arsene wenger

Well, with Blackburn’s thrilling win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday (a result which was tipped on these pages), how safe has it made under fire Blackburn boss Steve Kean? It has been a rough start to the season for Kean, not picking up a win in their first four matches, not the start the fans wanted after just surviving relegation last season. So, the desperate fans were driven to protests, wondering why there has been no big injection of transfer cash from the new owners (who are apparently targeting a Champions League place in the future), and Steve Kean has not been delivering results since taking over from the fired Sam Allardyce last season. But on a day of high emotions, the Blackburn players responded with a 4-3 win over the Gunners who are struggling themselves this season. Will that be the catalyst which propels Blackburn Rovers up the Premier League table? It could have bought Steve Kean another few matches, although the board asked fans to get behind him. Regardless, it is Kean who is still the front runner in the Next Manager to Leave Post betting market for the Premier League. This is always a fascinating market to browse though, and it is one of course which is highly affected by results.

Steve Kean – 11/8 at Paddy Power
The Blackburn boss remains the favourite, despite picking up their first win on the weekend, in some dramatic style. At least they showed a penchant for goals, but their defensive issues still remain a bit of a worry. You get the feeling that Kean can ill afford any more slip ups. Should be able to raise a little more confidence with a victory over Leyton Orient in the Carling Cup during midweek. Huge amount of pressure is still on, especially if the fans are protesting at your gate. They may blame the owners for the clubs pitfalls too, but the axe will fall on Kean first.

Steve Bruce – 6/1 at Victor Chandler
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, despite being active in the summer appears to be the next man in line. Things just have not happened for Sunderland this season, and have looked a bit directionless. Fans of the Black Cats are not sure where the goals are going to come from this season, and they really have not filled the void which was left behind after the departure of Darren Bent to Aston Villa in January. Despite all the good work that Steve Bruce has put in at the Stadium of Light, unless the goals and the wins start flowing, and the home fans are seeing their side struggle at home far too much, then Bruce could seriously be on the chopping block soon. Their 4-0 thumping of Stoke on the weekend, will have calmed the nerves for a bit.

Arsene Wenger – 8/1 at William Hill
Many may see the Gunners boss as superb value in the Next Manager to Leave Post market. You can’t see the Frenchman walking away from the Emirates, but how long with the fans and the board be able to tolerate no return on the pitch? They have had the humiliation of an 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford already this season, and then with being the first side to lose to Blackburn this season, the pressure really is mounting on Wenger. The Gunners have now won just one of their first five games for the season, a close 1-0 win over Swansea, and while they performed decently enough in earning an away draw at Dortmund in the Champions League, at the moment, it looks a long way to go for the Gunners to make it back into the Champions League with a high enough finish. The chairman has told fans to back Wenger, but has the Frenchman taken the club as far as he can? We are looking at Steve Kean as the most likely candidate, but how long will Wenger get to turn Arsenal’s fortunes around? They don’t look a massive threat in any tournament at the moment, if their long stretch without silverware doesn’t look as if it is going to end soon, then drastic measures may need to be taken.

Alan Pardew – 10/1 at SkyBet
It is interesting to see Alan Pardew so high up the list of options in the Next Manager to Leave Post betting market. Despite the Magpies getting off to a solid enough start, it is the abrasive and somewhat unpredictable nature of Pardew, who is not one to shy away from controversy, that makes him a potential managerial casualty. There is the feeling that he is more likely to walk out of a job than to be fired, so you just never know with him. However, it doesn’t look too likely at the moment, certainly not over some of the other names here. Should be secure with an unbeaten start to the new season.

Harry Redknapp – 12/1 at William Hill
The Spurs boss is not without his own pressure at White Hart Lane. There are rumours that Redknapp has been approached for the England job, but he denies that, saying the job would be a poisoned chalice. Redknapp led Spurs back into Europe this season, but not in the Champions League. They could only make the Europa League, which Redknapp sees as a distraction. With heavy defeats already this season against the two Manchester clubs, as well as injury problems, the game is all about results and already sounding like a frustrated man, how long will Redknapp last this season?

Neil Warnock – 12/1 at BetFair
QPR boss Neil Warnock is the shortest price of the newly promoted managers. Warnock is a proud man, but things never settled behind the scenes at QPR, and it is that instability, along with Warnock’s fiery temper, could see the two part way before the halfway stage of the season. The thing about this, is that Warnock needs to deliver results for the London club to keep their heads above waters. As soon as things start becoming too much of a struggle, then you can see something blowing up here.

Wigan Athletic v Arsenal Betting Tip & Odds: Overall, Arsenal have a 78% win percentage against Wigan in all their matches. That’s eleven wins for the Gunners, one draw and just two for the Latics. Hard to see those records improving for Wigan to be honest, as they just aren’t good enough this season. Yes, they have had their moment, but Arsenal should be in high confidence after beating Chelsea, and Arsenal have goals in them, while Wigan are in the trouble that they are in simply because they cannot score. Realistically there is nothing to fear about taking Arsenal in a minus Asian Handicap, the only question is, how fresh will they be after their effort against Chelsea? Arsenal -1.75 Asian Handicap falls around the right mark, priced a 2-1 with Bet365

Wigan Athletic to win: 6/1 at SkyBet
Draw: 16/5 at Victor Chandler
Arsenal to win: 8/15 at Bet365

EPL Match Preview: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will be pleased with the way that his side responded after their most tepid display of the season had ended in defeat at Old Trafford. In a thrilling match, Arsenal, with their technical precision passing and finishing, punished a lackadaisical Chelsea back line, beating their London rivals 3-1. That was a huge boost for the Gunners, as it pulled them to within three points of leaders Manchester United. Clearly the wintery break suited Arsenal, who looked back to their fresh best, with Cesc Fabregas looking strong through the middle, and Robin Van Persie looking to have regained all of his match sharpness after a disjointed season. This means that Arsenal are getting better, and it has to be said, but at the moment, despite all their critics, they look to be the only team really capable of keeping pace with Manchester United at the moment. With Chelsea falling rapidly away, and Manchester City having played two matches more than both Arsenal and Manchester United, the Gunners have to keep the ball rolling. They look the most accomplished side in the title race, and now a trip to Wigan will need to see them show their battling, physical qualities as well as their passing abilities. The funny thing is, that this team in inherently more talented than their “Invincibles” who won the Premier League back in 2004 without suffering a single defeat, but they have their weaknesses.

