Top 10 spread betting moments of the 2013-14 Premier League season

So, it’s all over for another year. The Premier League season wound up on Sunday with Manchester City confirmed as champions for the second time in three years – but what sort of campaign has it been for punters?

With Liverpool returning to something like their brilliance of 25 years ago and Manchester United slipping to a level of mediocrity last seen in the late ’80s, the title race has been bubbling for most of the campaign making it a memorable season for football betting.

Even at the bottom there have been some miraculous turnarounds with Crystal Palace and Sunderland both escaping when looking dead certs for the drop, again giving wily gamblers the chance to try and make some money.

And when it comes to in-play betting there have been plenty of matches that have proved fantastic – or disastrous – for those placing football spread bets on the Premier League.

Below we highlight our top 10 spread betting moments of the 2013-14 Premier League season. As always, we like to remind readers that although profits can be great if you call a spread bet correctly, get it wrong and your losses can exceed the amount of your initial stake.

Top 10 spread bets of the 13-14 Premier League season

1. Arsenal 1 Aston Villa 3, 17/8/13
Arsenal fans were calling for the head of Arsene Wenger after just one game while Villa teased their fans with the suggestion they were going to have a good season. Which, of course, they didn’t.
It was also a day of indiscipline with eight players booked and Laurent Koscielny getting two yellows meaning the Bookings spread betting market made up at 115 (Bookings is based on 10 points awarded per yellow card and 25 per red with a maximum of 35 per player).
Spread betters who bought at 34 with Spreadex made 81 times their stake while those who sold were left seeing red themselves.

2. Cardiff 3 Man City 2, 25/8/13
Cardiff started the season in much more upbeat mood than when they ended it and their first home game of their campaign was arguably their highlight of their short stay in the top flight.
For spread betters too it was a memorable day as Fraizer Campbell scored two headers late on and Alvaro Negredo also nodded home in stoppage time to leave Headed Goal Minutes making up at 256 (Headed Goal Minutes is based on the minutes all headed goals are scored in a match, aggregated).
Punters who bought at 29 made 227 times their stake but those who sold were left holding their own heads due to large losses.
It’s worth noting that Spreadex still paid out to buyers on Campbell’s first goal despite it appearing to come off his shoulder.

3. Manchester United 0 Chelsea 0, 26/8/13
This clash gave an indication of the troubles that were about to come for United at Old Trafford – and also hinted at the strong defensive capabilities that were to prove the foundation for Chelsea’s season.
It was a match where basically nothing happened. Terrible to watch, but perfect if you’d just sold the spread betting Match Performance at 104 (Match Performance is based on 15 points awarded per goal, 3 per corner, 5 per yellow, 15 per red, 10 per penalty awarded and minus 25 for a goalless draw).
The market made up at 0 meaning sellers made 104 times their stake while buyers were left to curse one of the biggest 0-0 bore draws of all time.

4. Fulham 1 Cardiff 2, 28/9/13
In what was to prove a rare awayday win for Cardiff, the visitors heaped the pressure on under-fire Cottagers boss Martin Jol.
Spread betters were more interested in the high numbers of corners taken in either half of the game (eight and 13 respectively) which meant Multicorners made up at 104 (Multicorners is based on first half match corners taken multiplied by second half match corners taken).
Those who bought at 29 made 75 times their stake but those who sold realised they had some way to go until they cornered this particular market.

5. Swansea 3 Stoke 3, 10/11/13
One of the more surprising managerial casualties of the season was that of Michael Laudrup at Swansea. The Dane was still in charge, however, during this ding dong encounter with Stoke at the Liberty Stadium.
Two sides perhaps not best known for not being prolific when it comes to scoring goals conjured up six between them meaning the spread betting Goal Rush market made up at 100 (Goal Rush is based on 0 points awarded if goalless, 10 points for 1 goal, 20 for 2, 33 for 3, 50 for 4, 70 for 5 and 100 for 6 or more).
Those who bought at 29 netted 71 times their stake size while those that sold were left unhappy with the flood of goals.

6. Man City 6 Arsenal 3, 14/12/13
This result spoke volumes about the gap between the sides and highlighted the defensive frailties in then leaders Arsenal.
With six of the nine goals in the game coming after half-time, for spread betters it was all about Total Goal Minutes, which eventually made up at 531 (Total Goal Minutes is based on the minutes of all goals scored in a game, aggregated).
Those that bought Total Goal Minutes at 166 made a huge 365 times their stake making it a painful day for Spreadex, while those who sold were left bemoaning the fact that three strikes came in the last three minutes of the game.

7. Man City 5 Fulham 0, 22/3/14
It was a superlative season for Yaya Toure and given the Ivorian was wearing number 42 during the campaign, he was the player to watch for spread betters who liked to bet on Shirt Numbers (Shirt Numbers is based on the shirt numbers of all goalscorers in a game, aggregated).
Toure smashed a hat-trick in this fixture together with strikes from Fernandinho (wearing 25) and Martin Demichelis (wearing 26) meaning the market made up at a whopping 177.
Those that bought Shirt Numbers at 59 were left with profits 118 times their stake while those that sold were left hoping they hadn’t lost the shirt off their own backs.

8. West Ham 1 Liverpool 2, 6/4/14
Two goals from the spot from Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool the three points at Upton Park and kept the Reds challenging at the top.
Spread betters who bought Liverpool Penalty Goal Minutes were also feeling spot on as Gerrard’s strikes helped this market make-up at 115 (Penalty Goal Minutes is based on the minutes of all penalties scored in a match, aggregated).
Those who bought at 13 with Spreadex made 102 times their stake size. Anyone who sold on the spread found themselves in a spot of bother.

9. Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2, 27/4/14
Not only was this the day that Liverpool effectively lost their grip on the title, it was also the day that spread betters who bought Liverpool Corners Squared were happy to get the drinks in at the bar (Corners Squared is based on the number of corners taken in a game, squared, while Team Corners Squared is based on a named teams’ number of corners taken in a game, squared).
Liverpool took 14 corners in this match but still failed to find a way past the Blues’ bus. Punters who bought Liverpool Corners Squared at 52 made 144 times their stake size when the market made up at 196.
Those who sold at 48 were left feeling as frustrated as Brendan Rodgers.

10. Manchester City 4 Aston Villa 0, 7/5/14
With the game still at 0-0 an hour in, there were a few nerves beginning to jangle around the Etihad.
But two strikes in close succession from Edin Dzeko – just as he had done a few days previously in the 3-2 win at Goodison Park – all but ensured the Premier League trophy would be decorated in light blue once again.
His goals in the 64th and 72nd minute meant his Player Goal Minutes quote made up at 136 (Player Goal Minutes are based on the minutes of any goals a player scores in a given match, aggregated).
Spread betters who bought Dzeko’s Player Goal Minutes at 42 made 94 times their stake, while those who sold were left wondering why they’d put any faith in Villa’s defence.