cesc fabregas

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas misses trip to Ukraine

Donbass Arena, Wednesday November 3rd: Trips to the Ukraine have not proven to be very fruitful for Arsenal in Europe, and the unhappy hunting ground has yielded just one point in four trips there. This is a tough match for Arsenal, who are looking for at least a point to guarantee qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League, as Shakhtar are going well at the top of their domestic league and are a difficult side at home. Yes, Arsenal tore the Ukrainians apart on Match Day three, beating the visitors to the Emirates by a 5-1 score line. The return fixture is unlikely to produce quite so many goals, but Arsenal should be confident as they are in some good goal scoring form. How much will the absence of Fabregas effect them though? They have had to get through games without him this season, and if there was more importance on this match, then he probably would have traveled. There are tougher tasks ahead for Arsenal though, and that is why he doesn’t play. This isn’t the first time the two teams have met in the Champions League. They came together in the 2000/01 group stage with Arsenal taking the home tie 3-2, but then the Ukrainians overpowered them in the return fixture by a 3-0 score line. That represents the troubles that Arsenal have had on trips to the Ukraine, but now surely they are in a better position than ever to break their duck out east. Taking a look around at Shakhtar Donetsk v Arsenal betting odds, you will see that the Ukrainian team are at shorter odds than you may expect after having gotten thrashed by Arsenal just two weeks ago. It represents the threat which they can pose at home. Because this is a tricky contest to call, a good Arsenal -1 Asian Handicap fetches a very nice price of 3/1 at Bet365. A draw does look to be the most anticipated result with the online bookmakers, and a 1-1 draw Correct Score is top priced for 6/1 at 888Sport. A 1-0 Arsenal Correct Score fetches 17/2 at Bet365, while Shakhtar 1-0 is 10/1 at Unibet.

Former Arsenal striker Eduardo is the focal point of SportingBet’s deju vu Champions League promotion. As he was the last goal scorer when the two teams met two weeks ago, if he finishes the Shakhtar Donetsk v Arsenal fixture as Last Goal scorer again, then SportingBet will give refunds on all lost First Goal scorer, Anytime Goal scorer, Correct Score and Scorecast bets placed on the match. This provides a great opportunity to explore those submarkets for the match. Add to that on top a maximum £50 free bet when you open a new SportingBet account, then it all adds up to a great place to do your Champions League betting for the week.

Arsenal to win: 28/17 at Unibet
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Shakhtar Donetsk to win: 2/1 at Ladbrokes

Arsenal Betting

Arsenal are again facing injury problems this season, with Captain Cesc Fabregas missing out on the trip to the Ukraine because of injury. There is not a major injury threat surrounding the Spaniard, but after feeling a little bit of pain, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is not going to take any kind of chances with him. This is a damage limitation for Fabregas, because he has had problems with his hamstring before and there is no need to risk him. Arsenal have picked up maximum points from their three Champions League matches this season, and are three points ahead of the Ukrainians in Group H. There is no danger of Arsenal not getting through to the next round of the tournament, and sealing back to back wins against Shakhtar should pretty much guarantee that they progress as group winners. A draw would see them qualify for the knockout stage, but coming out as group winners is important, as you avoid other group winners in the draw. Arsene Wenger also has to do without Andrei Arshavin, Denilson and Alex Song for the tip, so with the absence of Fabregas, the spotlight should once again turn on England’s future midfield hope of Jack Wilshere. Wilshere put pen to paper with the London club this week, securing his future there for a good few years yet. While the Gunners really are flying the Champions League this year, the trip to the Ukraine seems to pose a few problems for them. Having suffered three defeats out of four visits there, there is an air of caution needed by Wenger. In their last away match in the Champions League, Arsenal beat Partizan Belgrade 3-1 in something of a stuttering performance. But it proved that they were good enough, nonetheless, and betting on the Gunners to pick up their first victory in the Ukraine doesn’t feel like too big a risk really. You expect Arsenal to get on the score sheet at the very least. The margin of victory won’t be as big, but a victory is a strong possibility. Arsenal to win by 1 Goal is 10/3 at Bet365 and looks to be a decent punt. In the Anytime Goal scorer market for Arsenal, you are looking for Marouane Chamakh 11/5 at Coral, Nicklas Bendtner 15/8 at Bet365, Nasri 16/5 at Unibet.

