After a heavyweight weekend of sporting action, bet365’s trading pro, Steve Freeth summed up the highs and lows of the weekend from both a punter and trader perspective!
First stop; Wembley Stadium. All eyes were fixed on the IBF Heavyweight clash between former two-time champion Anthony Joshua, and the rising star defending his belt in Daniel Dubois. With a majority of expectation placed on Anthony Joshua to become a three-time champion in destructive fashion, the crowd witnessed a passing of the torch.
Dubois is well known for carrying heavy hands of his own, and proved just that as he clocked AJ just before the close of the first round. The 2012 Olympic gold medallist was visibly rocked, and he’d given himself a tough task as he hit the canvas in the hope he could recover quickly.
AJ was the favourite for this bout pre-fight, but the underdog continued to defy the odds as he continued to land the more devastating blows. The coronation was confirmed Dubois sent his opponent to the canvas several times within four rounds, before finally leaving his opponent unable to beat the count in the fifth.
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Premier League
From heavyweight boxing to heavyweights of the Premier League, as Manchester City welcomed Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium in a top of the table clash.
A predictable Erling Haaland goal was swiftly cancelled out by Riccardo Calafiori’s stunner from outside the box. With every suggestion the two teams would be walking into half time team-talks at 1-1, Gabriel managed to leap above Kyle Walker to put Arsenal into a vital lead.
The added time of the first half had more drama to serve up. Having seen Declan Rice punished for kicking the ball away only a matter of weeks ago, Leandro Trossard was shown his second yellow card of the game for the very same reason. A regrettable move given Arsenal’s strong position.
Just as it seemed Arsenal would be able to withstand the Manchester City barrage in the second half, their resolve crumbled in the final minutes. Jon Stones poked home a 98th minute equaliser for the defending champions to keep his team in top spot, and quickly remind Arsenal they’ll be in for another tough challenge this year.
bet365’s Steve Freeth summed up the weekend’s action: “We generally like to see the favourite win on a big fight night but it was 10/3 chance Daniel Dubois that landed the spoils against 2/9 Anthony Joshua with a knockout blow in Round 5 (40/1). We also saw money for Dubois by TKO/KO at 9/2 in a busy night at Wembley.
“A barnstorming top of the table clash with Arsenal, who were 1/33 to win the game with seconds to go. So close to claiming title favouritism from Manchester City, but it’s as you were at the top of the table at 10/11 and 2/1. We actually saw money for both sides leaving the draw as our best outcome, in fact, the only market to cause a dent was Total Goals in a small winning weekend.
“Saturday started with a Cole Palmer Super Boosted Shot on Target (3/10 – Evens), and 19/20 Chelsea winning convincingly. We finished with the best result of the day as a well-backed Manchester United (11/8) finished 0-0 with Crystal Palace – predictably, that stalemate was a fantastic result on the Bet Builder front.
“The Saturday 3pm’s featured three odds-on pokes in the shape of Aston Villa, Liverpool and Tottenham – with two being expensive. Villa and Spurs both finished with our least favourite scoreline of 3-1, and we also took a hit in-play as punters stuck with a Villa side that touched 7/1 during the 2nd half.
“However, there was enough for us in the draws at Leicester and Southampton, plus 7/5 Newcastle getting turned over at Fulham.
“In Europe, we had PSG to thank with the 2/5 shots being held at Reims. We profited from two 0-0’s in the form of Juventus vs Napoli and Real Valladolid vs Real Sociedad. You’ll win no prizes for guessing our two worst results in Europe – Real Madrid 4-1 Espanyol, and Werder Bremen 0-5 Bayern Munich, with the usual suspects helping themselves to goals and assists.
“On Sunday we had Bayer Leverkusen up to their usual antics of winning in injury time. Wolfsburg led twice but punters, and hopefully our traders, know by now that Xabi Alonso’s men should never be written off.
“1/16 Celtic drifted to 6/4 before Adam Idah’s brace in the space of two minutes also stung a bit, but not as much as Barcelona smashing Villarreal 5-1. The tide turned at the end of the night with 8/13 Leipzig riding to the rescue for a second week running, with 8/11 Atletico Madrid’s 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano also upsetting punters. 4/6 Inter losing the Milan derby as we ended the weekend with our noses in front after fearing the worst a few hours earlier.”
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