SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Only another Leicester City comeback, this time away at Southampton, prevented a harsh weekend for bookmakers getting even worse as all four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United picked up comfortable wins.
According to data from Team FA’s AccaTracker app, Southampton’s match against Leicester was the second most selected match on Saturday in multiple bets, which was fortunate for bookies as the stalemate stopped the top five accumulator matches all being won by the favourite.
Jamie Vardy’s two second-half goals, including a last minute equaliser, not only rescued Leicester, but the country’s bookmakers who had seen a lot of support for a Southampton win going into the weekend.
However out of the top ten chosen matches, only two went against form, the St Mary’s draw and Middlesbrough’s goalless match against Fulham.
Team FA marketing director Tim Pindar commented on the weekend’s football action:
“It is the first time since March that Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all won on the same weekend, so this had all the hallmarks of being a dreadful weekend for the bookmakers. There were a few chinks of light for them, with the draws at Southampton and Middlesbrough stopping a clean sweep for punters.
“There’s no doubt about it though, it was a great weekend for our AccaTracker users.”
Indeed a Ladbrokes punter called George Wood won over £115,000 on a £5 10-team accumulator when Man City beat Bournemouth and both teams scored, however this particular bet had been running since 4 October.
Matches selected by individual AccaTracker users and the percentage of accumulators that incorporate those matches
| Match | Bets | Users | Score |
| Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth | 8.32% | 7.54% | 5-1 |
| Southampton vs Leicester City | 6.84% | 6.29% | 2-2 |
| Chelsea vs Aston Villa | 6.71% | 6.11% | 2-0 |
| Watford vs Arsenal | 5.90% | 5.75% | 0-3 |
| Everton vs Manchester United | 5.88% | 5.52% | 0-3 |
| Middlesbrough vs Fulham | 5.39% | 5.10% | 0-0 |
| Crystal Palace vs West Ham United | 4.63% | 4.52% | 1-3 |
| Reading vs Charlton Athletic | 3.76% | 3.96% | 1-0 |
| Burnley vs Bolton Wanderers | 3.66% | 3.90% | 2-0 |
| Birmingham City vs Queens Park Rangers | 3.49% | 3.81% | 2-1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool | 3.49% | 3.57% | 0-0 |
| Crewe Alexandra vs Gillingham | 3.70% | 3.55% | 0-1 |
| Coventry City vs Blackpool | 3.42% | 3.49% | 0-0 |
| Newport County vs Portsmouth | 3.05% | 3.16% | 0-1 |
| Real Madrid vs Levante | 2.94% | 3.11% | 3-0 |
| Walsall vs Chesterfield | 2.92% | 3.11% | 1-2 |
| Oldham Athletic vs Sheffield United | 2.88% | 3.04% | 1-1 |
| West Bromwich Albion vs Sunderland | 2.62% | 2.88% | 1-0 |
| Leeds United vs Brighton & Hove Albion | 2.84% | 2.82% | 1-2 |
| Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munchen | 2.31% | 2.60% | 0-1 |
| Fleetwood Town vs Burton Albion | 2.40% | 2.52% | 4-0 |