Shakhtar Donetsk Betting

The Ukrainians are not really that bad of an outfit, and they will have been demoralized by the 5-1 thrashing which they received a fortnight ago on their visit to London. Having gone into that match level on points with Arsenal, the Ukrainians will have been hoping for at least a point from the match. Perhaps that will be their level of expectations for this one on their home turf, knowing that they will have gotten the hard games out of the way. Even though they were completely trounced by Arsenal, a draw is not too unreasonable a proposition for this match. Arsenal are at the stage where they should feel that they have done enough to complete their qualification, and missing their influential captain, even they may be happy to play out a draw. It would suit both sides really, and you can expect more of a stern resistance than what the Ukrainians put up against Arsenal at the Emirates. The main problem will come in trying to contain the slick attacking football that Arsenal play, and which has produced fourteen goals in three Champions League matches this season. That is enough to intimidate most defences, and those five goals have actually been the only one which they have conceded this year. Expect an overall tighter game from the Ukrainians. If you wanted to bring some kind of coverage in a Shakhtar bet, then a Draw No Bet on them is decently priced for 11/10 at BetFred. A Shakhtar Donetsk -0.25 Asian Handicap is 7/5 at Paddy Power. There is of course the reunion of Shakhtar striker Eduardo against his old club and Eduardo is 12/5 at SkyBet for Anytime Scorer.

Shakhtar Donetsk  v Arsenal Betting Prediction:

 The Arsenal were thrilling and ruthless a fortnight ago against opposition which really are no pushovers. It’s a long trip out east and a draw seems the more sedate option to go with. Nonetheless, still would edge it with Arsenal.

Arsenal v Blackpool Betting Odds

Arsenal to win: 2/11 at Paddy Power
Draw: 13/2 at BetFred
Blackpool to win: 18/1 at Bet365

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Arsenal v Blackpool Premier League Betting Statistics

• Arsenal had a  78.9 win percentage at home in the league last season
• Blackpool had a 26% win percentage away from home in the league last season
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• Arsenal scored 48 goals, and conceded just 15 at home
• Blackpool scored 28 and conceded 36 goals in their away matches
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• Arsenal scored the bulk of their goals in the 76-90 minute bracket
• Blackpool scored the majority of their goals in the 76-90 minute bracket
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• Arsenal opened the scoring in 65.79% of their matches
• Blackpool scored first in 52.17% of their matches
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• Arsenal 2010/11 top scorer: N/A
• Blackpool 2010/11 top scorer: Harewood (2)
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• Arsenal injuries: Aaron Ramsey, Nicklas Bendtner, Johan Djourou
• Blackpool injuries: Billy Clarke, Louis Almond, Keith Southern
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• Arsenal 2010/11 Season Form: D
• Blackpool 2010/11 Season Form: W

Arsenal v Blackpool Betting and Match Preview: 

Even though it is only the second fixtures of the new season for the two sides, suddenly this becomes a very interesting match. It really can be classed as a top vs. bottom clash, at least that is the way in which the season is expected to pan out. Blackpool have made a romantic leap back to the top flight of English football, after being a powerhouse from way back when. Arsenal of course, are one of the most dangerous and established sides in the Barclays Premier League and are always a joy to watch. It goes without saying when planning your football betting strategy for the weekend, that Arsenal will be outright favourites to win this one. They are the side with all of the glitz and glamour of being one of the top sides in the whole of the country. While Blackpool enjoyed a successful return to the top flight by winning their opening fixture, turning out at the Emirates against Arsenal will be a vastly different prospect than Wigan. Can Blackpool realistically upset the football betting odds and take points off Arsenal? A draw would probably be as good and as welcome to the northern club as a win would be. That, in all honesty, looks to be the best that the Premier League newcomers can hope for, so the sensible thing would be to back them in a strong plus Asian Handicap. But still, Arsenal have the capabilities to score a hatful of goals which may negate decent odds on even that. So perhaps it is a little better to back Arsenal having a field day in front of goal, and making a football bet on them to come from a negative Asian Handicap.

