How did Antonio Conte’s first game as manager of Spurs go?

Antonio Conte’s first game in charge of Tottenham may have been in the Europa Conference League but it will live long in the memory for those watching or betting on it. A new formation under the new manager saw Spurs race into a three-goal lead within half an hour, allow opponents Vitesse right back into the game and almost level, and three men sent off as Spurs held on for the points with 10 men against 9. The Conte revolution looked to be going brilliantly as Son and Lucas Moura scored before Harry Kane pressured Jacob Rasmussen into an own goal. The visiting defender atoned for that mistake with a header from a corner after 32 minutes and seven minutes later, Matus Bero made it 3-2 to ensure that first half-time team talk was far trickier than it looked like it would be. Despite the flurry of cards, Spurs hung on in the second half to avenge their defeat in the Netherlands last time out and move up to 2^nd in Group G.

Cross-Bookings (settled at 2800)

While there were no goals in the second half, there was plenty of incidents, with three players shown red cards. Christian Romero was first to go for a challenge on Lois Openda, but just when it looked like Vitesse might be able to make the man advantage count, their skipper Danilho was shown his second yellow to even up the numbers. Worse was to follow for the visitors when keeper Markus Schubert handled outside of his area and was also dismissed. For buyers in our bookings markets however, this flurry or activity was manor from heaven. The Cross-Bookings market is made up by multiplying one team’s booking points by the other, with 10 points for a yellow card and 25 for a red. Romero’s second yellow and subsequent red card for the home side and the three yellows and two reds for Vitesse meant this market settled at 2800 (35x80). Before the game, the Cross-Bookings spread was set at 550-630, meaning buyers won a whopping 2170 times their stake.

Are West Ham through to the Europa League knockout stages?

Even a late Tomas Soucek own goal that denied them a 4^th straight win in the Europa League couldn’t dampen West Ham’s enthusiasm as they made the knockout stages with two games to play. The Hammers’ 100% record went as they drew 2-2 in Genk, conceding their first goals of the competition, but with 10 points from four games, they are now guaranteed to finish in the top 2, and can secure a 1^st place finish with one more win. Finishing top means West Ham go straight into the last 16, which is obviously preferable to a runners-up spot and a play-off with a Champions League 3^rd place team. Said Benrahma was the Hammers hero, turning the game on its head with two goals in reply to Joseph Paintsil’s early opener, but Soucek’s late own goal levelled the scores.

Said Benrahma Super Mega Minutes (settled at 223)

Benrahma has been one of the stars of West Ham’s fantastic start to the season, and he rewarded buyers of his performance last night. The Super Mega Minutes market doubles the minutes of a 2^nd goal and trebles those of a 3^rd, so the Algerian’s brace meant richer rewards for SMM buyers. Pre-match the Player Goal Minutes spread was 14-17 and SMM was 21-26, so buyers won 123 times their bet in the PGM market and 197 times in the Super Mega Minutes.

Is Cameron Norrie playing in the ATP Paris event?

The British number one was beaten in straight sets yesterday to not only get knocked out of the Masters event in Paris but significantly damage his chances of making the end of season ATP Finals. Norrie was beaten in the last 16 by American Taylor Fritz 6-3 7-6 and it now looks like he will only be an alternate for the ATP Finals in Turin. Winning the Paris event on top of last month’s success at Indian Wells would have put the world number 13 into the showpiece event.

Points Superiority Fritz/Norrie (settled at 15)

Corrie was favourite going into this game, but Taylor Fritz has also been showing a bit of form, coming into this game after knocking out 5^th seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets. Both men played well, but Fritz just had the edge, and goes on to take on Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Those looking to side with the American could have sold the original spread in this market, which had Norrie/Fritz 3-7. Selling Norrie’s superiority at 3 won punters 18 times their stake, as Fritz finished with 15 more points that the Brit.