Chelsea, at huge 1/5 odds-on were the biggest coupon busters of the day after they could only manage a 1-1 draw with London rivals Charlton Athletic. Eidur Gudjohnsen gave Chelseathe lead after 18 minutes but new Charlton signing Marcus Bent came off the bench to net an equaliser on 58 minutes. Manchester United vs Liverpool was the highest profile match of the day. The bookies had banked on a draw and that result looked a 21/10 reality until Rio Ferdinand thundered in a stoppage time header for a Reds victory at odds of 13/10. United can be backed to win the Premiership in the without Chelsea market at 5/6 while Liverpool remain second favourites in the same market at 6/5. Arsenals wretched away form continued with a 1-0 defeat at Everton, their sixth loss on the road this term. The Gunners came close to breaking the deadlock only for 11/2 shots Everton to rush straight up the other end for James Beattie to score. In the battle at the bottom, 11/10 Birmingham City hammered fellow strugglers Portsmouth 5-0 at St. Andrews. Steve Bruces side are still three points off safety, while Harry Redknapp faces a tough task to keep Portsmouth in the top flight. They are now 2/5 to go down. Sunderland gave themselves a fighting chance of survival with a battling 1-0 win at the Hawthorns. The Black Cats are 13 points away from safety, eight points behind second-from-bottom Portsmouth and are 80/1 outsiders to avoid relegation. Wigan maintained their top six position with a slender win at faltering Middlesbrough. Wigan, at 5/2 raced into the lead within a minute and former Blackburn midfielder David Thompson doubled the advantage with a goalscoring debut. However, Boro levelled terms but another debutante, Neil Mellor, struck a 90 minute winner for the Latics. A goal from unsettled striker Jared Borgetti helped 5/4 Bolton to a 2-0 win over Manchester City, while improving Blackburn, priced up as 23/10 outsiders, inflicted more misery onto Graeme Souness, with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle. Tottenham were another coupon buster after a drab goalless draw with struggling Aston Villa. Martin Jols side were 8/11 good things before kick-off. |