Arsenal v Blackpool Betting Tip:

Arsenal -2 Asian Handicap 5/6 at Paddy Power

Arsenal Betting: 

Look for Anytime Goalscorer bets from the regular party, such as Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas. The likelihood is that Arsenal are going to find the back of the net, and should be at least a couple of goals better than Saturday’s opponents. This should firmly be the first three points in the bag for Arsenal, who started their campaign with a last gasp draw at Anfield against Liverpool. It was a Pepe Reina own goal which gave Arsenal the break through, but by and large they were the better team on the day. They should be a mightily strong football bet to back at home, and this home opener is no exception. Arsenal can get the ball down on the deck and play their way through the best of the tems in the Premier League, so that doesn’t leave a lot of chance for newcomers and potential relegation candidates such as Blackpool. Arsenal haven’t made a lot of movement in the summer transfer market, but perhaps their biggest deal was keeping Cesc Fabregas at the club. They are probably the most technically gifted side in the division, and Arsene Wenger will always stick to his guns and play the right way. These are the kind of days which Arsenal need to turn into eggs if they are going to mount a challenge to end their five year silverware drought. A good winning margin of two goals should suffice for the Gunners.

Blackpool Betting:

Showed some tremendous spirit and courage on their opening Premier League fixture, when they blitzed relegation candidates Wigan 4-0. Bloomfield Park still awaits its first Premier League match, as the opening day game was reversed due to renovations still ongoing at Blackpool’s home. That four goal haul while keeping a clean sheet will have done wonders for the confidence and belief that they can survive the season in the Premier League. They should be full of energy and that early season enthusiasm and will try their best to get stuck into one of the best passing teams in the country. Truthfully though, they will be hard pressed to even get much possession, as Arsenal keep the ball so well. The big challenge for Blackpool is not running out of steam in the second half, because that is the time when Arsenal’s total football will destroy teams. Blackpool will spend a lot of time chasing the ball and chasing the shadows of the Arsenal players. Saturday should see them get a real taste of what the Premier League is all about, and they could come down to earth with a bump. The best they can hope for is a drawn match, to put their backs to the wall and frustrate Arsenal all day. Their best chance of a goal will probably come from the experience of Marlon Harewood up front.

Arsenal v Blackpool Football Betting Prediction: Home win

There’s no denying the two most popular teams to back for the first round of Premier League fixtures this weekend. Indeed, the bookmakers will be glad that Chelsea are playing on Saturday and Manchester United are featuring on Monday, which might prevent as many people placing doubles compared to them playing on the same day.

Although the Premier League champions are 1/6 with bet365 to beat West Brom and the Red Devils are 1/4 with bet365 to beat Newcastle, there are likely to be some big wagers on the ‘Big Two’ as punters look to get off to a winning start against the bookmakers.

It’s possible that there will be a big gamble on Liverpool when they take on Arsenal this Sunday. The Reds are currently 7/5 with Ladbrokes, although the signing of Christian Poulsen and the midweek England form of Steven Gerrard might see plenty of money coming for the Reds. In addition, Arsenal have several players out injured and they might not be able to field Cesc Fabregas or Robin Van Persie. That’s why Paddy Power  have pushed them out to 2/1.

There have been some interesting stories in the press this week, with many media outlets claiming that Blackpool manager Ian Holloway had fallen out with chairman Karl Oyston, something which has been swiftly denied. However, the lack of transfer activity on the part of the Tangerines has caused a reasonable plunge on Wigan ahead of Saturday’s match and they are 5/6 (William Hill) to get off to a winning start.

Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill’s resignation as Aston Villa manager has seen Kevin MacDonald take temporary charge and also seen the Villans drifting to win their opener against West Ham. Two weeks ago, you would only have seen odds-on quotes about the Midlands team, although the departure of their manager and best player (James Milner) means that Stan James are happy to quote 21/20 while there is 11/10 available on betfair. West Ham are 3/1 (Ladbrokes) to win the game and the 2/1 (Paddy Power) about the Hammers on the Draw No Bet market looks appetising.

Many people are getting excited about Everton’s chances this season, with the Toffees managing to keep hold of important players such as Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar. When Arteta plays, the team simply achieve better results and David Moyes will be expecting to enjoy a winning start when his team being their campaign at Blackburn. Ladbrokes quote 6/4 that the visitors come away with the points and they will be boosted by Marouane Fellaini’s return from injury.