For all of their pretty football, they can still get bullied out of matches. The Gunners go to Wigan without Cesc Fabregas, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Chelsea, meaning that he sits this one out through suspension. Abou Diaby, who has missed most of the season, could be in line for a start, and that will immediately add a bit more grit into the Arsenal midfield. It is likely that Arsene Wenger will change up the starting eleven again, and this is where Arsenal may just prevail over the season. Out of all the squads challenging for the title, Arsenal’s is the best. Hands down, no contest. They can rest the likes of Van Persie and Fabregas and still bring in the quality of Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh. Neither Manchester United nor Chelsea have as much strength in depth. This is a big mental test for Arsenal too, as Wigan performed heroics in this fixture last year, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. It was a match which put Arsenal out of the title race. Still, Arsenal will go into this as favourites, and one considerable stat to pay attention to for your football betting, is the fact that they have won seven of their eight matches against teams in the lower half of the table this year. Just one defeat in their last eight matches, puts Arsenal on good ground. You can pretty much bank on them to get on the score sheet in this one, against a Wigan side who are still stuck in the relegation zone.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for Wigan this year, as the quality simply is not there is the side. They did however score a huge victory over relegation bound Wolves on the weekends, and they will be boosted by the return of Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa to the side. Wigan are badly struggling for goals this term, and their tally of just 15 makes them the lowest scoring team in the league. That is in contrast to Arsenal, who have hit over double of that amount in the same amount of games. It may not be all doom and gloom for Wigan though, who haven’t been beaten at home for five matches now. The last team to beat them at home was Manchester City back in September. Wigan are also undefeated in their last three matches now, but you still can’t see them turning over Arsenal. It really is unlikely to happen, with the Gunners winning eight of their ten league matches against Wigan. Wigan really have struggled against the Big Four in terms of results since becoming a Premier league team. The Latics will struggle again, as Arsenal are a very much improved away team this season. Of their six matches played at Wigan, Arsenal have won three of them.

Wigan Athletic v Arsenal Premier League Betting Statistics

Last 5 Head to Head
Wigan 3, Arsenal 2
Arsenal 4, Wigan 0
Wigan 1, Arsenal 4
Arsenal 1, Wigan 0
Wigan 0, Arsenal 0

Wigan Athletic have an 22% win percentage at home in the league this season
Arsenal have a 56% win percentage away from home in the league this season

Wigan Athletic are on a streak of 5 home matches with no defeat
Arsenal are on a streak of six away matches with no draw

Wigan Athletic have scored 8 goals, and conceded 17 at home
Arsenal have scored 15 and conceded 19 goals in their away matches

Wigan Athletic average 0.88 goals per match at home this season
Arsenal average 1.66 goals per match away from home this season

In the last three meetings, there have been five goals scored in the 89th minute or later

Wigan Athletic 2010/11 top scorer: Rodellega, 5
Arsenal 2010/11 top scorer: Nasri, 8

Wigan Athletic 2010/11 Season Form: P18 W4 D7 L7 GF15 GA29 Pts 19 (18th)
Arsenal 2010/11 Season Form: P18 W11 D2 L5 GF37 GA20 Pts35 (3rd)

Manchester City vs Arsenal Betting Odds with EPL Match Preview & Prediction, Sunday, October 24th

This is a Premier League between two very contrasting sides and styles. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is always looking for the perfect passing game, and plays some of the most freely attacking football anywhere. City boss Roberto Mancini likes to block up the midfield and make sure their first priority is not conceding a goal. Two contrasting styles, but styles which are working for their respective teams, as this is a battle between second and third place in the league. This is the highlight of the weekend fixtures, and the Arsenal v Manchester City clash will draw a lot of betting attention. Rightly so, because it does present some interesting challengers to the punter. Who will win out? The attack of Arsenal, or the defence of City? When it comes to scenario’s like this, you have to first look towards the attacking team, because they are least trying to make things happen by being positive. They do have the quality in their ranks to win matches like this, and away from home, it usually takes a little more of a battling performance than it does at the Emirates. That being said, Arsenal to win by 1 goal margin is 7/2 at Bet365, and for Arsenal to win by 2 goals is 9/1 at SkyBet. The online bookmakers are favouring a draw here though, and a score draw, because realistically there should be goals in this match, is also priced at 7/2 with Boylesports. If you’re looking for Asian Handicap betting tips, then you are going to be hard pressed to find a lot of value in anything other than backing an Arsenal win by taking them in the negative. An Arsenal -1 Asian Handicap is 9/2 at Bet365, which isn’t bad for an away team of their stature. With bookies leaning towards a draw, look for good halftime/fulltime bets. Man City/Draw is 14/1 at SkyBet, and Arsenal/Draw is 14/1 at Bet365, both very good value.

