It’s Christmas time and honestly I’m trying desperately to be merry.
Don’t feel too sorry for me (I know you won’t) but I am struggling with the last two rounds of Premier League matches, virtually all being won by the favourites…and that’s cost me at least three million pounds in winning bets.
Punters in their thousands took me to the cleaners with all the favourites winning in the eleven Premier League and Championship matches played on Wednesday last week, with the two drawn games on the night entirely predictable.
It was a nightmare set of results – and that’s just what I have been having since! One of the biggest winners was a fella in one of our Newcastle shops who picked up almost £13,000 from a £20 accumulator after getting ALL eleven results right. The odds on that were 635/1!
Then just as I was getting over my Wednesday woe it happened again this weekend with wins for Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, both Manchester clubs, West Ham, Southampton and Tottenham, who were all favourites.
The only Premier League game that was hard to predict was reigning champs Leicester drawing 2-2 at Stoke City
Still I have to have thick skin and take the rough with the smooth in my trade – and although I’m feeling bashed I’m at least heartened that Manchester United have started to get their act together with back to back wins.
You never know we might be getting smiles from Jose Mourinho any time soon with the Betfred odds on United to come from sixth to be Premier League champions in Jose’s first season at Old Trafford tumbling to 16/1.
Over at City, Pep Guardiola has been rewarded for showing his faith in ex-Liverpool star Raheem Sterling, who was so heavily criticised and blamed by many for England’s humiliating Euro 2016.
Sterling popped up with the winner in the crunch game at the Etihad on Sunday when City courageously came from behind to beat title rivals Arsenal 2-1 – and in doing so peg Chelsea’s lead at top of the table to seven points.
Chelsea are naturally odds on for the title at Betfred but if Zlatan Ibrahimovic keeps proving there is life in his 35 year old legs, then don’t give up on both Manchester clubs together with Liverpool challenging the nation’s most outstanding team, inform Chelsea for the title.
Although the superstar Swede, likened in some quarters to the galvanising effect Eric Cantona had on the club, grabbed the headlines, his first goal was created by Warrington’s own Jesse Lingard who was influential throughout.
Lingard, a product of United’s famed academy set-up, added attacking pace missing from the United team at WBA with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford starting on the bench.
One worry for Mourinho is the fact that Ibrahimovic has now scored 16 goals in all competitions this season – eleven more than any of his United team mates – which is one big reason why he’s so rarely rested!
Ibrahimovic is 11/2 to be the to be this season’s golden boot winner behind Chelsea ace Diego Costa, the 6/5 favourite at Betfred.
Finally with all these players and managers being linked with moves to China football we at Betfred are offering odds on who will head east in time for their season which starts in February.
Ex City striker and now at Stoke player Wilfried Bony is the 7/4 favourite, John Terry 10/3 and ex-England boss Sam Allardyce 6/1.
