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Here are some pieces of advice that will hopefully give you a helping hand when it comes to your weekend wagers on the football!

Pay attention to the penalty-takers for each team

Graham Alexander might be a holding midfielder for Burnley, but the Scot has scored three times from the spot this season. At this rate, he will get close to double figures for the campaign and so the odds of 7.00 about him scoring at any stage would pay over time. Frank Lampard might be injured, although he has also scored three penalties this season, while Alessandro Diamanti, Darren Bent, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy and Leighton Baines have all scored twice past the keeper from twelve yards.

Back players to score at any time rather than first

Let’s face it, how can you back a First Goalscorer with any confidence? While punting on Darren Bent to achieve this in every game so far this season would have resulted in a 50% strike rate, it’s always a risky bet with each goal consisting of so many variables. If you genuinely believe that a player will find the back of the net during the ninety minutes, a far safer option is to bet on them scoring at any stage. Not least because your bet is guaranteed to last the full match unless the player is sent off. When Cristiano Ronaldo played for Manchester United, the bookmakers regularly used to offer the Portuguese forward at even money, even when he was on a scoring run of five games.

If Fernando Torres is fit for the Manchester City game on Saturday, then it’s worth noting that he’s scored in four of his last five Premier League matches. Similarly, Cesc Fabregas has scored in his past three matches and also five of his past seven games for the Gunners. The Spaniard will have the urge to get even further forward at Sunderland, now that Robin Van Persie is injured.

Consider Asian Handicap and Draw No Bet markets for bigger-priced selections

Ahead of Liverpool’s match at Sunderland earlier this season, it emerged that the Reds were missing Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the trip to Wearside. I was therefore surprised to find the bookmakers offering 3.00 about the Black Cats on the Draw No Bet market, where you get your money back if the scores finish level. This is a sound bet if you think the outsiders are good for at least a draw.

Asian Handicap betting can be employed if you either a) think that a favourite will win by a big margin or b) think that an outsider will only lose by a slender margin at worse. Last Saturday, Norwich City were available at 1.90 to beat Tranmere with a -1.0, -1.5 handicap. If the Canaries had won by one goal, then you would get half your stake returned from this wager, although they ended up triumphing by a 2-0 scoreline. This won the bet and was far more profitable than backing them at 1.40 to win the match.

Saturday 7^th November

English Championship

Blackpool v Scunthorpe

Both Blackpool and Scunthorpe were expected to struggle at the wrong end of the table by many at the start of the season. Whilst it looks like being the case for the away side, it has been the polar opposite thus far for Ian Holloway’s tangerines.

Blackpool currently sit in 7^th position in the Championship, level on points with 6^th placed QPR and just 6 points off top. Their lofty position is mainly due to their excellent record at Bloomfield Road. Holloway has turned their home ground into something of a fortress this season with 5 wins from their 7 games, drawing the other two. Their unbeaten record is made to look even more impressive when you take into account some of the names that have tried and failed to take all 3 points home with them. Newcastle and Sheffield United were brushed aside whilst Cardiff did better than most and left with a point. Their defensive record at home has been nothing short of incredible. They have conceded just two goals this season – only Newcastle and Cardiff have managed to breach the home rearguard.

Scunthorpe came straight back up last season after suffering relegation in 2008. They were considered to be relegation candidates straight from the beginning and although they currently sit 5 points off of 22^nd, their poor form on the road looks likely to drag them down into a dogfight later in the season. Like Blackpool, they have performed better at home with 13 of their 17 points coming at Glanford Park. Nigel Adkins’ side have lost their last their last 3 away matches in the league, with defeats coming against Nottingham Forest, Plymouth and most recently Peterborough. With the exception of Forest, these are defeats against sides below them in the table which makes them all them more worrying.

