Harry Kane only managing one shot in the 90th minute. It was an excellent result for bookmakers as Tottenham were heavy favourites at 21/20 at bet365. A Leicester win was 51/20, and the draw was available at 51/20.

Newcastle Equal Club Record But Fail to Win

Bournemouth and Newcastle United played out a 1-1 draw in an entertaining match at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. The draw extended Newcastle’s unbeaten run in the Premier League to 17 games, which is a club record-equalling feat.

Bournemouth took the lead after half an hour through Marcos Senesi, who scored his first goal for the club. The lead didn’t last long though, as Miguel Almiron equalised for Newcastle in first-half stoppage time.

In the second half, both sides had chances to win the game. Anthony Gordon missed a glorious opportunity for Newcastle to take the lead, while Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke came close to snatching all three points, but his flick was cleared off the line by Kieron Trippier in the last minute of the match.

The draw means that Newcastle stays fourth, while Bournemouth moved to within a point of safety, but they remain 19th.

The game was emotional for Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, as he was back at the Vitality Stadium for the first time since his departure from Bournemouth. He spent more than ten years as the Bournemouth manager across two spells and will have been pleased to see his team extend their unbeaten run but also disappointed not to come away with a win.

Manchester Clubs Take Advantage of Arsenal’s Draw

With Arsenal and Newcastle only picking up a point on Saturday, both Manchester Clubs had a chance to take advantage in their games on Sunday.

Manchester United found a way to beat a managerless Leeds at Elland Road, with goals from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho securing a 2-0 victory. The two rivals faced off once again after drawing 2-2 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, providing fans with another entertaining spectacle.

The first half was goalless, however, Rashford continued his fine scoring streak with a great header in the 80th minute before Garnacho sealed the win with a fantastic finish just five minutes later.

In the later game, Manchester City secured a crucial victory over Aston Villa on Sunday, moving within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Rodri opened the scoring just four minutes into the match, followed by Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, who converted a penalty just before halftime. However, the game was marred by the forced withdrawal of City’s star striker, Erling Haaland, at halftime due to an apparent thigh injury. The Norwegian striker has been in great form this season, scoring 25 Premier League goals and creating numerous others. However, his injury casts doubt over his availability for City’s crucial match against Arsenal on Wednesday.

Despite Haaland’s absence, they continued to exert pressure on Villa in the second half, but Ollie Watkins managed to pull a goal back for the visitors in the 61st minute. However, by that point, the damage had already been done, and City held on for a deserved victory.

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