Revealed: Punters predicted cards in Dundee United v Celtic
Published:
The gut-trusters were out in force for Celtic’s Scottish FA Cup clash with Dundee United at Tannadice this weekend, if the latest Ladbrokes statistics are to be believed.
Leigh Griffiths may have rescued the tie for the Bhoys with his second half equaliser against the hosts but the main talking points from the game were the three red cards dished out.
Both Celtic and Dundee United found themselves down to 10 men after just 11 minutes with Virgil van Dijk and Paul Paton shown straight red cards following an angry encounter.
The Bhoys defender had been sent off last time out in the Europa League, with this game marking the second time in the space of two weeks in which the Dutchman has been given his marching orders before the break.
For Paton, it may have been a case of mistaken identity, with Calum Butcher the man to originally clash with Van Dijk only for his teammate, who arrived on the scene after the scuffle, to get dismissed.
It did not end there, however, with Dundee United’s Paul Dixon sent for an early bath in the second period after blocking a goal-bound shot from Griffiths.
The Celtic striker had his resulting penalty saved before equalising 19 minutes from time.
It was a fractious affair that featured as many red cards as yellows, however Ladbrokes customers appear to have seen it coming.
According to data compiled by the bookmaker, 100% bets in the “Red Card in match” market were placed on “Yes” at not-too-shabby odds of 7/2 with a total of 22 customers placing bets in this often-ignored market.
This comes despite there being no red cards in any of the previous 12 encounters between the teams, something that would have had the Professors out there backing “No”.
A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: “After a week in which Celtic lost 1-0 at home to St Johnstone and held by the Terrors despite starting the game as favourites, it could pay to expect the unexpected when it comes to the Bhoys.”
Celtic are next in action against Dundee United in the League Cup – what price on another shock result and maybe a red card or three?
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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