Manchester City v Arsenal Odds

Manchester City to win: 6/4 at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Arsenal to win: 2/1 at Totesport

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Premier League Betting Statistics

Last 5 Head to Head
Arsenal 0, Man City 0
Man City 4, Arsenal 2
Arsenal 2, Man City 0
Man City 3, Arsenal 0
Man City 1, Arsenal 3

Manchester City have a 75% win percentage at home in the league this season
Arsenal have a 25% win percentage away from home in the league this season

Manchester City have scored 7 goals, and conceded 2 at home
Arsenal have scored 4 and conceded 5 goals in their away matches

Manchester City have scored the bulk of their goals in the 61-75 minute bracket
Arsenal have scored the majority of their goals in the 46-60 and 76-90 minute brackets

Manchester City have opened the scoring in 62.5% of their matches
Arsenal have scored first in 61% of their matches

Manchester City average 1.75 goals per match at home this season
Arsenal average 1.00 goals per match away from home this season

Manchester City 2010/11 top scorer: Tevez, 7
Arsenal 2010/11 top scorer: Walcott, 4

Manchester City injuries/suspensions: Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Johnson, Nimely, Balotelli, Kolarov
Arsenal injuries/suspensions: Almunia, Vermaelen, Wilshere, Van Persie, Ramsey

Manchester City 2010/11 Season Form: P8 W5 D1 L1 GF12 GA5 Pts 17 (1st)
Arsenal 2010/11 Season Form: P8 W4 D2 L2 GF18 GA10 Pts 14 (3rd)

Manchester City v Arsenal Betting Tip: Correct Score 1-1 for 5/1 at Paddy Power

Manchester City Betting:

Without being spectacular, without making too much fuss or bother about things, Man City have somehow climbed up into second place in the Premier League. Much was expected from them after their summer spending, and a title challenge was expected by most people, but it is the manner in which it has come which has been interesting. Man City are quite a dull side compared to Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal. For all the forward power they snapped up, they really are not an explosive side, and boss Roberto Mancini clearly likes to take a caution first approach to situations. It is a little bit hard to measure the progress of City, as it is their workmanlike unity which has grabbed the most attention for them, it hasn’t been because of powerful bombardments on the opposition goal. Yes, there have been some class moments from Carlos Tevez, including his goal which beat Chelsea, but by and large, City have been boring their way to the top. The fans probably won’t care too much at the moment, as long as they stay there. Another reason why it is hard to gauge where City are at, is the falling standards of Man Utd. It’s unlikely that their respective league positions would be where they are, if United weren’t going through an uncharacteristic sticky patch. But chances have to be taken none the less, and it’ll be interesting to see how City cope against the artistic flair of Arsenal. In beating Chelsea, City squeezed and pressed the life out of the game and were able to catch Chelsea on the break. You would think that Arsenal would have that little bit more variety than Chelsea when it comes to attack, and the City side have to ensure that they don’t run out of ideas of their own, as they will concede a lot of possession to the Gunners. Can Man City win this? Of course, but this in ways will be a harder test than against Chelsea. On the plus side, a win for City would really make the league standings very interesting, and drive home a big advantage holding onto second place. You cannot ignore the quality, class and form of Carlos Tevez at the moment, and is well worth taking in goal scoring markets. He is best priced at Coral for 6/4 as anytime goalscorer. Emmanuel Adebayor, who hit a hat trick in the Europa League midweek, to net against his old club is 9/4 at Coral. Not sure if City have quite enough up front to win this one, but there are hints that Mancini may start both Tevez and Adebayor, but that would cede dangerous space to Arsenal in the middle of the park. A draw on them makes a safer sounding bet.

Arsenal Betting:

Arsene Wenger will be looking to push on towards the top of the Premier League, by taking out one of the two teams above them in the league standings. With the Gunners sitting third in the league behind Chelsea and Man City, Arsenal now are in a handy position, where, if they can beat Man City, would pull themselves level, plus will have the upper hand of awaiting the return fixture at the Emirates later in the season. It’s been far too long now since Arsenal put any silverware in the trophy cabinet, and after making new pleas for Cesc Fabregas to stay longer at the club, Arsene Wenger knows that his time must come soon. Arsenal do things the right way, they play the best technical football in the league, and know how to promote the careers of young, potential future stars. Jack Wilshere is such a man, with a bright future ahead for the young midfielder who has already broken into the ranks of the senior England squad. Along with Fabregas in midfield, Arsenal have a lot going for them. However, they are visibly missing the presence of Robin Van Persie this season, but the Gunners still remain one of the top challengers for the title. However, what failed Arsenal last year, was the difficulty they had against eventual champions Chelsea. In order to win the league, it is your main rivals, the best teams around that you have to take points off. After losing to Chelsea already this season, Arsenal can’t afford to drop another three points against a team in contention for the title. Even though it’s early days still, it could be crucial come the end of the season. Arsenal romped to a 5-1 win over in the Champions League at the Emirates this week, and their technically brilliant play again, thrilled fans. Do they have the creativity to break down Man City? If there’s one team in the league which you think would have that cutting edge, it would be Arsenal, even if not at full strength. They are worth backing, as they have a pretty good record away to Man City. Although they have lost the last two trips there 3-0, the Manchester City v Arsenal fixture has produced 36 wins for Arsenal and just 31 for the home side, and the overall head to head records lean very heavily in favour of Arsenal. Marouane Chamakh still looks best bet for getting Arsenal on the board, and is priced 5/2 at SkyBet.

Manchester City v Arsenal Football Betting Prediction: Draw

Blackburn v Arsenal Premier League Football Betting Odds

Blackburn to win: 9/2 at Bet365
Draw: 3/1 at SkyBet
Arsenal to win: 4/6 at Stan James

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Blackburn v Arsenal Premier League Betting Statistics

Last 5 Head to Head
Blackburn 2, Arsenal 1
Arsenal 6, Blackburn 2
Arsenal 4, Blackburn 0
Blackburn 0, Arsenal 4
Arsenal 2, Blackburn 0

• Blackburn have a 100% win percentage at home in the league this season
• Arsenal have a 0% win percentage away from home in the league this season
•  
• Blackburn have scored 1 goal, and conceded just 0 at home
• Arsenal have scored 1 and conceded 1 goal in their away matches
•  
• Blackburn 2010/11 top scorer: Kalinic, Nzonzi (1)
• Arsenal 2010/11 top scorer: Walcott (3)
•  
• Blackburn injuries: Pascal Chimbonda, Keith Andrews, David Dunn, Vincenzo Grella
• Arsenal injuries: Emmanuel Frimpong, Samir Nasri, Nicklas Bendtner, Aaron Ramsey
•  
• Blackburn 2010/11 Season Form: WL
• Arsenal 2010/11 Season Form: DW