Blackpool have strengthened considerably during the close season with a host of new arrivals already impressing. They managed to make last year’s loan signing of Charlie Adam from Rangers permanent whilst they also brought in Jason Euell, Hameur Bouazza and Jay Emmanuel –Thomas who has impressed since joining on loan from Arsenal. These players, along with David Vaughn, make up a potent, and vibrant, midfield and attack so it’s no surprise the problems they have caused other teams, especially at home. All 5 should be fit, ready and free of suspension to take their place tomorrow afternoon. As for Scunthorpe, they will be without their talismanic striker Gary Hooper who will miss the match through illness, this is a massive blow to United as he is their joint top scorer and also is vital to the way Adkins sets his side up.

A player I’ve not mentioned yet is Blackpool’s Ben Burgess. The Irish striker may not be everyone’s cup of tea and can be frustrating when he’s not on his game. However, I think he’s been very impressive for ‘Pool this term and his link up play allows the like of Adam and Bouazza to get into the box to create and score goals. Whoever he’s partnered with tomorrow, whether it be Euell, Brett Ormerod or on his own, he’ll be a constant pain for Scunny’s defence, especially their massive centre half Rob Jones. This will be a key battle in tomorrow’s match.

Blackpool may well be punching above their weight this season, whether they do so for the entire 46 games remains to be seen. I think their midfield and attacking options will be far too much for Scunthorpe who have already proven to be weak and feeble on the road.

My selection: Blackpool to beat Scunthorpe

Best odds available: 3/4 available with Paddypower

English Premier League

Manchester City v Burnley

Saturday see’s a North West derby between two sides who may be close together geographically, but are miles apart in terms of the current footballing climate in England.

Since Man City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi group in 2008, they have spent an obscene amount of money on a plethora of new players. This season has seen the purchase of players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Kolo Toure and Gareth Barry. All four came from teams who finished higher than City last season so it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work out why they jumped ship. Hideous financial weight aside, Mark Hughes’ side have had a very decent start to the season, currently occupying 4^th spot and having a game in hand over the top two. They have stuttered of late with 4 draws from their last 4 matches. 3 of these matches were away from home and came against sides who have decent enough home records. Their home form this season has been good with 10 points from a possible 12.

I’ve tipped Burnley before on this blog but it was when they were defending their excellent home record, away from Turf Moor is another matter altogether. They have yet to pick up a single point on their travels losing all 5 matches thus far. They have conceded a massive 17 (joint 2^nd worst in the league) with only a couple of goals managed at the other end – both game against Blackburn incidentally which means they haven’t scored in the other 4. Owen Coyle should be praised for his sides home form but he may also be criticised for employing the same tactics away as he does at home. Their expansive football leaves them wide open for the better sides in the league to cut them open at will when they go visiting.

City will have Adebayor and Toure back fit so Hughes will have a load of options to fill his midfield and attack. I imagine the former Arsenal hitman will return to the starting line-up as they looked rather toothless without him last week. He may be partnered by Craig Bellamy and Tevez in attack with Stephen Ireland pushing for a recall in midfield. Coyle is expected to name the same side that defeated Hull last Saturday.

If Hughes does go with Ireland in midfield it will mean there will be a direct link between the other midfielders and the 3 upfront. This has been missing from City’s play in recent weeks as Ireland has found himself on the bench more often than not. Hughes may look at Burnley’s porous defence and style of play and see it as an ideal opportunity to restore the controversial Irish man to the side.

You won’t get much of a return backing City at 1/3 or so but there are several good value bets elsewhere in this match up. Burnley have lost 4 of their 5 away matches by at least two goals so my main bet in this game is Manchester City -1.

Another bet which caught my eye was for the home side to win both halves tomorrow. After a lacklustre couple of games recently, they’ll be sure to come out firing infront of their own supporters. In order for this bet to be successful they need to beat Burnley in both halves of the match (do not get this bet confused with the half time/full time wager.

My selections: Manchester City (-1) to beat Burnley – available at EVENS with several bookmakers including 888Sport

Manchester City to win both halves tomorrow – available at 5/2 with Skybet

English Premier League

Wolves v Arsenal

Arsenal travel to Wolves on Saturday evening looking to continue their strong start to the season by gaining all 3 points in what is sure to be an interesting and entertaining match.

