AS the English Premier League edges ever closer to its climax, one remarkable story is almost at a fairy tale conclusion.
Giant killers Leicester City are on the cusp of pulling off the impossible – winning the English Premier League – after their win over Southampton on the weekend.
Flashback to this time last year and the Foxes were all but dead, consigned to relegation facing a seven point climb out of the drop zone.
They somehow made it out of their mire and are now seven points clear of second place Tottenham with just six games to go in the season.
To give you an idea of how big of an anomaly the Foxes effort has been, our friends over at sportsbet.com.au gave them absolutely no chance of winning the title.
None.
Nada.
They were a $3001 chance to win it all.
Yep, three grand to one.
They are now $1.33.
And that presents one hell of a headache for the sportsbet.com.au.
Should City go on and win the title, the online bookie will be looking at a pay out in excess of $1.2 million, with 57 punters jumping on the 3000 to one odds.
One punter jumped the gun, cashing out to the tune of $35,000, but one very savvy (or very lucky) punter had $50 on them at the $3001 quote and he or she stands to win $150,050.
“132 years is a long wait to pick up your maiden title but they’re looking good for one now. It probably is the greatest rags to riches story in sporting history and yes it will cost Sportsbet an arm and a leg but on this occasion we’ll happily pay the price for an improbable fairy-tale,’’ said sportsbet.com.au’s Will Byrne said.
Anyway, the Foxes can go one step closer to the title by knocking over Sunderland on Sunday night at 10.30pm AEST.
We’ve been sifting through a bumper fixture to try and find a few results that could turn into a very healthy parlay.
West Ham and Arsenal kick off in the early game on Saturday night at 9.45pm AEST and this is shaping as one of the matches of the round, along with the big clash between Spurs and Manchester United at 1am on Monday morning.
Five games at midnight on Saturday night/Sunday feature Aston Villa up against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace welcoming Norwich, Southampton taking on Newcastle, Chelsea visiting Swansea and Watford taking on Everton.
You’ll get bleary eyes staying up to watch Manchester City up against West Bromwich Albion at 2.30am, but at least day light savings makes it a bit earlier. Liverpool and Stoke kick off at 1am on Monday morning.
Any way, here are our picks for a round that could be title shaping.
Suggested Multi:
Southampton to beat Newcastle ($1.53)
Crystal Palace to draw with Norwich ($3.40)
Liverpool to beat Stoke ($1.57)
Tottenham to draw with Manchester United ($3.40)
Multi bet odds are $28.49 with sportsbet.com.au
Southampton vs. Newcastle
Our pick: Southampton to win ($1.53)
This one is the banker. One of our early tips was for Newcastle to be relegated at some fine odds and they’re futile season has paid dividends for us. They have lost five of their past six, with only a draw to show in that period, their last victory coming way back on February 7. Translation: things are bleak for the Magpies. The only real bright spot for the Toon has been the effort of striker Aleksandr Mitrovic, who bagged a brace in the weekend’s heart breaking 3-2 loss to Norwich City at Carrow Rd. After a couple of hiccups, Ronald Koeman’s men have produced some solid form, with a pair of wins over Liverpool and Stoke preceding a tight 1-0 loss to our aforementioned title elects Leicester City. On their home deck against an opposition that is all but consigned to relegation, this one should be a comfortable win to the Saints, with the likes of striker Graziano Pelle leading the way.
Crystal Palace vs. Norwich
Our pick: Draw ($3.40)
Crystal Palace supporters would be rather pleased that Sunderland, Newcastle and Aston Villa are so bad, otherwise they would be staring down the barrel of relegation after a disgraceful back end of the season. Palace has gone 13 games without a win, producing four draws, including a 2-2 result against West Ham on the weekend, to go with nine losses. Home town hero Alan Pardew hasn’t exactly been the tonic the fans had hoped and, while they should avoid relegation, things are very ugly for this club. By contrast, Norwich City is coming off back to back wins, polishing up after 10 games without a victory. The Canaries broke the deadlock with Newcastle in injury time after goals from Timm Klose and Dieumerci Mbokani matched Mitrovic’s brace. Veteran Martin Olsson’s 93rd minute finish gave Norwich all three points and ignited some faint hope that they could avoid the drop. With the contrasting form lines, but home ground advantage for Palace, this game has draw written all over it.
Liverpool vs. Stoke
Our pick: Liverpool to win ($1.57)
Liverpool has a rather annoying habit of disappointing us, but we’re putting our trust in them after they honoured our tip of a 1-1 draw against Tottenham last week and their star midfielder Filippe Coutinho struck to back up our first goal scorer prediction. It’s not like the Reds have looked anything close to title challengers this season, but they have enjoyed some of their best form over the past five weeks, which included three straight wins to go with the weekend’s draw against a side placed second on the table. Stoke has had a bit of a topsy turvy season, mixing moments of brilliance with some serious mediocrity. The Potters will be kicking themselves after surrendering a two goal lead to Swansea, which cancelled out goals to Ibrahim Afellay and Bojan in the second half. Whoever wins this one could put themselves within striking distance of a Europa League berth, so there is plenty riding on it. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that the Potters pull something out, but we’re going with Liverpool to continue their late season resurgence in front of the Kop.
Tottenham vs. Manchester United
Our pick: Draw ($3.40)
This big time clash is vying with West Ham vs. Arsenal for match up of the round honours, with plenty at stake for both of these traditional Premier League powerhouses. Were it not for the fairy tale Leicester City story, Tottenham would be attracting all the media attention as one of the most consistent and exciting sides in the top flight. But its title chase has faltered, somewhat, in its last five outings, the side dropping points in three of those as the Foxes extended their lead. It’s still not over and they have plenty to play for, but there is just a feeling around the traps that the men in white might not be able to handle the pressure and a draw with Manchester United looks likely here. One thing about the Red Devils is they have forgotten how to score, but are still getting the job done, with 1-0 wins in three of their last four (the other was a 1-0 loss). They beat cross town rivals Manchester City and then followed that up with a win over Everton on the weekend and enter this one in solid form. It feels like Tottenham is more talented, with the likes of golden boot leader Harry Kane firing them in from all over the place, but something tells us the Red Devils will put up a fight here.
