Weekend Review: Punters stung by Hornets' victory over Red Devils
Manchester United's shock loss to Watford "rescues" bookies from big payout
Manchester United’s third defeat in a week saved several bookies from paying out large sums of money in what proved to be a tough weekend for the layers.
Saturday’s five Premier League matches were all won by favourites as Manchester City, Arsenal, Everton, Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion all claimed victories.
But Man Utd’s failure to overcome Watford on Sunday was welcomed by the bookies, with bet365’s Steve Freeth stating there were “several million reasons” as to why they were delighted with the result.
“Victory against the Hornets would have sealed a full house for odds on Premier League punters leaving us with a monster payout, we’re relieved to finish just a few million behind,” bet365’s Steve Freeth said.
Betfred’s Peter Spencer described Watford’s victory as “massive” after all five favourites from Saturday’s Premier League matches had won.
“United’s result was a major shock, most people were backing them to bounce back after the Feyenoord defeat,” he said. “IbrahimoviÄ is always backed first to score and of course he didn’t.”
Newcastle United’s home defeat to Wolves and United’s slip helped save BetVictor from a “nightmare” weekend, according to Charlie McCann.
“On Sunday, United came to our rescue at Watford and thank goodness punters got out of bed early enough for the noon kick off as early gains were only lent as home wins for Palace, Saints and Spurs followed,” he said.
But it proved to be a “tough” weekend for Unibet which reported losses in the Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga, but did take some joy from Liverpool’s victory over Chelsea on Friday evening.
“[There was] great turnover from Friday night football producing our best margin of the weekend alongside with Everton’s assured comeback against Middlesbrough,” Unibet’s William Vickery, said.
While Saturday proved difficult for most firms, William Hill still managed to turn a profit, according to Joe Crilly.
And Ladbrokes said it still enjoyed a “very good” Saturday with Newcastle and Hibernian dropping points and bursting coupons across the land.
“Increasingly customers are building football accumulators from the entire pyramid including the Ladbrokes SPFL leagues, so those results aren’t the full story,” Ladbrokes’ Alex Donohue said.