The Premier League season is just one week old and we already have our first major shock as 3/10 favourites Liverpool were held to a 2-2 by Fulham at a raucous Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon. Elsewhere there were wins for Leeds United, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal whilst Erik ten Hag’s reign at Old Trafford got off to the worst possible start with a 2-1 home defeat against Brighton.

It wasn’t all about the football though, with Australia and South Africa recording wins in the Rugby Championship and in rugby league, Toulouse inched closer to the drop with defeat at Hull KR and Leeds Rhinos hauled themselves into the play-off positions with a win over Salford.

As always with so much going on, we find three markets where there was the potential for winners on the spreads, including a thriller in the National League North.

Please remember that unlike fixed odds betting, when spread betting losses can exceed deposits.

WOMEN’S 4X400M RELAY – CANADA 50-25-10 (SETTLED AT 50)

We start this week away from the football and at the athletics at the Commonwealth Games where superb crowds have been enthralled by the exploits of some superstar athletes. Sunday was another day full of drama and that continued to the very last race, with the 4x400m relays rounding off proceedings.

England women had a team which boasted three of the top five winners in the individual event and were priced as strong favourites at 38-41, with Jamaica the main danger at 29-31.

The English front-loaded their first three legs and by the time Jessie Knight had the baton she was well in front, but that lead was gradually eroded and with 10 metres to go, it looked like Kyra Constantine of Canada (priced 6-8 before the off) was going to run her down. A clever extension of Knight’s arm however, just allowed her to get back up as England took gold by one-hundredth of a second.

The drama wasn’t down there however, as eagle eyed judges spotted that England’s first changeover between Victoria Ohuruogu and Jodie Williams had seen both women cross into the inside lane. England were disqualified then to the delight of sellers on their price index, but it was Canadian buyers who had the biggest reason to cheer as they landed a win of 42x their stake.

BOSTON UNITED v SOUTHPORT – GOALS CUBED (SETTLED AT 512)

If you wanted goals this weekend, the place to be was the port town of Boston where Southport were the visitors to the Jakemans Community Stadium. In front of a travelling army of 30, the Sandgrounders silenced the home crowd as they raced into a five-goal lead with former Boston man Jordan Archer helping himself to a first-half brace.

However, the hosts at least gave their fans something to cheer about when Jordan Crawford pulled one back in the 71^st minute. The former Corby and Kettering man managed to bag his double in injury time and Lebrun Mbeka also scored after the clock ticked past 90 to give some respectability to the scoreline.

It was a match to forget for Pilgrims fans, but buyers on Goals Cubed would have been dancing with delight as the market settled at 512. With the spread before kick-off at 42-49, buyers won 463x their stake.

WEST HAM UNITED V MANCHESTER CITY – SHIRTS X BOOKINGS (SETTLED AT 180)

Manchester City got their title defence underway with the perfect start as they cruised a straightforward 2-0 victory away to West Ham at the London Stadium. With Liverpool struggling to a draw with newly promoted Fulham on the other side of the capital on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s side have been trimmed to 8/15 to lift the title.

Sunday’s clash against the Hammers was the type City specialise in. No drama or fuss and a level of control which saw the Londoners restricted to just 24% possession. Erling Haaland in his new number nine shirt was hauled off before he could convert his brace into a hat-trick but it will have been a pleasing day’s work for the Norwegian.

Punters might have expected to see West Ham get amongst City and put some challenges in, but sellers on the Shirts v Bookings line will have been pleased to see just Joao Cancelo’s name in the book at full-time. Before kick-off the market was 1450-1625 but with the make-up at 180, sellers profited to the tune of 1270x their stake.

Please note that these are examples of winning bets from the past week, and it is important to remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit.