Manchester City have shortened to 1.43 in the Premier League Winner market after hitting Stoke for seven in a performance that Pep Guardiola described as probably the best he'd seen under his management.
With Sergio Aguero on the bench having recovered from his recent rib injury City had plenty in reserve if needed but that was never going to be the case from the moment Gabriel Jesus put the home side in front in the 17th minute. Raheem Sterling quickly made it two before David Silva added a third approaching the half hour mark.
To their credit Stoke did threaten to get back into the game when they scored either side of the interval, but being pegged back to 3-2 just pushed Guardiola's men into overdrive, with the quite brilliant Kevin De Bruyne pulling all the strings.
The Belgian midfielder produced two scintillating passes to set up Jesus for his second goal and Leroy Sane to tap home, while Fernandinho's thunderbolt and a first goal for the club by Bernardo Silva completed the rout.
Man City have always been title favourites but this is the first time they have moved to such a short odds-on price having been matched at a high of 3.70 earlier in the season. Guardiola's men remain unbeaten this term and have a two point cushion over their Manchester rivals at the top of the table.
Chasing pack slip up... bar Tottenham
The eagerly anticipated Liverpool versus Manchester United clash produced yet another goalless draw with Jose Mourinho's men failing to get on the front foot for a second season running at Anfield, and seemingly settle for a draw from an early stage.
Liverpool undoubtedly had the better chances with David De Gea being much the busier of the two goalkeepers, producing one excellent reaction save to prevent Joel Matip from putting the home side in front. Romelu Lukaku squandered an excellent chance at the other end but the game looked destined to end goalless long before it actually did.
United - 5.90 second favourites in the Winner market - will be much happier with the result and trail Man City by just points in the title race, while Jurgen Klopp's men are now down in eighth, fully nine points off the lead and available to back at 55.00 to win the title.
It was a poor day for both Chelsea and Arsenal as they both lost out by a scoreline of 2-1 in London derbies to Crystal Palace and Watford respectively.
Wilfried Zaha, making his first start of the season, was the architect behind Palace's first league win of the campaign, while a stoppage-time Tom Cleverley goal condemned the Gunners to yet another away defeat.
Like Liverpool, both Chelsea, 24.00, and Arsenal, 75.00, trail leaders Man City by nine points in the table and already look to have a mountain to climb to get back into the title race.
Tottenham yet again dominated a league game at Wembley but thankfully for them this time they got that all important win thanks to a second half Christian Eriksen goal.
The Lilywhites had over 70% possession and registered no fewer than 18 shots at goal, six on target, yet needed a world class Hugo Lloris save from Bournemouth's only shot on target to seal the three points.
Spurs are third in the table, five points behind the leaders, and are available to back at 15.50 to be crowned champions.
Top 4 Finish market hotting up
With Man City, 1.01, and Man United, 1.13, already looking strong contenders to finish inside the top four this season the remaining two places look up for grabs.
Tottenham, 1.57, also look like being right there until the death and could still mount a serious title challenge if they become more consistent at Wembley, but all three of Chelsea, 1.52, Liverpool, 2.16, and Arsenal, 3.15, need to become far more consistent if they are to climb the table.
And what about Watford? The Hornets have been the surprise package so far this season and currently occupy a top four berth after eight league games. Marco Silva's men remain big outsiders in the market however, available to back at 38.00.
Terriers the new favourites to go down
At the other end of the table the Relegation market became an even bigger puzzle to solve after Palace's first win of the season, while none of their main market rivals could secure a victory.
The Eagles are 2.32 to go down, but it's Huddersfield, who lost at Swansea on Saturday, who are now the 1.75 favourites for the drop. A draw for Brighton against Everton was creditable but Chris Hughton's men are sill fancied to go down at 2.30, while Bournemouth and Swansea can both be backed at around the 2.70 mark.
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