Blackburn v Arsenal Betting and Match Preview:

This is Saturday’s big match of two very contrasting sides. In the red corner you have the long ball physical tactics of Sam Allardyce and Blackburn, who like to make things as difficult as they can again teams. In the blue corner you have the flair and technical ability of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal who delight with their free flowing, controlled, passing game. One stand out statistics so far this early in the season, is that Arsenal have the highest passing completion rate in the Premier League, while Blackburn have the lowest. That is the contrast we have at Ewood Park on Saturday and from a football betting point of view, there is the feeling of a draw here. Blackburn were only defeated three times at Ewood Park last season, while Arsenal are on a streak of away jitters. That, combined with the two very differing sides, there is not much going to be given. The key factor in this match is how well Arsenal’s defence can stand up to an aerial bombardment from the Lancastrian side, as Arsenal are not particularly well equipped at the back to deal with that. Any option, whether you go for a Blackburn Draw No Bet, or an Asian Handicap favouring the away team Arsenal which provides some coverage on a draw for this match, will be well worth considering. It looks as if it will be hard for one team to come out on top on Saturday, and therefore a draw will be a prime bet, even though Arsenal do have the upper hand in the head to head record.

Blackburn v Arsenal Betting Tip: Robin Van Persie to score (he has scored 10 goals in 9 games against Rovers)

Blackburn Betting:

Blackburn are one of those teams who you expect to be fighting for the top of the bottom half of the Barclays Premier League. They have big Sam Allardyce at the helm, who is a fighter and a battler. That is just what you will get from his Blackburn side. They play their way, regardless of who likes it or not, and it is a way of battling and scrapping for their Premier League survival. If there is any team that Rovers would enjoy disrupting, then it will be the best passing team in the league, Arsenal. Doing so will vindicate their approach to the game, and it paid off last year where they picked up some valuable home points against top opposition. This is another chance for them to get one over on the Gunners, whom they bet in the Premier League run in last season. They know that they are not going to have the lions share of possession in Saturday’s early game, but at the same time they know that they will be comfortable with hitting Arsenal quickly on the break. They will present Arsenal a very tough challenge, and won’t want to get stung at home for a second week running after losing to Birmingham last weekend.

Arsenal Betting:

For all of their clinically impressive football passing ability, one of Arsenal’s biggest downfalls over the last quarter of the Premier League last season, was their away form. You have to go back to March in order to find their last win away from the Emirates. Until they sort this out, they won’t be able to challenge Chelsea and Manchester United strongly enough. Undoubtedly Arsenal are still one of the highest quality teams out there, and if this was a home tie you would back them quite comfortably. The Gunners did put in a good performance against Liverpool on the opening day of the season, but needed a helping hand to salvage a draw. That was in spite of them playing very well, and it is not to often you won’t see them converting chances. Arsenal have some fierce firepower with a lot of variety. They stretched their legs last weekend when they ran in six goals against newly promoted Blackpool, with Theo Walcott weighing in with his first hat trick for the club. Arsenal won that match with Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie starting from the subs bench. Naturally they are not going to have things that easy against Blackburn, and these are the kind of matches which will generally make or break Arsenal’s title hopes. Because Arsenal’s centre half position is probably their weakest area, Wenger has brought in Laurent Koscielny and has just picked up Sebastien Squillaci in order to try and tighten and toughen things at the back. The former returns to the side after sitting out the last match because of a ban, but the latter will not be making an appearance after just signing in the week. Arsene Wenger has been a vocal critic of direct football, and he knows that his side will be coming under a lot of pressure at the back from set plays, long balls and physical challenges inside the penalty box. Arsenal’s goalkeeping is also suspect and that will make betting on Arsenal just a little twitchy. In pure footballing terms Arsenal should win this one, but of course things are not as cut and dry as that. For betting on Arsenal in this match, the first temptation is to lean towards some kind of coverage in a drawn match, primarily through an Asian Handicap football bet. However, the home defeat which Blackburn suffered last weekend, coupled with Arsenal finding their goal scoring feet, should just tip the balance in favour of the Gunners. They will have to work very hard to get this one done, and it won’t be a goal fest for them, and no doubt there will be some controversy over Blackburn being too physical, but would go with Arsenal being one goal better in this match if you are looking for a winner. Whether you take that as a winning margin, fixed odds outright or handicap, it looks the most likely method of a victory.

Blackburn v Arsenal Football Betting Prediction: Away win

Premier League Outright Betting Preview

There is much to look forward to in the new season of the Barclays Premier League and Odds, Tips and Prices can be found below for predictions. With a weekend packed to the rafters of domestic football, we are ready go with a new installment of the Barclays Premier League season. Time to ramp up the online football betting with your online bookmaker and take a good punt on the outright winner market. After a topsy-turvy season last year in which Chelsea just about came out on top, where do the clubs stand this time around? There hasn’t been too much activity in the summer transfer market, except from Manchester City. The general consensus is that there is more likely to be a Big Five or Six instead of a Big Four as seen in previous years, with the gaps being closed at the top. Certainly last year, we saw more defeats dished out to serious title contenders than would have been imagined at the start of the season. Will that happen again with the emergence of Spurs and Manchester City who are looking stronger? How about Villa and Everton on the fringes of stepping up a level? Where will the Premier League title land this year, and who represents the best odds?