Wolves foiled my Aston Villa tip a couple of weeks ago and have been stubborn opposition of late with 3 draws in as many matches. Their come from behind draws against Stoke and Villa have been particularly impressive considering the strength of both those sides.

Arsenal have went about their business pretty quietly on the whole considering they have lost to both halves of Manchester already. Despite those defeats they are 3^rd, 5 points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand. They have been particularly strong at home with 5 wins from 5 but the aforementioned losses have been the only times they have left with nothing this season. They have already defeated Everton and Fulham away which are both hard at the best of times whilst they were 2-0 up and coasting at Upton Park last month before a couple of dodgy decisions and before you know it it’s 2-2.

Despite Mick McCarthy’s home side being resilient of late, they have yet to face a team of Arsenal’s class and quality. A 4-1 mauling of AZ in the Champions League midweek is evidence that Arsene Wenger’s side are in top form.

I fully expect Arsenal to collect all 3 points tomorrow but again, you won’t get rich backing them at 2/5. So in order to make the bet a little more interesting I’m taking Robin Van Persie to score at anytime and Arsenal to win. Van Persie has been Arsenal’s go to guy this season and has scored in their last 3 away matches in the league, he has 7 in total this season.

My selection: Arsenal to beat Wolves and Robin Van Persie to score at anytime

Best odds available: 6/4 with several bookmakers including Boylesports

Good luck and happy punting.

Saturday 10^th October

English League 1

Carlisle v Norwich City

Norwich will be looking to make it 4 straight wins in all competitions when they travel north to take on a Carlisle side who haven’t picked up a league victory since the 5^th of September.

Paul Lambert has had a positive impact since replacing Bryan Gunn as Norwich manager back in August. Incidentally, it was Lambert’s former side, Colchester, who caused Gunn’s sacking when his Canaries side lost 7-1 to them on the opening day of the season. Since Lambert’s arrival, City have climbed the table and currently find themselves in 7^th position, 1 place and 2 points outside of the play-off picture. They have won their last two matches in the league, both at home, by a four goal margin each time. Their last two away matches have been against strong home sides in the shape of Gillingham and MK Dons. The former resulted in a stalemate in a match Norwich may feel they should have taken all 3 points whilst they will also feel aggrieved at not taking something from MK Dons in a match they dominated for large spells.

Carlisle United have found life difficult in the league this year managing only two victories from their 11 matches this far. Their home form, normally quite strong, has let them down with only one win from 5 games whilst losing 3 of those. They have lost to pretty weak sides all in all, Brentford, Exeter and Brighton are not great by any stretch of the imagination and are teams who are likely to be at the same end of the league as Carlisle come the end of the season. Their only success was against the hapless Tranmere who have been brushed aside by most teams already this season whilst they picked up a credible draw with Southampton.

Norwich will be hoping their top scorer and captain Grant Holt is fit enough to start tomorrow as he is instrumental in Lambert’s style of play. The former Celtic and Dortmund midfielder likes his teams to get the ball wide and whip crosses into the box for the target man so Holt’s fitness is key to this game. If, as expected, he does play, I think Carlisle’s defence is in for a very difficult 90 minutes. A big blow to Norwich will be the absence of Stephen Hughes who is on international duty with Scotland. Darrel Russell may well come in to replace Hughes.

Carlisle will be desperate to pick up their first 3 points in more than a month tomorrow and may take some comfort from the fact that their opponents have only notched one victory on the road in the league this term. That statistic, however, is deceptive as Lambert wasn’t in place for one of their two away defeats and his side have shown a big improvement on their travels. With Grant Holt in excellent form I just think Norwich’s attacking flair will be too much and see them home rather comfortably in the end.

My selection: Norwich City to beat Carlisle United

Best odds available: 11/8 available with several bookmakers including bet365

English League 2

Bradford City v Crewe Alexandra

A local derby of sorts with Yorkshire meeting Lancashire at Valley Parade as Dario Gradi takes his troops to face Stuart McCall’s Bradford.

