Tag: Arsenal

Champions League: Man City Need Perfection, Arsenal Need a Repeat

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Champions League proved to be a tale of two major scorelines for English clubs in recent weeks as Arsenal and Man City both found themselves in the middle of some end-to-end action.

For the former, the flow of action against Ludogorets was certainly a lot more positive than the latter’s experience against Barcelona. This time around, the action may not be as juicy, but there’s certainly likely to be some goals when Man City welcome Barcelona and Arsenal travel to Bulgaria to face Ludogorets.

No Pressure on Arsenal but Players Can’t Become Complacent

Starting with the more positive of the two match-ups, Arsenal will head into their second game against Ludogorets with almost no pressure. After blitzing the Bulgarians 6-0 in their Week 3 showdown, the Gunners can afford to take it easy on Tuesday night.

Now, that doesn’t mean Arsenal can completely relax, but it’s certainly safe to say they can play below par and still come away with a result. Indeed, we only have to look to Arsenal’s recent match against Reading in the League Cup. Yes, Wenger’s men won and yes they didn’t look under threat at any point, but it’s important to point out that they lacked a certain lustre.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was undoubtedly the shining light during the 2-0 win, but when it came to other forms of attack, the side was severely lacking. Now, it’s worth saying that it wasn’t the strongest Arsenal side possible, but if the players put in a similar performance against Ludogorets they could find themselves in trouble.

Arsenal Have too Much Firepower for Ludogorets

Of course, fans of the North London side will point to the 6-0 drubbing and say there’s nothing to worry about. This may be true, but in the Champions League, it’s also true that anything can happen, and a loss of concentration could prove costly going forward.

Now, if you’re of the mindset that Arsenal’s lacklustre performance against Reading will cost them valuable points in the Champions League, then Sun Bets will give you 17/2 on a Ludogorets win. If, however, you’re more inclined to think the Gunners will have too much firepower for the home side, 1/3 is the going price at Paddy Power.

For something a little more lucrative, Arsenal to win 4-0 is currently 14/1 at Paddy Power. Given that the last meeting between the two sides was all one-way traffic, this looks like a potentially juicy bet. For those wanting to spread their risk a little more, 5/6 on an Arsenal win + over 2.5 goals looks to be the value bet of the night.

City Face a Tough Task at Home

While Arsenal can look back to their previous Champions League game with a smile, Man City will want to forget theirs as quickly as possible. Although a loss to Barcelona is nothing to be ashamed of, the 4-0 deficit was possibly a little too much for even the most die-hard City fans to bear. According to the odds makers at Coral, the current Champions League betting line for a City win stands at 15/8.

Contrasting this with the 29/20 on offer for Barcelona and the 5/2 odds for the draw, anyone with any appreciation of betting lines can surmise that it’s going to be a lot closer this time around. City manager Pep Guardiola has already acknowledged that he faces an uphill struggle on November 1, but does believe Barcelona are beatable.

“I’d like us to show courage and put everything into the game. Hopefully, our quality can make the difference. For them it’s not a final, for us, it is like a final,” Guardiola told the media.

Perfection is Paramount if City wants to Beat Barca

Will it take an almost perfect performance to do it? Almost certainly. Is City capable of near perfect football? Again, almost certainly. In reality, the result of this Champions League clash will come down to two factors: who wants it more, and who makes the fewest mistakes. City has been sublime in the Premier League this season, but the Champions League has been a different story.

If City is going to win, they’ll need Sergio Aguero to be on top form. The Argentinean forward has scored 13 times this season, which is only one less than Lionel Messi. With both players proving they’re more than capable of scoring this season, 19/4 on Aguero to score first and 4/1 on Messi look like fantastic value. Indeed, even if you leave the outright odds to one side, these markets look to offer impressive alternative value.

Of course, if you do want to speculate on the outright winner, the smart money would be on Barcelona. The first encounter was, for all intents and purposes, a whitewash, and if all goes to plan, things won’t be any different this time around. Naturally, home advantage will give City something extra to play for this time around, but it’s hard to see past Luis Enrique’s men in this one.