Perhaps the best bet of the weekend is Bolton Wanderers to beat Fulham, something that’s on offer at 13/10 with Paddy Power. The Trotters are looking rejuvenated under Owen Coyle and the signing of Martin Petrov is a sound one. With Chung Yong Lee looking sharp for South Korea in the World Cup, they can make short work of a Cottagers team who are adjusting to life under Mark Hughes.

Once again, it appears that Manchester City are going to spend over £100 million on players this summer, with David Silva and Yaya Toure the first of the new arrivals at Eastlands. This is the first time that the bookmakers are considering them to be serious Premier League title contenders and the 5/1 currently available with Ladbrokes and bet365 might only get shorter as the new season approaches.

There are two schools of thought regarding Manchester City winning the Premier League. Some might argue that Roberto Mancini might take at least another twelve months to mould this team into something special, especially as they finished a full 19 points behind champions Chelsea last season.

However, the flip side of the argument is that having significant spending power will enable Manchester City to outmuscle any rival bidder in the transfer market and they look set to reunite James Milner with former Aston Villa colleague Gareth Barry. With a couple of other new signings certain and a squad already packed with international players, they might be worth a second look at 11/8 on Coral’s betting without Manchester United and Chelsea.

Chelsea are the marginal favourites to retain the Premier League title, although much depends on whether Didier Drogba stays at Stamford Bridge. Although Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that the Ivorian will be with the Blues next season, it appears his agent has been in discussions with City and the striker’s departure would leave a big gap in the team’s attack. If Drogba stays, then bet365’s 6/4 is a fair price, although his departure would make life difficult – even if Michael Essien is back to full fitness.

Another reason that Manchester City might win the Premier League this season is the fact that Chelsea and Manchester United won’t be any stronger than last season. Sure, the Red Devils might not have as many injuries in defence, although Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez will be the only players to arrive at Old Trafford this summer. Perhaps the midfield will therefore remain short of creativity, even if Wayne Rooney is likely to score a hatful of goals. Victor Chandler are happy to lay the Red Devils and that’s where you will find a best price of 11/4.

Arsenal seem to have spent most of the summer fending off Barcelona’s interest in Cesc Fabregas, with the Spanish champions swooping over the Emirates like a hungry vulture determined to eat some juicy prey. So far, the Gunners have succeeded in keeping their captain on the books and Arsene Wenger is playing a typically shrewd game with a club that aren’t blessed with money after splashing out on David Villa. Wenger is also set to recruit a new goalkeeper and his team are 7/1 (Paddy Power) to win the title.

The only other two teams with a realistic chance of winning the Premier League are Liverpool (16/1 Bet Fred) and Tottenham Hotspur (40/1 bet365). It was the Reds that won the race to sign Joe Cole recently and the retention of Steven Gerrard means there is cause for optimism at Anfield.

Spain to go with Fabregas or Torres?

Spain will go into Wednesday’s semi final against Germany, with coach Vicente Del Bosque pondering what do to with the out of form Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. Del Bosque has received some good news about Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas who has been cleared fit to play. Fabregas had picked up an injury during training but despite some initial fears there was no real damage to the influential midfielder. Fabregas would be the ideal replacement to come into the side, if Del Bosque decides to start Torres from the bench. After coming back from a couple of knee surgeries in the summer, Torres has looked far short of sharp best during the World Cup so far. While Del Bosque has persevered with him, worrying about dropping him from the side and denting his confidence even further, at such a crunch time at South Africa 2010, will the coach go with form over reputation? Fabregas is likely to be heading to Barcelona in the summer, with reported bids already coming in for the 23 year old, but has not been a starting choice for Del Bosque.

Del Bosque may simply stick with his starting eleven and see if Torres can provide something up front with David Villa, even if it is only for the first half. Spain have been carrying him through the tournament, but can they afford to do so right now? Whether Torres starts or not could all depend on the degree of fitness of Fabregas. It would probably be a safer bet for Del Bosque to pull Torres off and inject some extra pace in Fabregas in the second half, rather than worrying about whether to put an out of from Torres on if the game happens to need rescuing. The Netherlands will await the winners of Spain v Germany, which itself is a rematch of the Euro 2008 final, which Spin won thanks to a goal from, yes, Fernando Torres. Apparently an octopus in Germany has predicted a win for the Spaniards, who have not been right at the top of their form throughout the tournament, and have been heavily outscored by the Germans. “Paul” has gotten all of Germany’s results right so far at South Africa 2010, and of all World Cup betting tips this has to be one of the weirdest, but certainly has had the success and the legs to run and run.

