Betting Week in Review 3/10/2022 Derbies go the Way of the Punters
In our betting week in review, we recap some of the Premier League results. It was a successful weekend for punters, with the North London derby and Manchester Derby going to form. Bookmakers did have some good results with Liverpool v Brighton and Leeds v Aston Villa ending in draws.
Arsenal Beat Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium © Pixabay.
Arsenal Win the North London Derby
The Saturday early kick-off is notorious for producing shocks which often wipe out customer accumulator bets before they start. However, operators had no dream start to the weekend as Arsenal returned to the top of the league with a comprehensive 3-1 win over Tottenham.
Pre-match Arsenal was priced 101/100, a Tottenham win was available at 139/50 and the draw at 68/25.
Arsenal started the game the hungrier of the two sides, and their dominance paid off when Thomas Partey, who had been an injury doubt, side-footed the Gunners into the lead after 20-minutes. The 29-year-old is better known for his defensive contributions. The goal was only his third in 29 league appearances for the club.
Despite being under pressure for the first 30 minutes, Tottenham was back on level terms thanks to a penalty converted by Harry Kane. Arsenal’s Gabriel made a clumsy challenge on Richarlison, giving the England captain a chance to get his team back into it. Kane almost always scores in London derbies, his conversion on 31 minutes was his 14th goal in 18 derby games and his 100th away goal from the spot.
Four minutes into the second half, Arsenal were presented with an easy goal to restore their lead. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris could only parry an effort on goal into the path of the in-form Gabriel Jesus. The former Manchester City player, signed by Arsenal in the Summer, tapped the ball into the net, his fifth goal in eight Premier League games.
— 🔥 Gabriel Jesus Scores Arsenal’s Second Goal Against Tottenham October 1st, 2022
Tottenham’s hopes of getting back into the game were dealt a hammer blow just after the hour mark when wing-back Emerson Royal was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli. The sending-off caused tempers to boil between players of both sides. Arsenal took full advantage of the extra man and extended their lead thanks to a Granit Xhaka goal on 67 minutes. Tottenham manager Antonio Conte was about to make a triple substitution, but the Swiss international’s second goal of the season scuppered his plans and secured the win for the home side.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after the game: “We are really hungry, you can feel the desire and the humility, because they haven’t done anything yet that’s important. That humility is a big driver for us,”
“We are focused on what we are doing, and today is another sign that we are going in the right direction, that we can play at a really high level.”
United’s Noisy Neighbours Party at the Etihad
Playing with a makeshift back four, some tipsters, including us, suggested Manchester City could struggle against a rejuvenated Manchester United in the Manchester Derby on Sunday. However, the reality couldn’t have been more different, and City hammered their nearest rivals 6-3.
City started the game brightly and had several chances to get off to the perfect start, and United was rather lucky to survive three goal-line clearances in the opening exchanges. However, the reprieve was only temporary, and City took the lead on 8 minutes thanks to a well-taken effort from Phil Foden after a cross provided by Bernardo Silva.
One of the biggest surprises in the game, was how long it took City to score their inevitable second, which Erling Haaland eventually scored on 34 minutes. The Norweigan seems almost certain to claim the Golden Boot award at the end of the season if he keeps up his blistering pace, and three minutes after scoring his first, he struck again in the 37th minute to give City a 3-0 lead.
A shellshocked United was forced into damage limitation, but Foden’s second a minute before the break gave the home side a four-goal cushion, and by this time, the TV cameras were focused on Christiano Ronaldo, who wasn’t selected to start.
— 🔥 Christiano Ronaldo Doesn’t make the starting eleven Ronaldo forced to sit out derby with Manchester City
Rather surprisingly, the next goal was scored by United, new signing Antony finding the net with an excellent effort from 25 yards.
However, any slim hopes of a United comeback were dashed eight minutes later when Haaland completed his hattrick, his third in consecutive home games. The 22-year-old is the first player in Premier League to achieve this, and the youngster has now scored 17 goals in 11 starts.
A third goal from Foden on 73 minutes gave him a hattrick as well, and although Anthony Martial scored twice late on to make it 6-3, United was well and truly beaten by their local rivals.
After the game, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said his team “lacked belief”. Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “We had a lack of belief. I’m surprised why we didn’t bring it on the pitch.
“It was four weeks ago, but I had seen a different team with a different spirit and a different vibe. Today, we weren’t convincing. From the first minute, we were not on the front foot, and we were not brave in possession.
“It’s always difficult to find out why that is, especially straight after the game. I will have to talk to my players and find out.
“They know they can do better. You saw the performances against Arsenal and Liverpool but if you don’t fight – which we didn’t – then you have a problem against a team like Manchester City.
“Once again, it was a lack of belief.”
Draws Are Good News for Bookmakers
Liverpool is always well-backed by punters; therefore, their 3-3 draw with Brighton would have been very profitable. However, it could have been even better as Brighton (283/50) stunned the home side by taking a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard. Liverpool went into the break 2-1 down after a Roberto Firmino goal gave them a way back into the match. A much improved second-half performance saw the Reds take the lead thanks to another goal from Firmino and an own-goal from Brighton’s Adam Webster. The last word went to Trossard, who levelled things up and took home the match ball with a goal with seven minutes remaining.
— 🔥 Leandro Trossard Claims the Match Ball Trossard Scores Three Goals
Another game that ended in a draw was Leeds United’s clash with Aston Villa. Just a point separates the sides in the table, but on the field, nothing could separate them after ninety minutes, with the game ending in a 0-0 draw. However, Leeds will be the happier side after playing almost an entire half with ten men after Colombia winger Luis Sinisterra received a second yellow card.
In other games, Bournemouth v Brentford was also goalless, and Chelsea fought back from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 2-1. Conor Gallagher hit a stunning strike at the death to claim all three points.
West Ham beat Wolves 2-0, which saw Bruno Lage relieved of his duties, and Newcastle hammered Fulham 4-1. Fulham was forced to play for 82 minutes with ten men after a yellow card issued to Nathaniel Chalobah was upgraded to a red after a VAR intervention.
