Premier League on Betfair: Bale brace saves Spurs on good day for top four contenders

9Feb 2013

England - Premier League

Another chapter is written in a banner year for Gareth Bale who scored twice against Newcastle as Spurs continue their charge to Champions League football. But with their Champions League-chasing rivals all winning the battle looks set to go to the wire

It was a bad day at the bottom of the table as relegation rivals QPR, Reading and Wigan all suffered defeats.

Playing a Swansea side with one eye on the Capital One Cup final, Harry Redknapp must have been brutally disappointed to see his QPR side fall to a 4-1 defeat. Michu was the destroyer in chief with another brace as the hosts won by a hefty scoreline that was backed at 45.0 on Betfair. Rangers are now 1.3 to go down.

Reading fans must have thought they were in for another late show at Stoke after Adrian Mariappa pulled an 83rd minute goal back with the Royals 2-0 down. But, unlike in recent weeks, Reading could not pull a spectacular comeback and they stay in 17th place. The Royals are 1.69 to be playing Championship football next year.

Wigan are only marginally longer in the market at 1.83. Roberto Martinez's men were the big outsiders of the day and they lived up to that billing with Chelsea scoring four at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are in to 1.28 to finish in the top four after the win which took them one point clear of Spurs, who enjoyed another memorable episode of the Gareth Bale show at White Hart Lane after the effervescent Welshman scored twice as the home side took another step towards a top-four finish.

Bale opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he lifted a free-kick over the visitors' wall. Newcastle pulled one back and looked as though they might cling on for a rare positive result in the capital only to succumb to a late break which ended with another stinging shot from the winger. It's four in three Premier League games for Bale and 13 goals in total for Bale, who also scored in the week for Wales.

Spurs had drifted to 3.5 to win with the draw coming in to 1.69. Tottenham are trading at 1.94 in the top four finish market, Newcastle are 13.0 to be relegated.

Arsenal are four points off Tottenham following a 1-0 win at Sunderland, secured thanks to a backs-to-the-wall effort after Carl Jenkinson was sent off at the Stadium of Light. Ahead through a Santi Cazorla goal, Arsene Wenger's team had to withstand a pummeling from the home side but stood firm to secure a valuable win.

In the day's other game, Norwich and Fulham fought out a 0-0 draw.