Favourites prove fine festive fare for punters

CHRISTMAS came early for the majority of football punters after bookmakers were left to count the cost of a midweek bonanza of winning favourites.

Seven of the eight Premier League favourites won on Wednesday, including all five odds-on shots and the only team not to oblige was Southampton, who were the biggest-priced side of the lot anyway at 6-4.

Simon Clare of Coral said it was a “bad night for the bookies” and bet365 were hardest hit, reporting losses in excess of £10m on the night, a sum which was aided by the success of Sky Bet Championship hotpots Derby and Newcastle, who also won at QPR and Wigan respectively.

Spokesman Steve Freeth said: “We are not expecting too much sympathy but on paper it looked a punter-friendly Wednesday coupon and so it proved with £11m losses incurred.

“We thought Crystal Palace had come to our rescue but Zlatan Ibrahimovic did what he’s been doing for most of the season and that 2-1 win for Manchester United late on at Selhurst Park turned out to be very painful.

“We have a bloodied nose but can’t bleat too much with the way the Premier League results have panned out so far this season and, low-scoring wins to nil are always preferred than if these favourites win high-scoring games.”

Chelsea were one of those to land a narrow success, beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, to lead the Premier League by six points.

Antonio Conte’s men are 17-20 to win the title, while Liverpool can be backed at 6-1 following their 3-0 success at Middlesbrough.

There was little movement at the other end of the standings with West Ham the only side currently in the bottom half to win and Swansea manager Bob Bradley is 6-4 favourite to be the next manager to leave his position after a 3-1 loss at West Brom.

Leicester, who are 12-1 to be relegated, have been given a boost with the news than Kasper Schmeichel has returned to full training and could return to the starting 11 at Stoke.

Real Madrid are through to the Club World Cup final after a 2-0 win over Club America.

Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo were on target to set up a final showdown against Kashima Antlers on Sunday.

Real Madrid are 1-14 favourites to lift the trophy with the Japanese outfit at 8-1.