Premier League on Betfair: Manchester City 3/10 for title after derby success

“Liverpool briefly shortened to [5.2] to win the title, but they were back out trading at [6.0] following Manchester City’s victory.”

Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League table as they coasted to a 3-1 win – matched at a high of [17.0] in the Correct Score market – over fierce rivals United at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s men got off to the perfect start when the two Silvas combined – Bernardo passing to David – to score in the 13th minute though they had to wait until early in the second half to extend their lead when Sergio Aguero finished off a lovely one-two with Riyad Mahrez.

United were back in the game shortly after when Anthony Martial converted a penalty after substitute Romelu Lukaku had been hauled down by City goalkeeper Ederson. But Jose Mourinho’s men didn’t really threaten to get back level and it was the Citizens that deservedly went further ahead, Ilkay Gundogan finishing off a superb 44-pass move.

City have taken 32 points from the 36 available to them this season and have a two point lead over Liverpool – who had earlier gone top of the table – resulting in them shortening to [1.3] in the Premier League Winner market.

Prior to the Manchester derby Liverpool went top of the table with a 2-0 victory over Fulham in the noon kick-off.

Jurgen Klopp‘s men were expected to steamroll the Cottagers – who have the worst defensive record in the Premier League – but it took them until the 41st minute to break the deadlock when Mo Salah finished off a lightning counter-attack just seconds after Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header had been ruled out for offside.

The Reds effectively sealed the points with Xherdan Shaqiri‘s neat second half finish, meaning Liverpool’s 30 points tally after 12 games equalled their best ever start to a Premier League season.

Liverpool briefly shortened to [5.2] to win the title, but they were back out trading at [6.0] following Manchester City’s victory.

Chelsea remain third favourites – available to back at [25.0] – though the Blues let two points slip and their own chance of going top of the table when they could manage just a 0-0 draw at home to Everton.

Newly-promoted Wolves almost produced the shock result of the weekend when leading 1-0 late in the game over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, but eventually had to settle for a 1-1 draw, a scoreline matched at [10.0].

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men were matched at a high of [6.6] to win the game and soon had the lead when Ivan Cavaleiro scored from close range, but in the dying minutes substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan saved the Gunners’ blushes to rescue a draw.

Arsenal are now eight points behind leaders Man City and can be backed at [150.0] to win the title, but perhaps more significantly they are three points behind North London rivals Tottenham who won 1-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

Spurs can be backed at [48.0] to win the Premier League, while they are now strong favourites to record a Top 4 Finish at [1.63], ahead of Arsenal at [2.6] and Manchester United at [4.2].

If Sunday was all about the teams at the top end of the table then Saturday was very much a time for some of the bottom half sides to have their day in the sun.

And it turned out to be a good day too, especially for Cardiff and Newcastle who beat Brighton and Bournemouth respectively, while Huddersfield, Southampton, and Burnley all avoided defeat.

Cardiff came from a goal behind to beat 10-man Brighton thanks to a 90th minute Sol Bamba goal, a result that moved the Bluebirds up one place to 18th in the table, while Newcastle moved up to 14th when they made it back-to-back home wins thank to a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.

Fulham‘s defeat at Liverpool on Sunday means the Cottagers stay bottom of the table, three points adrift of safety, and they are one of three clubs trading at odds-on – [1.64] in the Relegation market – to be playing Championship football next season.

Cardiff, [1.52], and Huddersfield, [1.54], remain the two clubs most likely to be relegated according to the market, though Burnley are also well fancied for the drop at [2.24], while Newcastle, [5.4], Southampton, [5.6], and Crystal Palace, [6.0], are just three other clubs in the mix.