Top 3 Old Firm, AFCON & WC Qualifier Winning Bets

What happened in the Old Firm derby?

Celtic leapfrogged Rangers to take over top spot in the Scottish Premiership with a resounding 3-0 win against their Glasgow rivals. Reo Hatate scored twice and Liel Abada added a third, all in the first half, as Ange Postecoglou’s ended a run of seven derbies without a win with in some style. Celtic are now unbeaten in 18 games while Rangers manager Gio van Bronckhorst tasted defeat for the first time after starting his Rangers managerial career unbeaten in 13.

Celtic Leading Minutes (settled at 85)

This looked like being a tight encounter, but right from the off Rangers were second best in every challenge as the hosts blitzed them from the opening kick-off. Just 5 minutes into the game, Matt O’Riley’s corner was cleared only as far as Hatate who took one touch and fired into the Rangers goal to send 60,000 Celtic fans wild. The Blues never looked like getting back into it as Celtic continued in wave after wave of attack, and buyers of Celtic Leading minutes – the spread had been set at 24-27 – made a profit of 58 times their bet.

Who is in the AFCON final?

Senegal are the first team into the AFCON final after they beat Burkina Faso 3-1 in the first semi-final. Liverpool striker Sadio Mane equalled Henri Camara’s record of 29 goals for Senegal with a chipped third goal as the tournament favourites eventually broke down Burkina Faso’s resistance, with all the goals in this game coming in the last 20 minutes. Mane could come up against his Liverpool teammate Mo Salah in the final, with Salah’s Egypt facing hosts Cameroon in tonight’s second semi-final.

Total Goal Minutes (settled at 315)

Burkina Faso held strong for the first 70 minutes of this game before Abdou Diallo finally broke their resistance just as Senegal’s frustration was growing. Senegal were awarded two penalties in the first half, only for VAR to overrule them, but Diallo’s goal opened the game up. Within six minutes, Idrissa Gueye had Senegal two in front, and while Burkina Faso did get one goal back through Blati Toure, Sane put the game beyond reach with three minutes left. With all the scoring action in the last quarter of the game, buyers of Total Goal Minutes made a tidy profit. The spread was set at 90-98, meaning buyers made 217 times their bet.

What happened in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifiers?

USA moved a step closer to a place in the World Cup later this year with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of Honduras in a match that saw some visiting players have to be substituted due to the extreme cold. The Americans decided to hold this game in freezing Minnesota, with temperatures dropping as low as -16, because, they said, it was convenient after the weekend game in Hamilton, Canada. Either way, the visitors, not used to such conditions, made three changes at half-time and did not enjoy the game one bit. Thanks to goals from Weston McKinnie, Walker Zimmerman and Christia Pulicic sent the USA up to second in their World Cup qualifying group with three games remaining.

1^st USA Goal (settled at 8)

The USA set up the equivalent of a wet Tuesday evening at Stoke by choosing to host this qualifier in conditions they knew the Hondurans simply wouldn’t fancy, and they were right. For punters, knowing Honduras would be in shock at the conditions, it was all about finding markets that could take advantage of a slow start for the visitors, and selling the 1^st USA Goal minutes made a lot of sense as Honduras struggled to adapt. The spread was set at 37-40, so sellers made a profit of 29 times their bet.