Premier League round up, January 16th 2017
City stunned by Everton youngsters
Chelsea march on
Manchester City’s title challenge bit the dust on Sunday, if media reports are to be believed, after they were hammered 4-0 away to Everton.
That result means that the free-spending Citizens have lost two of their last three, the other vs Liverpool, and can now be found down in fifth-place, a full 10-points off the pace set by current leaders Chelsea, who show no signs of letting up.
The danger signs were there before kick-off, with City struggling in previous trips to Goodison Park, but punters failed to heed them, instead giving the light blues the benefit of the doubt and taking manager Pep Guardiola to prove his doubters wrong. 90-minutes later, following goals from Lukaku, Mirallas, Davies and Lookman, we had the answers we needed.
City out the race?
Guardiola looked a beaten man in his post-match interview with the press, having the look of a school boy who had been caught stealing sweets. He picked out his side’s failure to take their chances as the main problem this season, and the players are under pressure to deliver now, which is never a good place to be.
Personally, I think it’s the good old English media who have got the better of Pep and they are now 16/1 with Paddy Power to hit back and finish the season as league winners. I wouldn’t have a free bet on that.
12 months on, Leicester and Chelsea unrecognisable
While City struggled, Chelsea strolled on confidently, beating champions Leicester 3-0 away from home, making up for that recent defeat at the hands of title-rivals Spurs on their penultimate start. Alonso opened the scoring on six-minutes, and did the same at the start of the second-half too, while Pedro added a bit of glitz nearer the end to wrap up the points.
The Londoners now show a record of 17 wins and one draw against three defeats, and have a seven-point cushion over nearest rivals Spurs for the crown. Conte spoke beforehand about the headlines made by star striker Costa, but said he had not been included in the day due to a back injury, and not because of a bust-up that was reported in some rags. It looks like they aren’t missing him and that performance may just prompt the player to rethink his attitude. Chelsea to win the league is no better than 4/6 at William Hill.
Spurs are the best of the rest
Second-place Spurs were also in winning form when beating West Brom 4-0 to record their sixth victory on the bounce. During that purple patch, Tottenham have taken three wins without conceding a goal, including over table-toppers Chelsea last time out.
Harry Kane chipped in with an incredible hat-trick and the attacker really is growing into something special and will lead the line for England for years to come. Critics were waiting on him to be found out, but they now must accept he’s the real deal and is behind everything good about his club.
Tottenham to pull off a shock and go and win the league has been priced up as third-favourite in the Premier League outright betting, with Bet Victor giving out an incredible 8/1. That’s sure to prove popular with punters this week.