Top 3 bets from the weekend's football & snooker

Is Ole still at the wheel after the Manchester derby?

Some Manchester United fans will tell you their biggest rivals are Liverpool, while others maintain that City are the enemy. What all United fans will agree on is that being played off their own park by City to lose 2-0 a fortnight after being giving a 5-0 Old Trafford footballing lesson courtesy of Liverpool is just about as bad as it gets. While City didn’t rack up the embarrassing scoreline like Liverpool had done, everything else was disappointingly familiar as United were not only shown up by City’s slick passing and attacking talent, but their effort and dogged determination to win possession back.

United Corners Squared (settled at 1)

We mentioned last week that United’s new formation, with three centre-halves and a central strike partner for Cristiano Ronaldo had come at the expense of the wide attacking players, and how that could be connected to them only winning one corner despite a decent performance at Tottenham. Well, the same happened against City on Saturday, and the sellers were out in force. Despite being at home, United spent a lot of the Manchester derby on the back foot, and when they did attack, it was centrally through Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo rather than wide like it was earlier in the season. The hosts didn’t get their first – and only - corner until the 90^th minute. The United Corners Squared spread was set at 18-22, meaning sellers won 17 times their stake. Last week at Spurs, the United Corners Squared spread was 33-40, so sellers won 32 times their stake.

How many unbeaten teams are there in the Premier League?

The last Premier League unbeaten record went yesterday when West Ham beat Liverpool 3-2 in an enthralling game. Trent Alexander-Arnold bent in a freekick just before the break to send the teams in level, making up for Alisson’s early flap at an inswinging corner that had given the hosts an early lead. Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma put the Hammers 3-1 ahead in the 2^nd half and, despite Divock Origi’s late goal, they hung on to inflict Liverpool’s first defeat in 26 games.

Total Goal Minutes (settled at 269)

We saw plenty of buying goals markets in this game as punters expected an entertaining encounter, and they weren’t disappointed. Liverpool came into this game on a run of 25 unbeaten games, and had won 8 and drawn 2 of the last 10 against the Hammers. While buyers of Total Goal Minutes might have thought Liverpool would come out on top, their thirst for goals was rewarded by both teams with West Ham’s set piece plays particularly impressive. Total Goal Minutes was set at 159-174 before the game, so buyers banked 95 times their stake.

Who won the English Open snooker title?

A fantastic week of snooker came to a close last night in Milton Keynes when Neil Roberston clinched the deciding frame to beat John Higgins 9-8 to win the English Open. The Aussie had been 5-3 up, then lost four frames in a row to start the evening session 7-5 behind. Higgins got to 8-6 and within one of victory but couldn’t get over the line, Roberston forcing a decider then seizing on an opportunity when Higgins missed a red, when he was among the balls, to make a tournament-winning 65.

Total Points (settled at 1708)

All the big names seemed to do well last week, and with that came a number of close matches. Higgins made the final with a final frame win over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semis, while Roberston had come from 4-2 down to win his place in the final by winning four straight for a 6-4 victory. When matches are this close, the buyers come out in force, and they were not disappointed as another close match ensued. The pre-match spread for Total Points was 1561-1596, meaning buyers won 112 times their bet.