Premier League on Betfair: Chelsea back up to third after comeback win

 

It was a busy afternoon in the Premier League with games affecting both the top and bottom regions of the table. Mike Norman details the In-Play odds matched...

 

Chelsea are 1.33 to claim a Top Four Finish after coming from behind to beat Sunderland at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.

 

The Blues were slow out of the blocks and rarely threatened in a lacklustre first half, a half that ended with Sunderland - with Paolo Di Canio in charge for the first time - taking the lead courtesy of a Cesar Azpilicueta own goal. The 0-1 Half Time Score was matched at 24.0.

 

Fernando Torres was introduced in the second half and the Spaniard made an immediate impact, setting up Oscar whose shot somehow found its way into the far corner via the legs of Black Cats defender Matt Kilgallon.

 

And it wasn't long before Chelsea were in front, ultimately scoring the winner thanks to a third scrappy goal of the afternoon, this time Branislav Ivanovic deflecting David Luiz's long-range effort beyond the Sunderland goalkeeper.

 

Rafa Benitez's men were matched at 2.8 for the win In-Play - the 2-1 Correct Score at 15.0 - and move up to third in the Premier League table after Tottenham and Everton played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the afternoon.

 

Spurs - minus Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon of course - took the lead after just 34 seconds, Emmanuel Adebayor poking home Jan Vertonghen's low-cross. But Phil Jagielka equalised after 15 minutes meaning the sides went in at the interval all sqaure. Adebayor was backed at 9.2 to open the scoring while Jagielka was backed at 22.0 to score at anytime.

 

It was Everton who go their noses in front in the second half through Kevin Mirallas, and David Moyes' men looked on course for a valuable three points until right at the death Gylfi Sigurdsson reacted quickest to slot home after Adebayor's shot had struck the post.

 

The Draw was matched at 7.4 and the 2-2 at 21.0, and it all means Tottenham are level on 58 points with Chelsea in the table and available to back at 2.58 to finish in the top four come the end of the season. Arsenal - two points behind their two London rivals - can be backed at 1.42.

 

Liverpool's chances of finishing in the top four are over after they failed to beat West Ham at Anfield. The Reds would have needed to win all their remaining games to have any chance of claiming a Champions League qualifying position, but not for the first time this season Brendan Rodgers' men failed to build on some good recent form.

 

The 0-0 Correct Score was matched at a very generous 27.0 In-Play, while The Draw never hit higher than 6.2.

 

There was drama in both the games featuring clubs in danger of relegation, though whereas Newcastle beat Fulham in injury time, QPR's chances of staying in the top-flight received a huge blow as they were denied all three points thanks to a Wigan equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game.

 

The Hoops were in desperate need of the points today and they gave themselves an uphill task when Bobby Zamora was dismissed for a high challenge after just 20 minutes. A Sending Off was backed at 7.0 before kick-off.

 

The game looked to be heading towards a goalless draw but a quick counter attack with just five minutes remaining resulted in Loric Remy superbly firing the home side in front.

 

But right on the stroke of full-time Shaun Maloney curled home a fantastic free-kick to earn his side a precious point and effectively send QPR into The Championship. The 1-1 Correct Score was matched at a massive 75.0 In-Play, with the Draw touching a high of 17.0.

 

Betfair layers are giving QPR virtually no chance of remaining in the Premier League with offers of just 1.05 about Harry Redknapp's men being available in the Relegation market.

 

Reading are 1.02 for the drop, while Sunderland (2.9) and Wigan (3.0) look set to fight it out to avoid filling the final relegaion slot.

 

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