Matchweek 23 of the 2021/22 EPL season saw a rare slip for breakaway title leaders Man City, while Everton’s slide towards the relegation zone continued.
Here’s how it looked for punters:
City offer rare slip
Having won their last 12 EPL games in a row, Manchester City have offered their rivals nothing in recent months, maintaining or extending their lead at the top on a weekly basis. But a rare slip on the weekend may just have kept the door ajar. Starting as $1.25 favourites away to Southampton, the Sky Blues had to fight back late to earn a draw ($6.00 pre-game with Palmerbet) at St Mary’s. While still very much strong title favourites at $1.07 with Palmerbet, their price shifted from $1.03 before the weekend. So, are we on?
"This was the best performance of the season – by far." 👀
A defiant Pep Guardiola insists he was delighted with #MCFC's performance at Southampton, despite being held to a 1-1 draw. 🔵pic.twitter.com/ZjWhb9Rpim
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) January 22, 2022
Is the door ajar?
City’s lead at the top was cut from 12 points to nine after Liverpool’s 3-1 win away at Crystal Palace. And as Jurgen Klopp’s men have a game in hand on Pep Guardiola’s, could this be the opening we need to officially declare the EPL title race back on? Guardiola isn’t having any of it. “Sometimes it’s difficult for me to understand how, to drop points after one good performance, for them to say that now the race is open, when before it’s over,” he said after the performance against Southampton. On the back of the win, Liverpool shortened from $10 into $7 in the EPL title market.
Liverpool were awarded this penalty and then Alan Shearer went OFF 🤬
“They both, somehow, get to this ridiculous, wrong, pathetic, stupid decision…”
An all-time rant that has to be heard.
Penalty or no penalty? This is the full analysis.#OptusSport pic.twitter.com/ag6OdQihDB
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) January 23, 2022
Toffees tumbling
A dismal season at Goodison Park got even more grim on Saturday afternoon. After sacking manager Rafael Benitez last week, Duncan Ferguson’s second reign as Everton caretaker got off on the wrong note with a 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa. And now, the genuine question of relegation has emerged. The Toffees (16th, 19 points) are now only four points above the drop zone. Both Norwich (17th, 16 points), who have won two on the bounce, and Newcastle (18th, 15 points) are breathing down their neck. It’s difficult to conceive just how it’s come to this point, and their free-fall is staggering. Defeated just once in their first seven games of the EPL season, Everton were — at that point — way out as $151 relegation hopes with Palmerbet. But now, things have been flipped on their head.
The Toffees are now genuine relegation chance, and to make matters worse are in trouble after fan unrest on Saturday.
Everton are in relegation trouble. Club is riven with dissent and division. Half an hour after the game, there are still several hundred Everton fans in the Gwladys Street chanting 'get out of our club' and 'sack the board'.
— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) January 22, 2022
Lucas Digne and Matty Cash were struck by objects celebrating Aston Villa's goal at Goodison Park.
Digne was an Everton player nine days ago. pic.twitter.com/WkqnKp9X7G
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 22, 2022
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