English Premier League betting: Will Man City spending pay off?
By MICHAEL DA SILVA
The 2010 World Cup is still a recent memory but another English Premier League season is now just hours away. And it should be a cracker.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea have stripped out the old guard of Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Joe Cole to make way for a new generation, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United have their hopes pinned on the young Mexican Javier Hernandez, or “Chicarito” as it says on the back of his shirt.
The usual suspects of Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton will also be challenging near the top.
But the team everyone is talking about, Manchester City, kick off the new Premier League season in their Saturday lunchtime matchup with Spurs, the side who pipped them to Champions League qualification in the penultimate game of last season.
City, even a day before the season starts, are still spending Sheikh Mansour’s millions with the latest acquisition, Mario Balotelli (or “Super Mario” as he is affectionately known), added to City’s luxurious squad-list Friday.
Roberto Mancini’s role as coach of City makes him the envy of every manager in the league. He has been allowed to spend almost $200 million on new talent and has brought Germany defender Jerome Boateng, Ivory Coast star Yaya Toure, Serbian left back Aleksandar Kolarov and Spanish World Cup winner David Silva to Eastlands.
But the flipside for Mancini is the pressure such opulence brings. A Top-4 placing is the bare minimum expected of him. If his side is languishing outside of the Top 4 by Christmas, expect him to be shown the door faster than you can say Mark Hughes.
But City have not been blessed with an easy start to the season and will travel to Spurs before hosting Liverpool next weekend. It should be remembered that Spurs have defeated City 11 times out of their last 12 meetings.
In fact, City have lost on their previous six visits to White Hart Lane, including a 3-0 defeat last season. So it is always worth backing Spurs in this fixture (+146), despite the mass transfer activity at City.
City does boast even more attacking talent than ever before, with David Silva (+371 to score) and Carlos Tevez likely to be tormenting defences all season.
They also have the bonus of possessing one of Europe’s best attacking left backs in Kolarov. The Serbian can burst forward to devastating effect and will give the Manchester side an added attacking dimension this season. He is also capable of firing in stinging shots from distance.
But with all their attacking options, City are always culpable at the back and Tottenham should be backed to score at any time, especially given their home advantage.
Tottenham’s Gareth Bale is set for a big season given his impressive showings in the second half of last year. His creativity and ability to beat defenders make him a good bet for an assist or a goal. When Spurs do score, expect Bale to be involved in some way.
Robbie Keane, sent out on loan to Celtic in January, is back for Spurs and has been in red-hot form throughout preseason, making him a good bet to find the net (+220) against a still suspect City defence.
Given the spice this game has because of last year’s rivalry for fourth place and the array of tough-tackling midfielders in both sides, expect a host of yellow or even red cards.
New boy Balotelli, known just as well for his temper tantrums as his sparkling ability, may not have been signed in time to face Tottenham but he will be in the team for the home match with Liverpool, next weekend.
Liverpool also have a tricky opening fixture to negotiate with Arsenal coming to town.
It’s been something of a turbulent summer for The Reds, with the issue of ownership dominating the headlines. But, while there is crisis in the boardroom, Liverpool fans demand consistency on the pitch.
New signing Joe Cole lifted the doom and gloom around Anfield, with the excellent Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen set to replace the Inter Milan-bound Argentine Javier Mascherano.
But the biggest plus for Liverpool is in securing Roy Hodgson as coach, the man who famously guided Fulham all the way to the 2010 Europa League final against Atletico Madrid - something considered unthinkable just a year ago.
But Arsenal are boosted by the recent news that captain Cesc Fabregas will resist the temptation of moving to Barcelona, for one more year at least, meaning this is perhaps Arsenal’s best chance of winning the Premier League since the “Invincibles” of 2004.
Both sides would probably take a draw in this game (+240) and, with Chelsea and Manchester United handed relatively easy starts against West Brom and Newcastle, neither Liverpool nor Arsenal will want to lose any early ground on the favourites.
Most likely to find the net are predators Robin van Persie for Arsenal and Fernando Torres for Liverpool, who return to action after injury ruined each of their seasons. Captains Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas are no strangers to finding the net, either.
Odds:
Manchester City to win Premier League – +720
Spurs vs Manchester City
Spurs to win – +146
City to win – +220
Tie – +245
Silva to score – +370
Tevez to score – +164
Keane to score – +220
Liverpool vs Arsenal
Liverpool to win – +160
Arsenal to win – +200
Tie – +240
Other Picks
Manchester United to beat Newcastle – -333
Chelsea to beat West Brom – -500