Manchester City v Arsenal Betting Tip & Odds: Well this surely has to be a candidate for game of the season so far. Are we going to see the best of the explosive and prolific goal scoring talents on display? Between them, Robin van Persie, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli have totaled for a crazy tally of 44 league goals, so naturally going to be worth looking at goalscorer markets for your Man City v Arsenal betting. In conjunction with BetFred’s promotion below, will look at Aguero as First Goalscorer for 4/1 with the bookie.
Manchester City to win: 3/4 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 3/1 at Victor Chandler
Arsenal to win: 9/2 at BetFred
EPL Match Preview: What are Manchester City made of this season? Do they have the character to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season last week? Well, they will be banking on their 100% home form this season to get their title charge back on track at the Etihad Stadium. Their rivals United are now firmly breathing down their neck and so boss Roberto Mancini certainly needs a big response from his players. City have not lost a home game in 2011, in total winning 25 of 27 matches on home turf in all competition. So that is one formidable record for visiting teams to go and try to overcome. This is no easy match for Man City to bounce back in though, because Arsenal are in fine fettle themselves at the moment. Robin van Persie is firing them upwards, and one of the most notable improvements as well, is that Arsenal are much tighter at the back than they were at the start of the season. City still have a lead at the summit of the Premier League by two points, but Arsenal need to close the gap, and a win would pull them to within six points of City, and suddenly those early season woes will have been long forgotten. Will Arsenal be daunted by this trip up north? No, because they go as underdogs all the same and Wenger will like nothing more than to upset the Manchester club and prove to his critics that Arsenal are once more a genuine title contender. The pack is tight in the top five, will there be more twists this weekend? Will City’s home form be a banker, or will the impressive form of Arsenal be enough to steal a crucial victory?
Manchester City Form: After such a strong start to the new season, big spending Manchester City finally got a blot on their copy book when they threw away a 1-0 lead at Stamford Bridge in their last outing. An early strike from Mario Balotelli could not be capitalized upon, with Sergio Aguero wasting a fantastic chance to put the visitors 2-0 up and probably out of sight. However, for all Man City’s commanding possession, they didn’t create enough chances in the game, and suffered their first defeat of the season as Chelsea staged a second half comeback. Other than that, is has been a very impressive season for Manchester City, dropping just five points so far. We need to look at their home record so far this season at the Etihad Stadium, where City have rattled off seven wins from seven. In those seven home games, they have bagged themselves an whopping 24 goals, averaging 3.42 goals per game. Going the other way, although City have conceded in each of their last four Premier League home matches, they are only averaging 0.57 goals against at home, and stand that up against their prolific goal scoring and you can see why they are doing well. In their last four home matches alone they have netted fifteen times, so that is what the Arsenal defence will have to try and contend with. 86% of City’s home matches have finished over 2.5 goals so far this season, and obviously they have scored in each one. Manchester City have opened the scoring in 93% of all of their matches so far this season, an incredible stat. The goal scoring is being led by Sergio Aguero, who has netted eleven times (seven of them being at home), while Edin Dzeko has supported with 10 and Balotelli is now creeping up with a tally of 8. Arsenal as a whole have only scored two more goals than those three City strikers put together. City are still a very strong second half side, with the majority of their goals coming after the half time break. 71% of all their league goals this season have come in the second half of matches, the half hour in particular after the restart being highly profitable for them. Still, despite that defeat last week, eight wins out of their last ten matches shows some pretty impressive form. Will they show their Premier League title credentials by having the character to bounce back strongly from the blues at Stamford Bridge?
Arsenal Form: For all of Manchester City’s form this season, Arsenal’s over the last eight matches has been even more impressive. After a torrid start to the season, which saw them lost four of their opening seven matches, Arsenal have settled into their groove. They are now unbeaten in their last eight Premier League matches, with seven wins coming in that period. It has been a staggering turn around in form, but on which does need weighing up. In that run of eight matches, on Chelsea have really been what can be considered a big test for them. That was at the end of October, so it has been a while since Arsenal have really been tested hard. This will change on Sunday of course with a trip to Manchester City. It is no surprise that Arsenal’s form has largely been down to the strike power of Robin van Persie, who is now supposedly a big summer transfer target for Manchester City. The Gunners will come up against Samir Nasri, who moved north in the summer, and Arsene Wenger will be hoping that his side’s improved form will be enough to at least take a point. Arsenal have won their last three away matches, but that has been their only three triumphs on the road in seven attempts this season. They have tasted defeat three times on the road, and earned themselves one draw. The huge problem has been at the back for Arsenal away from home, where they have conceded more than they have scored. Without doubt Arsene Wenger has steadied the ship of course, and eight of those goals against did come during that embarrassment at Old Trafford earlier in the season. What should give Arsenal a bit of confidence, is that they have at least scored in every away match aside from their season opener. So will they be able to carry their form through and get something out of Sunday’s big match in Man City v Arsenal betting? The Gunners have scored seventeen times on the road, which is more than they have actually scored at home this season, and 86% of their away matches this season have finished over 2.5 goals. Arsenal appear to be dangerous in front of goal at all periods of their matches, but they have scored the most in the last fifteen minutes of their games. 61% of all their goals this season have come in the second half, but have opened the scoring in just 53% of their games. No surprise then who leads the goal scoring charts for them. That will be Robin van Persie, who has netted fifteen times now, seven of those coming away from home. Really has not had much support from anywhere else in the squad, so he will be the big danger man.
Head to Head: Interestingly enough, Arsenal have the head to head supremacy when the two sides meet in Manchester. Out of 89 meetings up north, Arsenal have come away with 37 victories, compared to 31 from the hosts. Last season’s corresponding league fixture was another scalp for Arsenal, as they ran out 3-0 winners, ending a sequence of three consecutive defeats at Man City. So out of the last four meetings at City, there have been two wins a piece, but that 3-0 win mentioned above, is the only match out of the last five meetings where Arsenal have gotten on the score sheet against City. Looking at the head to head stats, it could be a close one.
Online Bookmaker Promotion: With a glittering array of forwards on the pitch on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, we surely have to look at First Goalscorer options. Fortunately if you are fancying a punt in this market, then BetFred have their great Double Delight, Hattrick Heaven promotion running to take advantage of. Back a correct First Goalscorer in the match, and if that player hits a second goal at any time in the game, you will be rewarded with double your odds. If your winning First Goalscorer bags a hattrick then you will be paid out at treble your original First Goalscorer odds, making this promotion tremendous value. Other options in this market are Dzeko and Balotelli at 9/2, and RVP at 11/2. Popular bookie BetFred offer a free £50 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first bet on a new account, up to the maximum value of £50!
