Weekend Review: Bookies gear up for Cheltenham as Arsenal and Burnley provide the goods

A set of favourable results in the Premier League gave the layers reason to be cheerful this weekend as Arsenal ousted North London rivals Tottenham on Sunday. The Gunners turned the derby on its head after Erik Lamela put Spurs in front with an audacious rabona effort that glided across the Emirates pitch. Goals from Martin Ødegaard and Alexandre Lacazette meant Mikel Arteta secured his first win over Spurs as Arsenal manager at the third attempt.

✅ #NorthLondonDerby 🔴 pic.twitter.com/OGzk96epPy

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 14, 2021

Elsewhere, Burnley sprang a surprise after beating Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park, while Leeds and Chelsea could only muster a 0-0 draw between them at Elland Road. Kindred Group’s Ali Gill told EGR it was a “good weekend” overall for the layers. Gil said: “Overall a good weekend in the Premier League with a couple of results setting the tone. Things kicked off nicely with an almost unheard of 0-0 in Leeds’ game with Chelsea, putting us in a good position for the rest of the weekend. “In the North London derby, the money was fairly spread around results, but a Spurs win was the best backed, so that result along with Everton’s loss to Burnley meant the weekend was one for us all told,” he added. Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “Burnley’s champagne football earned its just reward with a terrific win at Goodison, smashing loads of multiples at a stroke. Leeds and Chelsea’s goalless draw was a good result too, but plenty of shorties went in.”

That 𝐖 feeling 🤗 pic.twitter.com/AZt00z9wCk

— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) March 14, 2021

Elsewhere, in horseracing, the Cheltenham Festival kicks off this week with eyes set to be firmly focused on four days of racing action. Firkins revealed four horses who could leave the bookies in the mire if they achieve success during the week. He said: “As for our thoughts this Cheltmas Eve, hotpots like Shishkin, Monkfish and Envoi Allen hold the key – if they hose up, we’re well and truly on the back foot. “Honeysuckle is one of our biggest liabilities all week, and if she does the business in Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle Betfred punters will be in clover,” he added.

When you realise what day it is tomorrow 🙂🙌#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/5yzCJEKB4f

— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 15, 2021

Additionally, Gill reflected on the last weekend before the Festival, which left layers buoyant ahead of the event. Gill said: “In the last weekend before Cheltenham, Sandown hosted the Imperial Cup. Favourite Natural History was very well backed but failed to deliver on the day. 5/1 winner Langer Dan, although not unsupported, left us ahead in that one in a good weekend of racing results overall.” In a heart-warming story, one Paddy Power punter secured a £1m payout after Langer Dan secured his victory at Sandown. Geoff from Bootle became the winner of the Paddy Power Millionaire Chase having waited months for the final race thanks to poor weather over the winter. Geoff said: “It’s amazing what it’ll do for our life. We lost our son eight years ago to cancer, he was just 18 years old. “This is a life-changing amount of money and it felt like it was just meant to be. I love racing but I couldn’t tip a winner. I couldn’t pick my nose normally,” he added.