Luke Andrews Betting Week in Review 18/03/2024

by Luke Andrews, 18 March 2024

It has been an incredible week of sports betting, with the FA Cup producing a classic between Manchester United & Liverpool, two of the biggest rivals in football. Championship side Coventry City also defied the odds and booked a Wembley place by beating Premier League opponents. In the darts, Luke Littler almost hit a nine-darter in his win against Michael van Gerwen but fell to Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals. Join Luke as he recaps the week.

As a dedicated armchair lover of sports, there is not much I love more than an evening or long weekend of watching events on the small screen and at this time of year, there is always something to watch.

Last week, I watched plenty of football, with Champions League, Premier League, League Two and FA Cup action keeping me occupied. I also managed to feed my newfound addiction to darts with another thrilling night in the Premier League of darts.

Join me as I recap the highlights and preview this week’s events to look forward to.

The Magic of the FA Cup Produces A Classic Weekend of Football

The FA Cup has always been of special significance to me. In the 1970s, when I was growing up, the world’s oldest football cup competition was prized even more than winning the league, and on cup final day, I’d be glued to the TV enjoying a full day of build-up, soaking up the atmosphere before the game itself.

Although some will argue that the competition has lost some of its magic, I still look forward to FA Cup games as one thing is for sure: the unexpected can and will happen, and I love the unpredictability of a knock-out competition. This weekend’s action was no exception.

The FA Cup weekend started with Coventry City of the Championship making the short 40-mile trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, who play in the Premier League. Wolves are performing well in the top flight.

Their 41 points from 28 games put them in 9th place, just three points from European qualification. While Coventry are in a similar situation in the Championship, 57 points from 37 games means they are 8th, four points shy of the play-off spots. It was no surprise that the bookies had the home side as heavy favourites in the FA Cup betting market. Wolves were priced at 79/100 at kick-off, the draw 273/100, and a Coventry win was available at 7/2.

As is often the case in FA Cup games, the underdogs failed to read the script and were much the better side. They took a deserved lead in the second half with a goal from a former Everton man, Ellis Simms, an £8m summer signing. However, it looked like their efforts would count for little as Wolves showed their quality with a five-minute double salvo with goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and substitute Hugo Bueno. Just two minutes remained of the ninety, and many Coventry fans will have thought their chance had gone.

In a dramatic twist, Coventry equalised in the 97th minute, Simms claimed his second and appeared to have secured extra time for his team. However, with almost the last kick of the game, Simms turned provider and fed the ball to 25-year-old Haji Wright, whose curled shot found the bottom corner, giving Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa no chance. The goal sparked pandemonium in the stands for the Sky Blues travelling support.

Manchester United Stun Klopp’s Quadruple Chasing Liverpool

I honestly didn’t think that any game at the weekend would top the Wolves v Coventry game for pure excitement, but ask any neutral who watched Manchester United and Liverpool on Sunday, and they’ll say the game was an absolute classic that was full of drama and the only disappointment was the game had to end at some point

Despite having the home advantage, United (309/100) were underdogs. Liverpool was chasing an unprecedented quadruple (Premier League, Europa and FA Cup) after winning the Carabao Cup, which they have already won this season.

Liverpool’s young stars together on Klopp, Carabao Cup final, debuts and special moments🤩

A Thread🧵 pic.twitter.com/cJi7jYzg9D

— 66 (@LFC_Fish) March 12, 2024

As Klopp leaves the club at the end of the season, Liverpool fans wanted a clean sweep to honour the man who brought success to the club after many barren years. Liverpool were in sensational form, a 1-1 draw with Manchester City the only time they had not won in nine games. A win seemed such a formality that you’d have struggled to get better odds than the 18/25 that was on offer at bet365.

Despite this, it was the home side that started the brighter and took a surprise lead in the 10th minute when Scott McTominay stuck a boot out at close range after Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher had pushed out a shot from Alejandro Garnacho. The Scottish international almost doubled the lead later, but this time Kelleher denied him.

It looked like the home side would go into halftime with the lead, but Liverpool stunned the hosts with a quick-fire double from Alexis Mac Allister (44′) and Mohamed Salah (45’+2).

Liverpool is a team that performs better in the second half of games, and it was no different in this game, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and creating better chances. The only surprise was that they didn’t increase their advantage as United appeared finished as a threat.

When Manchester United’s manager Erik ten Hag decided to take off the impressive Rasmus Højlund for the out-of-sorts Antony in the 71st minute, it felt like a manager conceding the game rather than an astute tactical decision. Yet, whether by design or accident, it proved to be a masterstroke, as the 24-year-old levelled the game with a well-taken goal with three minutes remaining.

United could have won the game in normal time, but Marcus Rashford wasted a simple opportunity, sending his shot wide when it looked easier to score.

Harvey Elliott restored Liverpool’s lead at the midway point of extra-time. His 20-yard shot took a deflection off the studs of Christian Eriksen, which took the ball out of reach of Andre Onana. However, once again, United drew level. Rashford atoned for his earlier miss by scoring after 112 minutes, and a bouncing Old Trafford started to prepare mentally for a penalty shoot-out. With seconds left in the match, Amad Diallo became the unlikely hero.

With Liverpool pushing for the winner, most of their players were in the Manchester United penalty area. Diallo stole possession off Elliott and started a counter-attack with Garnacho. The pair exchanged passes, with the last one from Garnacho forcing the Ivory Coast international wide. He, however, gambled on the shot, and despite it not having much power, the swerve on the ball helped it sneak in at the far post. The youngster celebrated by taking off his shirt, causing him to receive a second yellow card and missing the remaining few moments of the game.

United’s reward for the win is a semi-final against Coventry, who coincidently are managed by former Manchester United player Mark Robins. Robins scored in a 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round in 1990. It was a victory that many believe saved Alex Ferguson’s job.

@GNev2 ask @PeteMolyneux 🙂 Ta Ra Fergie pic.twitter.com/4QWyTdPfwe

— Stretty News (@StrettyNews) December 8, 2014

In the other two FA Cup games, Manchester City barely had to get out of first gear to beat a Newcastle United team, who only had two shots all game and just one on target. Bernardo Silva (13′,31′) was credited with both goals, although deflections played their part.

Chelsea left it late to beat Championship side Leicester City. They appeared to be cruising at halftime, leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Marc Cucurella (13′) and Cole Palmer (45′ +1). However in a thrilling second half, a remarkable blunder from Chelsea’s Axel Disasi and an excellent strike from Stephy Mavididi levelled the tie.

Chelsea thought they had a penalty when Callum Doyle fouled Nicolas Jackson in the 73rd minute, but VAR adjudged that the foul had taken place outside the area and also advised to send off Doyle for the challenge. Tiredness was evident for the Leicester players, and Chelsea scored two goals in injury time (Chukwuemeka (90’+2) and Madueke (90’+8) to claim the win and set up a semi-final with the holders, Manchester City.

The weekend’s sporting action was slightly marred by France beating England 33-31 in the Six Nations. I can’t claim to be the greatest Rugby fan, but I always pay interest when England plays. This loss ended the faint hopes of England winning the tournament, with Ireland beating the Scots 17-13 to make it back-to-back Six Nations victories.

Luke Littler Goes Close to Nine-Darter in Michael van Gerwen Win

If someone had told me last year that I’d turn my back on Thursday night football to watch darts, I’d have dismissed it in a heartbeat. Yet, after seven weeks of Premier League darts, I’m well and truly hooked and look forward to my weekly fix of darts. Of course, my newfound interest, like many, is due to the sport’s latest superstar, 17-year-old Luke Littler.

After watching Luke’s incredible run at the World Championships, I now follow all his televised games, especially the weekly Premier League featuring stars such as Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries, the current world champion.

For those unfamiliar with the tournament, The 2024 Premier League Darts format features eight of dart’s top stars competing over 16 events, earning points to form a league table. The Top four will progress to the Play-Offs held in London on May 23.

The appeal of following Littler is that he always seems capable of achieving the sport’s top achievement, a nine-dart finish.

Last week, Luke fell agonisingly close in his game against Michael van Gerwen. He was a missed double 12 away from a second nine-darter in five days after hitting one in the match against Rob Cross in the Belgian Darts Open, a tournament he won to claim his first European Tour title. Littler is yet to win a night in the Premier League, reaching the semi-finals in six of the seven nights and losing to Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals in the other. This week, he faces Michael Smith in the quarter-finals, which will be held in Dublin.

Luke currently sits in third position and is above the two points per-week tally he needs to almost guarantee a spot in the play-offs.

In the darts betting stakes, Littler is 2/5 and Michael Smith is 19/10 with bookmakers.

As the international break is now upon us, there is no Premier League football at the weekend. However, there are still football betting opportunities, with England taking on Brazil at the weekend among the fixtures. Join me later in the week as I preview that game and bring you the latest England v Brazil betting odds.