Bradford City had a poor start to the league campaign losing 5-0 to Notts County before dropping a further 5 points in their next two matches. It wasn’t until an extraordinary match at Cheltenham that they picked up their first 3 points of the season winning 5-4. Since then, the Bantams have not looked back and have remained unbeaten since. In this run they have won 4 and drawn 4 which has seen them climb the table to 9^th position, 3 points off 7^th place. Their home form looks patchy when you look at their season stats but when you focus on their last 3 home games it looks a lot more positive with 2 wins and a draw with only one goal conceded. They may not have been playing the strongest away sides but they have been despatched with considerable ease.

Crewe have found things a little tough going since their relegation to England’s 4^th flight of league football. They started the season reasonably well with 4 league victories from their opening half dozen matches. They have, however, lost their last 5 matches in the league which meant that their former manager lost his job as a consequence. Dario Gradi has since taken over again but even his return could not halt the clubs fortunes as Crewe lost out by the odd goal in five last week at home to Rotherham.

Bradford’s upsurge in form cannot be put down to any one great player, it’s been a genuine team effort. Players like Rehman, Williams and O’Brien have provided a solid platform at the back for the likes of Osborne, Evans and Flynn to go forward with a bit of intent at the other end of the park.

Bradford have won 4 of the last 5 rounds of this fixture but did lose the last time these sides met at Valley Parade. Crewe will come out to attack as they only know how to play one way so I expect goals tomorrow. So as well as advising a bet on Bradford to continue their good form and take all 3 points I think the more than two goals bet is also a very decent shout.

My selections: Bradford to beat Crewe

Best odds available: 10/11 with several bookmakers including Coral

Other selections: More than two goals in the same game

Best odds available: 4/5 with PaddyPower.

Saturday 3^rd October

English Premier League

Burnley v Birmingham City

A meeting of two promoted sides at Turf Moor also see’s two young Scottish managers clash when Owen Coyle’s Burnley take on Alex McLeish’s Birmingham.

Burnley have been your stereotypical Jekyll and Hyde side this term with 3 wins and 4 defeats from their opening 7 matches. All 3 of their wins have come at home in pretty convincing and impressive fashion. They have got the better of Everton and Sunderland, both of whom occupy top 10 places whilst their most notable victory came in August when they defeated Champions and current league leaders, Manchester United. Their away form, however, is far less impressive. In their 4 matches on the road they have yet to gain a point, conceded 14 goals and have a 0 in the goals for column. Granted, these games have been against strong home sides including Liverpool and Tottenham, but it must already be a cause for concern for Coyle.

Birmingham have been a lot less entertaining than tomorrows opponents but that may not be a bad thing in the long run. The blues have conceded 6 goals in their 7 matches which is pretty good going for a side in the lower reaches of the league. The problem is at the other end of the pitch as they have only managed to breach the opposition’s defences 4 times in the same number of games. McLeish will not be overly disappointed with a total of 7 points at this stage but will be looking for his team to create more chances and score more goals, especially against teams who are likely to be in and around them come the end of the season.

Both sides have not had their problems to seek in terms of injuries even at this early stage of the season. The Clarets will be without influential striker Martin Paterson again tomorrow as well as a creative spark in the middle of the park, Chris McCann. Both have been very good for Burnley but Coyle believes he has the squad in place to deal with such absences. Birmingham will be without their Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez who has flown home for personal reasons. They may have James McFadden back from injury which would be a big boost for McLeish who is desperate for some spark upfront.

I don’t think there will be a massive amount of points between these two sides come May, but at the same time, I can’t see both being relegated. Burnley will really need to improve their away form to stay up whilst tomorrow’s visitors will have to start scoring more goals. Burnley have a knack of sneaking victories at home in close fought encounters. Steven Fletcher leads the line will and will no doubt be ably supported by recent recruit David Nugent. I expect another close game tomorrow but think Owen Coyle’s men will come out of it with all 3 points to maintain their 100% home record this season.