2010/11 Barclays Premier League Betting Predictions

1st) Manchester United – 9/4 at Bet365 (Last Year’s Finish: 2nd)

Looking at things, even before the Community Shield victory over rivals Chelsea, United look to be completely together. They had a good pre-season, being tested across North America, and they looked sharp at Wembley. Strengthening the offensive corps has been done, which could be the all important factor in finding goals from a source other than Wayne Rooney. Mexico striker Javier Hernandez could just be one of the biggest coups of the pre-season and we await to see how much he gets used. Will Ferguson stick with the lone striker? Will Dimitar Berbatov play a better role than he did last year, especially as Ferguson was surprising loathe to get rid of him in the transfer window. You can see flaws in the squads of other teams, but when you look over United, you may see a hairline crack, say in the middle of the park, but there is so much quality elsewhere that they can be papered over. They haven’t done a great deal in the summer transfer window, but they look to have done it just right. Perhaps they could have found a better quality centre half to pair up with stalwart Nemanja Vidic after Rio Ferdinand’s injury plagued season, but Ferguson trusts the fringe players like Wes Brown. Out of Chelsea, Arsenal and themselves, United probably have the weakest midfield when you put them head to head, but they have Alex Ferguson who has a deep squad. If their key players stay fit, then they make for a great bet to win the title. If they don’t then they still have enough in the tank to challenge strongly. Barclays Premier League Betting Tip for the Top, as I don’t see anyone really touching them for the title. They have the most complete and versatile squad amongst all of the challengers to challenge on all fronts.

2nd) Manchester City - 7/1 at Ladbrokes (Last Year’s Finish: 5th)

Going out on a limb and predicting that the spending will come good. There are always counter arguments against such big spending sprees and brining in lots of new faces. The main argument is that you are not necessarily buying a team, you are buying a team of superstars which sometimes doesn’t work. Barcelona and Real Madrid seem to have done pretty well by it, and closer to home, look at Chelsea. They are the biggest example of buying success in recent times. When Roman Abrahmovic came in and started throwing money around, it instantly changed the status of the club, making them contenders. You buy enough quality players and you will get results. Sometimes you may have to rely on the individual brilliance of someone like Tevez, or you look for good team players. There is a balance, and over time during the course of the season, Manchester City can only get better and better. Perhaps they don’t have the quality in centre of defence that they would like, but they do have without question, is a hugely talented squad. When you name players like Hart, Adebayor, Tevez, Robinho, Toure, Milner, Balotelli, David Silva and Jerome Boateng then you really can’t have that many problems. Another important factor to consider, is that come the January transfer window, if City feel that there is a hole which needs plugging, they can simply assess what has happened and go shopping again. That is the financial power they have and they should be able to shake up the old establishment of Chelsea, Arsenal and their old rivals Manchester United of course. Put it this way, would Liverpool be enviable of City’s squad? Yes. Would Spurs be enviable of City’s squad? Yes. With the exception of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea, who wouldn’t be? I don’t think they have the right manager, but they have every chance of running their city rivals close for the title as the money spent means they have to be taken seriously sooner or later. The experience of United should just win out though over the season. The Manchester derbies are a mouth watering prospect this year and could be title deciders. The arrival of City on the scene is an interesting one, as there is a big contrast between the top four sides. You have the established order of Chelsea, the maturing young side of Arsenal, the mix of experience and youth at Manchester United, and Manchester City, a team picked ripe off a very expensive shopping list.

3rd) Chelsea – 7/4 at SkyBet (Last Year’s Finish: 1st)

Just get the feeling that they are maybe falling behind in the race for the Premier League title. Granted, United looked strong favourites at points through the season, and Chelsea dug deep and threw out some fantastic performances to take the league by a single point. If Wayne Rooney had stayed fit towards the end of the season, then it wouldn’t have happened, plain and simple. Chelsea are an aging side, and while boss Carlo Ancelotti has given them a new attacking feeling, there is simply not the benefit of youth in the side, which the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd can call upon. They will also not be as strong at the back now Carvalho has gone to Real Madrid, and John Terry doesn’t exude the same rock solid confidence as he once did. To put it bluntly, there were cracks shown last season in Chelsea’s armour and I don’t think enough has been done to fix them at this point. Certainly not at the back where they don’t look particularly great at all. In a fixture-heavy season, the likes of Lampard, Terry and co, could tire as it could take its toll, and I don’t think they have the fire power in reserve if Didier Drogba or Lampard goes missing for a large part of the season. They did finish top scorers last season, yes, but Anelka, Kalou and Malouda doesn’t exude a lot of confidence. One thing which could salvage them is the spending power of Abramovic if they need help come the January transfer window. At this point they need a quality centre half, a midfielder ready to take over from Lampard and a world class finisher. Not sure where Benayoun fits  into the picture, especially if they land Brazil’s Ramires. There look to be too many questions and a lot of pieces needed as opposed to be ready to hit the ground running, and I think they will be found out a little more this season than last.

4th) Arsenal – 7/1 at Ladbrokes (Last Year’s Finish: 3rd)

Really torn between putting them third or fourth as I do not think there will be much between them and Chelsea for different reasons. After enjoying a great season last year, I think Arsenal should strongly be able to improve their position. There is a lot to admire about Arsenal, whose main target will be to do a little better against Chelsea and Manchester United. Other than that, there is nothing much wrong with the side at all. They are packed with quality youngsters and they never seem to fail the club, nor the style in which they play. Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner will be key to their success, as will their main man in midfield, Cesc Fabregas. How well Arsenal do could all surround him, but if he is the dedicated professional which we have seen at the club in the previous seasons, then Arsenal will be ok. There is a feeling that he will transfer in the January transfer window with Barcelona coming back with the kind of offer that can’t be turned down. If he goes then it will naturally leave a gap, and it would be interesting to see how much it bothers Wenger. He has Jack Wilshire primed as a replacement and that could mean could news for England. There are creative players all over the pitch for Arsenal, and they still have the awesome powers of Andrei Arshavin. They perhaps don’t have the squad depth of Man Utd, Chelsea or Man City, but if they keep all of their players fit for the season, and hang on to Fabregas, then they could sneak into fourth, potentially third in a close race with London rivals Chelsea. You generally trust Wenger to come good and get things right, and they will still be the best footballing side in the Barclays Premier League.

