The increased faith that punters have in Chelsea, and their ability to hold on to a 1-0 lead, has been emphasised by the latest set of In-Play data released by Spiffx.
Back in August against West Ham, Antonio Conte’s side held a 1-0 lead for half an hour at Stamford Bridge but attracted only a 0.13% increase on the 85% of players that backed them to win Pre-Play. James Collins levelled for the Hammers on 77 minutes, before a late Diego Costa strike secured a dramatic opening day win for the Blues.
Just under four months later, Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring at a very similar time against a Sunderland side that had won their previous two home matches. However, on this occasion 98.99% of Spiffx punters backed them In-Play to claim a 10th consecutive Premier League victory.
This reflected a 49.71% rise on the 49.28% that bet on the visitors to win Pre-Play at the Stadium of Light. The following week at Crystal Palace, it was the same story again. As soon as Conte’s side had scored in the first half, almost everyone that bet (98.51%) favoured them to hold on to the victory. They duly won by a goal to nil to safeguard their six-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the league.
Given that they have leaked just two goals in the last 11 matches, expect the betting to follow this pattern again for their home match with Bournemouth on Boxing Day. With Diego Costa missing through suspension, some might be tempted to go against the expected home win Pre-Play, but if the league leaders score early you won’t find many backing Bournemouth to take anything from the game.
This is the info for this week:
Monday 15th August 2016 – Chelsea v West Ham
Result: 2-1
Pre-Play Bets:
- Chelsea – 85%
- Draw – 4.17%
- West Ham – 10.83%
In-Play Bets:
- Chelsea – 85.13%
- Draw – 7.05%
- West Ham – 7.82%
Wednesday 14th December 2016 – Sunderland v Chelsea
Result: 0-1
Pre-Play Bets:
- Sunderland – 26.08%
- Draw – 24.64%
- Chelsea – 49.28%
In-Play Bets:
- Sunderland – 0.5%
- Draw – 0.51%
- Chelsea – 98.99%
Saturday 17th December 2016 – Crystal Palace v Chelsea
Result: 0-1
Pre-Play Bets:
- Crystal Palace – 26.56%
- Draw – 21.88%
- Chelsea – 51.56%
In-Play Bets:
- Crystal Palace – 0.89%
- Draw – 0.6%
- Chelsea – 98.51%
Source: SBC News