My selection: Burnley to beat Birmingham

Best odds available: 13/10 available with Betfred

English League 1

Leeds United v Charlton Athletic

A massive game in League 1 on Saturday see’s top of the table Leeds entertain 2^nd place Charlton, a match which would have been in the Premiership 3 or 4 years ago.

Leeds head into this match still unbeaten after 10 games with 8 victories and 2 stalemates. They have finally got to grips with life in League 1 and got a balance between playing home and away. Their home record for the last two seasons has been impressive to say the least but they have always been let down by their form on the road. Simon Grayson, in his first full season as manager, has addressed that problem by making them harder to beat and this has been reflected in their results. United have an identical record both home and away with 4 wins and a draw apiece.

Charlton started the season on fire with 6 straight wins in the league. Since then, however, they have struggled and have only managed to secure maximum points in 1 of their last 4 matches. That was against Exeter last weekend but since then, they have suffered a heavy defeat away to Colchester during a midweek round of fixtures. Charlton’s problem may be that they rely a lot on young, emerging talent. They have experienced pro’s as well, of course they do, but their key players in key positions are experiencing this sort of football for the first time. When I say that, I mean football at the top end of the league. For the last few seasons Charlton have found themselves at the bottom end scrapping for points whereas now, they are one of the major scalps in league 1 which means other teams tend to raise their game against them.

I’ve spoken before about where Leeds’ quality lies – their strikers. Jermaine Beckford has the perfect foil in the shape of Lucciano Becchio. The Argentinean does a lot of the dirty work for his strike partner who is left to score the vital goals. However it is not just the strikers who have came to the fore this term, United’s midfield has also chipped in with much needed goals and just as important, assists. Bradley Johnson and Robert Snodgrass have been in scintillating form this early in the season. Johnson has already notched 5 goals whilst Snodgrass has just been called up to the Scotland squad for an upcoming friendly.

Two midweek matches are hard at the best of times so when both matches are away from home it makes it even more difficult. Charlton went down with a whimper on Tuesday and it strikes me as a tired performance due to the aforementioned reasons added to the fact that Phil Parkinson is working with a pretty small squad.

Leeds have only dropped two points at home this term and I can’t see them dropping further points tomorrow.

My selection: Leeds to beat Charlton

Best odds available: 10/11 available with several bookmakers including Bet365

Jermaine Beckford also has a habit of scoring in big games at Elland Road so the striker looks a decent bet at the same price to add to his 7 goals.

Other selections: Jermaine Beckford to score at anytime

Best odds available: 10/11 available with Paddypower

Good Luck and Happy Punting

Saturday 19^th September

Preston North End v Coventry City         

PNE entertain Chris Coleman’s Coventry on Saturday looking to maintain their above average start to the season.

I’ve tipped Preston twice already this season and find myself bored of repeating the reasons as to why I’m tipping them. They’re direct, aggressive approach to the game is very affective, especially against lesser sides in the Championship. Rather than repeat myself, regular readers are able to look back at why I like Alan Irvine’s side and why his tactics will be successful in such a league.

I’ve yet to comment on the away side this season so let’s look a bit more closely at them. Coventry have started the season reasonably well with 11 points from their opening 7 matches. It may not sound or look impressive, but their points haul find themselves in 10^th position just a solitary point outside of the play-off’s. What should be noted is that Coventry have managed to accumulate 8 goals from their first 7 matches. What is even more interesting is the fact that Leon Best and Clinton Morrison have notched 7 of those 8 goals between them, with Martin Crainie getting the other.

Preston’s impressive home record (2 wins and 1 draw from 3) will be halted at some point but I can’t see it being on Saturday. Jon Parkin, Chris Brown and Neil Mellor are very effective at this level and will pose numerous problems for any defence. Coventry have shipped 8 goals thus far and I can see that being added to come Saturday evening.