5th) Tottenham - 40/1 at Bet365

Toss up between them and Liverpool, but I would back Harry Redknapp over Roy Hodgson any day of the week. Redknapp already has a squad at Tottenham which has clearly shown that it can work well after finishing fourth this season. I don’t think they will be able to repeat that because of the spending power of Manchester City during the summer transfer window. But Redknapp is the master at picking out a diamond in the rough in the transfer market, and he will know how to perfectly tweak his squad to keep them going forward. They have a big task living up to the reputation which they gave themselves last season, and hopefully they will qualify for the Champions League proper and it won’t be too much of a distraction in the Premier League for them. Will those extra games needing to be played peg them back in the Premier League? It’s a tough thing to play midweek European games and show up fresh on the weekend again, and that is perhaps the biggest lesson that they will have to learn to deal with this season. There are a lot of pluses in the Tottenham squad, from Jermain Defoe, Pavlyuchenko, Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson and more. The key factor is Redknapp and his mastering of tactics and personnel. He has said that he will let Peter Crouch go if he can find a replacement, and has been targeting Craig Bellamy from Manchester City. Why? Bellamy is the type of player who can come on and add that extra physical dimension to a side and is a seasoned professional. His type of player would likely get more chance of a run out than Peter Crouch over the season. They have the finishing touch of Defoe, the technical class of Pavyluchenko and Redknapp would perhaps like a bit more of a bite to complement the other forwards. A greatly balanced squad, perhaps a couple of world class quality pieces short of being a genuine title contender.

6th) Liverpool – 16/1 at BetFred (Last Season’s Finish: 7th)

Realistically I still can’t see where the improvement is going to come from for Liverpool. I believe they made the wrong choice of manager for starters, bringing in a man who has no experience of winning titles in the best leagues in Europe, and who is more known for salvaging teams from the brink of despair as opposed to being a front runner. Arguments against that will point to the great job he did at Fulham last year, taking them all the way to the final of the Europa League. True, but that did nothing for their Premier League placement, where they finished down in twelfth. True he had to work with limited resources at Fulham and did a good job of making them a good average middle of the table team, and that sums up Roy Hodgson perfectly I feel. He has a great managerial brain, that’s not in question, just not sure if it’s the right mentality of a Premier League title winner. As for players, they don’t have as good a squad as any of the teams above them. They are short of quality in defence for starters, and in quality up front. If Torres doesn’t return soon, or if he gets transferred then Liverpool will still be scrapping around outside of the top four. True, they have bought in Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic, Christian Poulson and young Rangers defender Danny Wilson, but that doesn’t scream of a title winning side. I like Joe Cole a lot, but after being snubbed by club and now country, it makes one question about how influential he will be. Same can be said for Jovanovic who was allowed to walk out free, and in this day and age of everyone wanting to make a buck, Liverpool have been picking up the scraps that other teams have discarded. It is to Hodgon’s credit that he got their signatures, but I’m sure he’d really like to go shopping. He has sent players on their way, but until they get two new defenders, and a striker they will struggle. They will win enough games to keep them in touch with the top four, as they have a good balance in midfield with Aquilani, Paulson, Gerrard, Cole and Jovanovic. I think they will need another season and some cash though before they can recover from Rafa Benitez running them into the ground.

There are three things certain in life: death, taxes and a Premier League manager being relieved of his duties before the end of the season. There were surprisingly few sackings last season as clubs looked for continuity in the English top flight, although the bookies will be expecting to price up this market several times as the campaign progresses.

It’s no surprise to see Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton feature as favourite (11/2 Ladbrokes) across the board, despite leading the Magpies to the Championship title last season. Indeed, he’s as short as 4/1 with William Hill to win this unwanted race and will come under pressure if the north-east club don’t get off to a fast start.

However, you might think that the board will stick with someone who couldn’t have done any better last term and there are more viable candidates. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens at Manchester City with such high expectations from the club’s owners and Roberto Mancini is as short as 4/1 (Paddy Power) to be axed first. However, you can currently get 7/1 with Ladbrokes if you think the Italian might suffer a similar fate to Mark Hughes last term.

Roberto Martinez struggled to keep Wigan afloat in the Premier League last season and there are many people (myself included) who think that the Spaniard’s tactical approach is not particularly effective when it comes to survival in the top flight. William Hill go 7/1 that he wins this unwanted Sack Race, while Mick McCarthy (14/1 William Hill) is another man likely to be feeling the pressure if Wolves get off to a slow start.

It’s interesting to note that there’s a big disparity between odds when it comes to Owen Coyle. The Scot left Burnley for Bolton last season and the supporters will be expecting him to steer Wanderers towards mid-table and beyond. However, the signing of Martin Petrov might not prevent them from floundering again and totesport’s 22/1 about him being the next Premier League manager out of a job looks like a big price. Ladbrokes go just 10/1 – perhaps they know something!

Alex Ferguson (80/1 totesport) and Arsene Wenger (66/1 Paddy Power) look to be among the untouchables and they will probably choose to stand down at the end of a season rather than halfway through a campaign. Carlo Ancelotti (40/1 totesport) is probably slightly less safe, although the most attractive outsider is Martin O’Neill (16/1 William Hill) who has regularly been linked with a departure from Villa Park. Perhaps the Irishman might feel that he’s taken the club as far as  possible this season, while the potential departures of Luke Young and James Milner could push him over the edge.

Sam Allardyce (16/1 Paddy Power), Steve Bruce (16/1 totesport) and Avram Grant (25/1 William Hill) have managed several clubs between them in the Premier League, although they seem to have the backing of their respective chairmen.

Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger will probably be cursing John Terry right now. The England captain, who has seemed to have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past couple of days, popped up with a late winner for Chelsea against Burnley in Saturday’s late kick off. Despite being the better team, Chelsea were made to work for their victory, after Burnley pounced on their only clear cut chance of the game to cancel out an opening goal by Nicolas Anelka. The 2-1 victory for Chelsea has temporarily given them a four point lead over second placed Manchester United, and a 5 points lead over Arsenal. After the Arsenal v Manchester United match on Sunday, Chelsea will still retain a game in hand over both of their nearest rivals.

