It may be a quiet time of year for many but the betting on the Exchange indicates that we have just witnessed a pivotal round of matches in the Premier League.
Manchester City are in to 1.141/7 to retain their title after their hard-fought 1-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday while Chelsea, who were sucker-punched by a late Brighton equaliser at Stamford Bridge, are out to 34.033/1.
They have drawn four of their last five, dropping eight points, and look a shadow of the imperious outfit that shortened to 3.1511/5 for the title earlier this season.
The Seagulls are around even money to finish in the top 10 in what could be their best campaign in the Premier League.
Winning tip and big Bet Builder win
The match at Stamford Bridge was a winning tip for our previewer Dave Tindall, who recommended backing the draw at 4.94/1.
It also made for drama on the Exchange where over £86,000 was matched on Chelsea to win at between 1.081/12 and 1.061/18.
One punter enjoyed massive Bet Builder success on the match.
Did you have any Bet Builder success last night?
This punter landed an almost 200/1 shot on the Chelsea v Brighton game!
Yves Bissouma’s 81st minute booking sealed the five-fold and brought home just under 2k! pic.twitter.com/TQpQESQJPd
— Betfair (@Betfair) December 30, 2021
The previous evening, Liverpool lost at Leicester and Jurgen Klopp’s men are out to 12.011/1 in the title betting. They are nine points adrift of City but can leapfrog Chelsea and cut the gap to the top to six if they win their game in hand.
Liverpool go to Stamford Bridge in the standout match of the weekend on Sunday.
Gunners lead race for fourth but punters prefer Utd
With City, Chelsea and Liverpool set to dominate the top three, the race for the reamining top four spot is likely to be frenetic in the second half of the season.
Arsenal currently sit fourth, with a four point cushion ahead of fifth-placed West Ham. Tottenham come next followed by Manchester United who host Burnley in the final match of 2021 tonight.
United have made a stuttering start to life under Ralf Rangnick but bettors still make them the shortest price of the quartet mentioned above to finish in the top four.
The Red Devils are 2.3611/8 to finish in the top four ahead of Arsenal 3.613/5, Tottenham 3.65 and West Ham 5.14/1.
Is there big club bias at play there? You’d have to think so, based on the recent performances of all four.
United were as bad as they’ve been all season in their 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Monday while Spurs are gelling under Antonio Conte, Mikel Arteta is making big decisions as he pulls Arsenal in the right direction and the Hammers ended a winless run when demolishing Watford.
