English Premiership: Weekend Betting Preview and Picks
By Shawn Young
SATURDAY
MANCHESTER CITY vs. ARSENAL (pick -120)
If Man City are going to crash the Big Four’s club, here’s their first chance. They’re 3-0 so far but this is their first game against top-quality opposition.
City are underdogs here because they haven’t won a trophy since 1976. We’re not sure if anything changes this year, but this is a team that at least has a chance to win anywhere, anytime. Striker Roque Santa Cruz and midfielders Vincent Kompany and Michael Johnson are all nearing match fitness and will only make the existing options going forward that much more scary. Kolo Toure is the club’s new captain after Dunne’s departure.
Arsenal will put this season’s visits to Manchester behind them by making this trip and will hope to be luckier than when they travelled to play United. Andriy Arshavin is out for Arsenal, having inflamed a groin injury Wednesday playing for Russia.
I actually think City are better than Arsenal at the moment. The home pitch for City, and Arsenal upcoming road trip in the Champions League, make this a great bet at even money or anything close.
Prediction: Manchester City 2, Arsenal 1
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs. MANCHESTER UNITED (-0.5, +130)
Man U are in the match of the weekend, just like last round. Last time they hosted Arsenal, we bet Arsenal, and we got burned.
Old habits die hard. We’re taking the white-hot team against Man U again. Man U’s win last time was ugly stuff—they won 2-1 and got their goals via an own goal and a penalty. That’s our first official bad beat of the season.
I could whine about it forever, but the international break has calmed me down a little. I’d rather talk about Spurs, who have started 4-0 and are second to Chelsea on goal difference. I hope the break hasn’t calmed Spurs because they’re interlinking beautifully. If you throw in the League Cup game, Spurs have 16 goals from five competitive matches and 11 different men have done the scoring.
Man U makes a living by shutting down their opponents’ best one or two threats. With Spurs scoring with this kind of distribution, they’ll get at least a draw out of this game. Man U will settle for that with a mid-week trip to Turkey coming up. Grab Spurs plus a half goal.
Defender injury news from recent internationals: Bassong will be a game-time decision for Spurs after picking up a knock on his knee playing for Cameroon against Gabon last weekend. John O’Shea is doubyful for Man U (calf).
Prediction: Tottenham 1, Man United 1.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Aston Villa play the Birmingham derby match away to City. Aston Villa have been very hard to figure out this season as they’ve lost at home to Wigan when they should have won, and won away at Anfield. Right now, they have to be avoided until they find some sort of consistency. Let’s see how they go here in what’s usually a very poisonous game.