My selection: Preston to beat Coventry City

Best odds available: 5/6 with several bookmakers including Coral

English Championship

Barnsley v Swansea

Both these sides find themselves at the bottom end of the table after poor starts which has even resulted in Barnsley appointing a new manager in Mark Robins.

Barnsley had a total of 1 point after 6 games under former manager Simon Davey. Their single point came away to Sheffield Wednesday at the beginning of August. As they lost every other game, they sacked Davey and brought in Robins as his replacement. His appointment had an immediate effect on Tuesday night as the Oakwell side notched their maiden victory of the season with a 3-2 success at Derby.

Paulo Sousa’s Swansea are struggling to emulate Roberto Martinez’s Swansea. He may have the same philosophy and thoughts on the game but he has unable, as yet, to translate them on to the park. Sousa has had to contend with injuries and suspension to key players but will have the likes of Gary Monk, Ferrie Bodde and Angel back this week, whether it is enough to stop the slide is another matter. The Swans are suffering a massive hangover after such a good first season in the Championship. The loss of Martinez, as well as Jordi Gomez and Jason Scotland, to Wigan has been monumental.

I highlighted Swansea’s shortcomings last weekend when they face Preston and I feel they’ll fall short once again with a weak backline up against the likes of Andy Gray and Jon Macken. Both strikers are proven at this level and have simply been lacking confidence in recent weeks. Their strength and direct style of play is very similar to North End’s attackers who Swansea failed to deal with. As a result, I think Robins will continue his successful start by guiding his new club to their 2^nd successive 3 points haul.

My Selection: Barnsley to beat Swansea

Best odds available: 6/4 with several bookmakers including  Skybet

Scottish Premier League

Hibernian v St Johnstone

The home side will be looking to make up for a dismal performance last  time out against Hamilton by taking all 3 points at home to newly promoted St Johnstone.

John Hughes had a bright start to his reign as Hibs manager, taking 6 points from his first two matches before being narrowly beaten by Celtic. This makes last Sunday’s defeat at New Douglas park all the more surprising. They were very poor all over the park and never looked liked getting anything from the game.

St Johnstone have started the season in a positive manner with their only defeat coming against the green and white half of Glasgow on the 2^nd day of the season. They may, however, consider themselves to be unfortunate as they have only picked up 3 points. Without a win, their impressive performances against Motherwell, Hearts and St Mirren have all resulted in stalemates which may prove to be their downfall in the long run.

Hibs have talent and quality in abundance. The likes of Derek Riordan, Anthony Stokes and Liam Miller are excellent players at this level. This is highlighted even further by the fact Celtic have had two of them on their books and offered £2m for Stokes 3 years ago. The problem they have, however, is they lack real leadership since the departure of Rob Jones in the summer.

Derek McInnes has adopted an expansive style of football in his first season as SPL manager. If he chooses to go this way on Saturday I can see a home win. The ability of Miller and Riordan allied with Stokes’ pace and strikers instinct should see the home side prevail in an entertaining and attacking match.

My selection: Hibernian to beat St Johnstone

Best odds available: 4/5 with  Bet365

Hello

This is my snooker betting strategy:

You start to watch a frame between player 1 and 2. You have to watch the first minutes of the frame, because it is very important how and where the balls move, if they move onto the sides more and colors move safe, then you take under 100 points, but if colors and red balls are free, then you take at least&over 100 points. Small stakes recommended on this. Also you have to wait if 1 player gets in the frame and starts potting the balls. It is good if you get a start on under 100 points with having 1 red ball potted and no color gone with it. Another recommendation: If 1 player finds him self in a very bad position at the start(has been snookered by other player), then it is time to take at least&over 100 points. All this can be done on bwin.