Arsene Wenger is confident his side can do better than in their last showing against United. Arsenal lost 2-1 at Old Trafford at the end of August, and somewhat against the odds, they have clawed their way into a title challenge. The success of Arsenal this season has apparently surprised boss Arsene Wenger a bit too, as they have been very unlucky with the amount of injuries they have had. They had a slowish start to the season, but have since found themselves on a nice run of form in the league, ever since being outclassed by Chelsea in a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates back at the end of November. Arsene Wenger has had to cope without star striker Robin Van Persie for a large chunk of the season, as he was struck down while on International duty, and in an extremely rich vein of form.

Eduardo is also out injured, which means that Nicklas Bendtner could get a start, and he himself is only just making his way back to full duty after being out injured for a over three months. Wenger suffered another blow last week, when steady centre half Thomas Vermaelen was feared to have fractured his leg, but scans revealed that the damage was not anywhere near as bad as first assumed. Still the defender will miss the big game on Sunday. One boost in personnel that Wenger has received, is that he has gotten players back from the African Cup of Nations, meaning that Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue should both be ready to play.

United have not been without their problems at the back, being unable to field their strongest back four for most of the season. They will have to wait a little bit longer again after Rio Ferdinand got himself a four match ban on his return to action after a long lay-off, after striking out at a Hull player in United’s 4-0 league victory. Although they are doing a lot better than when they had to put the likes of Darren Fletcher in at full back to fill a hole, there is now only John O’Shea and Ferdinand missing. Nemanja Vidic, who seems to have spent more time in the treatment room than on the pitch this season, should be fit enough to replace Ferdinand. This has been described as the biggest game of United’s season so far, by boss Ferguson.

This is one of the great rivalries of the Premier, and the start of a crucial run for Arsenal’s ambitions. They head to Stamford Bridge the following Sunday to take on London rivals Chelsea, in what could be a make or break couple of games for them. Wenger has assured the fans that Arsenal can beat Manchester United if they can play to their full potential. As so often proved in the past, Arsenal rely a lot on team spirit and cohesion to get them through, in contrast to United who solely rely on the goals of England’s Wayne Rooney to make an impact. Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti summed things up by saying Manchester United would have trouble mounting a title challenge if Rooney was not in the team.

It’s hard to refute that, as Rooney looks to be in the form of his life, having scored 19 of United’s 53 league goals this season. Such is the gulf of Rooney’s importance, that Berbatov is their next highest scorer with just 7, and then Valencia 5. Clearly Rooney is Ferguson’s get out of jail free card, time and time again. United need him and England need him. With United not being nearly as dominant and bursting with class as they have been in previous years, there is a lot of pressure on Rooney to keep on performing. But that also means that if the Arsenal defence, which could include Sol Campbell can mark him out of the game, then United’s path to goal will become so much harder.

United do have the upper hand in recent games against the Gunners, winning three of the last four encounters, but the Red Devils have yet to beat Arsenal in the league at the Emirates since they moved in. Despite their troubles up front, Arsenal remain the league’s top scorers and their current form has seen them go 10 matches unbeaten in the league, including wins over Manchester City and Liverpool.

BETTING STATS LEAGUE ONLY

Last 5 Head to Head
Man Utd 2, Arsenal 1
Man Utd 0, Arsenal 0
Arsenal 2, Man Utd 1
Man Utd 2, Arsenal 1
Arsenal 2, Man Utd 2

Last 5 Match Goals
Arsenal – 12 For, 5 Against
Man Utd – 16 For, 2 Against

Last 10 Form
Arsenal – W7, D3, L0
Man Utd – W7, D1, L2

Win Percentage
Arsenal have an 81.8 win percentage at home
Man Utd have a 54.5 win percentage away from home

Match Prices
Arsenal to win: 8/5 at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Manchester United to win: 15/8 at SkyBet

The snow has been falling in the UK for over a week, creating havoc up and down the country. Only two Premier League matches survived the weather on Saturday, with Arsenal managing to get their game on with Everton and Birmingham managing to successfully host champions Manchester United. Perhaps the Gunners wish they hadn’t bothered trying so hard after needing a deflected Tomas Rosicky effort to nick a draw against the Toffees. While Arsene Wenger had plenty of players out injured (not to mention Alexandre Song and Emmanuel Eboue at the African Nations Cup), it’s possible that the snow teeming down at the Emirates was a factor in David Moyes’ men nearly landing the spoils.

Similarly, at St Andrews later that day, Birmingham managed to continue their unbeaten run by drawing with Manchester United. While the Red Devils dominated possession in the first half, they only created one clear-cut chance, with their desire to pass the ball quickly suffering due to the bobbling pitch. Although the under soil surface was in operation, the grass was easily torn under the player’s studs and it undoubtedly played into the hands of the home side, who could have won the game at the death.

Last week, we saw Stoke City race into a three-goal lead at half-time in their match with Fulham, an example of a visiting team being ‘caught cold’ quite literally! There is unlikely to be another occasion where the Cottagers are 3-0 down at the break this season and much of this is surely down to the sub-zero temperatures, the break in training routines and the mental uncertainty of whether a match is likely to go ahead. It happened at Elland Road as well, where Leeds just couldn’t get going against a Wycombe team fighting for their lives at the foot of the table.

Meanwhile, up in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers somehow conspired to give away a 2-0 lead at Hamilton. The Gers conceded three goals before half-time and needed a second-half penalty to earn a replay. However, the cold weather had nothing to do with Angola surrendering a 4-0 lead against Mali to draw 4-4 in the African Nations Cup!