With all yellow cards being wiped out for the semi finals, Spain have a fully fit squad to pick from, as long as Fabregas is fit. How much of an influence will Torres starting or not have on the actual match? Although he has not been scoring, he has still been doing his job in creating space for the attacking midfielders to join in the play, notably Iniesta and Xavi. He is still contributing to the team, but it is like the old argument about England’s Emile Heskey, do you need a striker who is scoring? While Fabregas is more suited to the middle of the park, the other options up front for Del Bosque would be Fernando Llorente or Pedro. While Pedro is an incredibly exciting talent, his inexperience will count against him, and would you throw Llorente into the mix instead of Torres? Probably not, not at this stage of a tournament. Fernando Torres is 2/1 at SportingBet as an anytime goal scorer. Bets are that Del Bosque will stick with Torres and leave his options on the bench. Spain need to find goals from somewhere else though, and take lessons from Germany’s clinical finishing in front of goal.

Spain v Germany Match Odds
Spain to win: 7/4 at Bwin
Draw: 23/10 at Ladbrokes
Germany to win: 15/8 at Boylesports

Stage of Elimination:
Semi Final: 10/11 at Bet365
Winner: 21/10 at Paddy Power
Runners Up: 10/3 at Bet365

Team Specials
Spain to Reach Final: 17/20 at Blue Square
Spain to keep a clean sheet in the final: 11/4 at 888Sport
Spain to win to nil in the final: 10/3 at Blue Square
Spain to score in both halves in the final: 5/1 at 888Sport
Spain to win having been behind in the final: 12/1 at Blue Square
Spain to win the World Cup on penalties: 14/1 at 888Sport

We have already had some thrilling World Cup last sixteen matches, but perhaps the best is saved for last with these two Iberian neighbours squaring off at Greenpoint Stadium for a place in the quarter finals of this competition.

This ground will hold happy memories for the Portuguese as they ran seven goals past North Korea here a little over a week ago. It didn’t look like a team that had struggled to qualify for South Africa, although they might have their work cut out trying to contain a Spain team which has seemingly recovered from a slow start.

As far as that opening game defeat to Switzerland is concerned, it’s a case of ‘no harm done’ for the Spanish, who still ended up topping the group thanks to victories over Honduras and Chile. It has seen Vicente Del Bosque’s team shorten to a best price 9/2 (Sporting Bet) in the betting, while they are no bigger than 11/10 (Boylesports) to win Tuesday night’s game in normal time.

It appears as though Xabi Alonso is struggling to be fit for the match in Cape Town after picking up an injury against the Chileans last Friday, although Spain have a ready-made replacement in Cesc Fabregas. The biggest concern for La Furia Roja is the form / fitness of Fernando Torres, with the Liverpool forward proving to be sluggish in the matches he has played so far.

The team will need El Nino to be at his best against a tight Portugal defence and he is 11/2 (Paddy Power) to open the scoring, although he often acts as a foil for strike partner David Villa, who scored three times during the group stages and has looked highly dangerous so far. It’s little wonder that Barcelona want to shell out so much money for a player that makes things happen and he’s a tempting 4/1 (William Hill) to break the deadlock for the third game running.

Not that the Portuguese will be easy to break down, with the team one of only two (Uruguay being the other one) not to concede during the group phase. However, while defensive performances against Ivory Coast and Brazil sandwiching that North Korea goalfest helped them qualify, they might need to bring more to the party if they are to knock out the pre-tournament favourites.

Carlos Queiroz’s men are the 10/3 (bet365) outsiders to win in ninety minutes, or you can back them at 7/4 (Ladbrokes) to qualify for the quarter finals in some shape or form (penalties is a possibility as they have a superior record over Spain). It’s likely to be more evenly-matched than the odds suggest, especially if Portugal can get Cristiano Ronaldo on the ball. The forward will have noticed that the Spanish defence is capable of creaking and he’s 6/1 (bet365) to break the deadlock in Cape Town.

If you think that Spain will lead at half-time and full-time for the third match running, you can get odds of 5/2 (Stan James) and there’s the possibility that the Euro 2008 winners will start moving through the gears after a tough qualifying group.

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.