Mart

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Sports betting week 25 - 31 March

Date	Sport	Org.	Venue	Event
27 May		UEFA	Europe	Champions League Final
30 May		FA	England	FA Cup Final
30 May		DFB	Germany	Cup Final
30 May		FFF	France	Ligue 1
31 May		FIGC	Italy	Serie A
31 May		RFEF	Spain	Primera Division
24 May-6Jun		WTA	Paris	Roland Garros French Open
24 May-7Jun		ATP	Paris	Roland Garros French Open

Sports betting week 18 - 24 March

Date	Sport	Org.	Venue	Event
20 May		UEFA	Europe	UEFA-Cup Final
23 May		DFB	Germany	Bundesliga
23 May		FFF	France	Ligue 1
24 May		FA	England	Premier League
24 May		FIGC	Italy	Serie A
24 May		RFEF	Spain	Primera Division
18-23 May		WTA	Berlin	Qatar Telecom German Open
18-23 May		WTA	Strasbourg	Internationaux de Strasbourg
17-24 May		ATP	Pörtschach	The Hypo Group Tennis International
17-25 May		ATP	Düsseldorf	ARAG ATP World Team Championship
24 May		FIA	Monto Carlo	Grand Prix of Monaco

English Premier League

Saturday 16th May 12.45

Manchester United v Arsenal

Man United know that if they win on Saturday, they will secure their 3^rd league title in a row, and their 11^th English Premiership since the league’s formation in 1992. Their opponents are a side who were their closest rivals for the best part of the last decade.

United may not have been as fluent as they were in the preceding couple of seasons, but they have been equally, if not more, effective. This year’s success has been built around a steely determination which has seen them all but fight off the fierce challenge of North West neighbours, Liverpool. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side has had a solid spine right through their season. Veteran goalkeeper, Edwin Van de Saar, has been ably supported by central defenders, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. This trio of players have been excellent when together, and are essential to any future successes. The central midfield has been more varied and the likes of Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher have all excelled, as has Anderson, who having missed much of the season through injury, has injected a little bit more energy and creativity in the last couple of months. Wayne Rooney has been consistently brilliant whilst Cristiano Ronaldo, despite not being fit for the first 3 months of the season, sits on top of the goalscoring chart with 18 EPL goals to his name.

For Arsenal, Arsene Wenger especially, the end of the season cannot come quick enough after a dismal last month. Everything looked rosy for the North London club when they knocked out Villareal to reach the semi finals of the Champions League to go along with reaching the last four of the FA Cup and having secured the 4^th Champions League spot. However, defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United in the FA Cup and Champions League respectively, have quickly ended any hope of securing their first piece of silverware since 2005. Their misery was further compounded last weekend, when their FA Cup conquerors, Chelsea, powered past them, triumphing 4-1 at the Emirates. The fans are beginning to grow restless with Wenger’s refusal to spend big money on established players, preferring to nurture and develop a group of youngsters instead.

It was only 10 days ago when these two last met in the 2^nd leg of the Champions League. That game was virtually over in the first 10 minutes when United went 2-0 up on the night, and 3-0 on aggregate. Over the two legs, the gap in quality and power between the two sides was as big as it’s been for over a decade. The United players looked dominant all over the park and thoroughly deserved their impressive victory.

United will want to win the title as soon as possible and it would be extra special for Ferguson and his players to win it against their old foes, Arsenal. With the Champions League final coming up in less than a fortnight, winning the title at the first opportunity will be of paramount importance in order to allow the manager to rest some key players. The fans will also expect them to do it in style so tuck into the 4/6/

My selections: Manchester United to beat Arsenal

Best odds available: 4/6 withCoral

For those of you preferring a bit more value, there are a couple of other bets which appeal.

Due to the noticeable gap between the two sides in the Champions league and the fact United can win the league tomorrow, they look rather big with StanJames at 2/1 minus a goal on the Handicap.

Also, Cristiano Ronaldo is going for his 2^nd top goalscorer award in consecutive seasons. He is currently tied on 18 with Nicholas Anelka of Chelsea. Ronaldo has a good record against Arsenal, he notched 2 at the Emirates in the Champions League, whilst he also scored in the same fixture last season. The 11/10 with William Hill looks well worth taking for him to score at anytime during the game.

Other selections:

Manchester United -1 at 2/1 with Stanjames

C. Ronaldo to score anytime at 11/10 withWilliamHill