With the cold weather likely to stick around for the coming weekend, we should be focusing on matches like Stoke v Liverpool, Chelsea v Sunderland and Bolton v Arsenal as matches where a team at big odds-on might not be the ‘dead cert’ they were in August. It has nothing to do with some of the ‘bigger’ clubs having a wide range of nationalities within the squad (especially if some are from Russia or Scandinavia!), but more to do with how team spirit plays a bigger part in a cold climate.

It’s been a high-octane start to the Premier League, with 355 goals scored in the 117 games played to date. This means an average goal-to-game ratio of just over 3, although you can regularly find odds of 1.90 about the Over 2.5 Goals selection with bookmakers. Has there just been an initial flurry of goals at the early stage of the season which will ultimately slow down, or is there a trend emerging where the shrewd punter can capitalise before the bookmakers start to adjust their prices?

Before the Wolves v Arsenal match last Saturday, I noticed that Stan James were offering 2.75 that there were Over 3.5 Goals. However, a cursory glance at the stats illustrates that 7 of Arsenal’s 10 league games had seen four or more goals scored. While Wolves had generally been involved in lower-scoring matches, it’s worth bearing in mind that the strong favourite to win a match will ultimately have more bearing on how a game is played out. Aside from the Gunners’ 1-0 win at Fulham (a match which could have seen many goals), every other league match involving Arsene Wenger’s team have seen at least three goals scored. As we witnessed at Molineux, the visitors ran out 4-1 winners.

Indeed, there are only six teams in the English top flight who have had more games with Under 2.5 than Over 2.5. As you might expect, this includes Stoke City and Fulham, although Manchester City are something of a surprise inclusion. A closer inspection of City’s stats reveal that four of their five home matches have seen three or more goals scored, while five of their six away games have seen two or less goals scored. This suggests that Mark Hughes’ team go for the jugular at Eastlands, although play in a more conservative fashion away from home. After last Saturday’s 3-3 draw against Burnley, they might have to revise this policy although it’s interesting nonetheless.

Naturally, it helps to be armed with as many tools as possible when it comes to beating the bookie. Firms like bet365 actually provide their customers with a comprehensive stats section and we should be taking advantage of this unusual bookmaker kindness! For example, league leaders Chelsea have scored twenty-nine goals this season, but did you realise that the Blues have only managed eight of these before half-time? Carlo Ancelotti must be reasonable at giving team-talks as his team have managed more goals (9) between the 46th and 60th minute than any other team in the division.

Manchester United are associated with scoring late goals and the stats bear this out, with 8 of their 23 managed between the 76th and 90th minute. However, to say that Arsenal have been fast out of the traps in matches this term is misleading. The Gunners seemingly like to feel their way into matches, with no goals scored before the 15th minute. However, they have the highest amount (9) between 16th and 30th minute, something which is useful for In-Play betting on their matches. On the pre-match markets, bookmakers regularly offer betting on whether the goal will be scored before or after a certain minute, so with a scarcity of goalless draws this information is very useful.

Arsenal should have been sitting a lot more comfortably at the top of Group H, and would be doing so were it not for a late equaliser by Dutch Champions AZ Alkmaar on Match day three. The Dutch have a reputation for holding one of the best home records in European competition, and Arsenal looked to have broken through that barrier, but could not close out the game. Arsenal will qualify from Group H with no problem, but now they are only one point ahead of second placed Olympiacos, which will be a little disappointing to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. Arsenal have been playing well this season, lighting up games with attacking football, and battling hard when they need to.

In the North London derby on Saturday, Arsenal trounced rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-0, in a game which was not particularly fluent at the Emirates Stadium, but was one which will have pleased Wenger for the group spirit that his side showed. Often labelled as being a bit lightweight in physical games, the Gunners worked hard to gain the three points to put some distance between themselves and Spurs. In the Champions League, Arsenal were somewhat blessed by being drawn in one of the easiest groups going, but they have at least made it entertaining. They had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit to win on Match Day one, earned a comfortable win on Match day two, then suffered the agony of a late equaliser on Match Day three.

AZ Alkmaar boss Ronal Koeman will look forward to taking on Arsenal again as a manager, as he is on a five match unbeaten streak against them. They are a long way off the title pace in their domestic league, and they will have to travel to London without their top scorer, Mounir El Hamdaoui, who picked up an injury in a domestic cup game recently. The Dutch side aren’t in any kind of shape at the moment, with just two wins in eleven matches in all competitions. That is not the form to be taking to the Emirates, and they can be assured of a stern test in front of a passionate crowd of Gooners. Arsenal are leading the way in the stats chart, when it comes to having produced the most shots on target in the Champions League so far, so the AZ defence could have a long, busy night.

Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie can’t stop scoring at the moment, and is a vital cog in the Arsenal machine, especially while they are suffering so many injuries. In stark contrast to Liverpool, the Gunners have been coping well while some of the star players have been missing, with Wenger not afraid to give his youngsters a chance. When you have the class of player in your youth system which Arsenal have, then it’s easy to see why, and it is something which the club prides itself on. With an absentee list which includes Clichy, Eduardo, Denilson, Rosicky, Walcott, Wilshere, Fabianski, Bendtner and more, Arsenal are still producing and are chasing Champions League success as well as pushing Manchester United and Chelsea hard in the Premier League.

Arsenal to win: 1/5 at Stan James
Draw: 6/1 at Bet365
AZ Alkmaar to win: 16/1 at Paddy Power

Betting Advice: When it comes to Arsenal playing at home, you are usually guaranteed a banker. They have won all of their league games there so far this season, and they boast an rich history of success at home in the Champions League, where only Manchester United have actually managed to win in recent years. Their defence may not be the strongest, but they can usually outscore teams with relative ease, can the Gunners. AZ Alkmaar on the other hand have been a bit of a disappointment as one of the new faces in the Champions League. They have picked up two draws and loss, with only two goals to their name. That’s in contrast to Arsenal’s six goals and seven points.
Arsenal to win 2-0: 11/2 at BetFred