Friday night football expected to be a big hit
FORMER Countdown colleagues Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley will present the start of a new dawn in Premier League football with regular live Friday matches on Sky Sports and bookmakers believe the fixture switch will add up perfectly for football punters.
A maximum of ten top-flight fixtures, starting with Manchester United against Southampton, will be moved to the slot and bet365, who will sponsor the programme, are convinced it is going to be a winner.
Bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said: “The Sunday 4pm and Monday Night Football rule the roost for turnover and we estimate Friday will reach the levels of that later Sunday encounter.”
There will certainly be a lot of interest in Friday’s game with Paul Pogba expected to make his first appearance following his world-record transfer from Juventus. The Old Trafford contest also marks the home debuts of Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho and new star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Pogba is 10-1 with Coral to be named as the PFA Player of the Year and Ibrahimovic is 7-4 with bet365 to score at least 20 Premier League goals this season.
Ibrahimovic’s sweet strike against Bournemouth on Sunday saw him cut to 7-1 to claim the Premier League Golden Boot and 188Bet will refund stakes on selected markets as a free bet if Ibra notches first against Southampton.
The Swedish superstar is 11-4 with bet365 to outscore Saints on his own.
United are 8-1 with bet365 not to lose a Premier League match at Old Trafford this season and there can be no doubt Mourinho has made an immediate impression since arriving in Manchester – United are 3-1 to win their first title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
Arsenal are out to 9-1 for the league following their 4-3 loss at home to Liverpool on the opening weekend and Arsene Wenger admitted that he is still searching for players to boost his injury-hit squad.
Shkodran Mustafi has been linked with a move to Arsenal for weeks and the Valencia centre-back is 4-6 with Hills to finally become a Gunner before the end of the summer transfer window.
Wenger is 11-10 to miss out on yet another target and 25-1 with Hills to be the first top-flight boss to leave his current position.