The Best Premier League Bets This Saturday

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Two of the biggest clubs in London are in action this Saturday. In fact our Premier League betting recommendations feature both of these clubs. Tottenham and Arsenal will look to continue their good midweek results in the Champions League with wins in their respective Premier League clashes. Tottenham travel to Bournemouth while the Gunners host Middlesbrough.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger seems to have silenced his critics with a string of good results of late. The big question is how long will this last? We have highlighted some cracking bets from these two encounters starting with Bournemouth vs Tottenham.

Will Spurs Survive the Bournemouth Test?

Bournemouth were many people’s favourites to be relegated last season. In fact their story was almost as remarkable as Leicester’s title win, given how much money they had to spend. Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has worked miracles on a shoestring budget and a small squad. That good work has certainly continued on into this season.

Solid results have led to Bournemouth climbing the table in recent weeks. They beat Everton 1-0 and crushed a dismal Hull City 6-1 at the Vitality Stadium. The question is will Tottenham have a European hangover after a tough midweek Champions League encounter?

The Vitality Fortress

Bournemouth can be backed at odds of 14/5 with SunBets and that seems like the standout bet here. This is closely followed by the draw at 5/2. Tottenham are Evens with SunBets but that seems too short given how erratic Tottenham can be. Couple this with Spurs having a tough game at Bayer Leverkusen in midweek, and we have the perfect ingredient for an upset.

The Arsenal Juggernaut Rolls on

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be happy at the recent run of results his team has had. He has certainly silenced the critics for a while. Many of the harshest critics were their own fans. The opening day loss at home to Liverpool now seems a distant memory and the Arsenal faithful are starting to believe again.

The Gunners are currently joint top of the Premier League, and just behind Man City on goal difference. Arsenal also lead their Champions League group with 7pts and look strong favourites to progress there too. The 6-0 thumping of Ludogorets merely confirmed to us how good Arsenal are playing at the moment.

The Home Banker

So can Middlesbrough stop the red tide and hold back the mighty Gunners? Arsenal can be backed at 1-4 at SunBets with the draw at 5-1. Middlesbrough are deemed to be no hopers at 11/1! Usually after a Wednesday night Champions League encounter, energy levels are often a serious problem with teams playing Premier League fixtures on the Saturday.

However Arsenal had such an easy time of it against Ludogorets that this will hardly matter. It is very difficult to see Middlesbrough taking any points from the Emirates, and the best bet in this encounter is surely a home win for the Gunners!

Champions League Betting Preview: Arsenal, Man City and Bayern

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The latest round of UEFA Champions League action is set to get underway on October 19 and this time around there’s not an easy game in sight (unless you’re Arsenal). While it’s fair to say there aren’t many easy games in the Champions League, this week’s selection of showdowns looks particularly tough for the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Celtic.

Arsenal vs. Ludogorets

With so many tough games to pick through, let’s start with opponents that shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the Gunners: Ludogorets. The Bulgarian champions are far from the biggest names in the competition, but that’s not to say they’ll just come in and roll over for Arsenal. Indeed, an early goal against Paris St Germain almost caused an upset, while a point away at Basel will go down as one of the club’s standout performances of the last decade.

On top of Ludogorets’ propensity to make it difficult for teams, Arsenal have been known to squander “easy” points in the competition before. In fact, you only have to cast your minds back to last season’s home defeat to Olympiacos and you’ll remember the anguish on Arsene Wenger’s face when his side almost failed to make it out of the group stages.

This time around, however, Arsenal should secure a home win before taking a further three points on their trip to Bulgaria. A quick look at Sun Bets’ odds sees the home side enter the match as the overwhelming betting favourites at 1/8. On the other side of the coin, Ludogorets are the proverbial underdogs at 18/1. If you do fancy hedging your bets and believe the Bulgarians can replicate their result against Basel, 15/2 on the draw is a bet you certainly shouldn’t dismiss outright.

Barcelona vs. Manchester City

While Arsenal should be enjoying a gentle Champions League stroll on Wednesday October 19, Barcelona and Manchester City will be engaged in what promises to be another high octane showdown. Despite City’s issues with UEFA in recent years, Pep Guardiola is a man on a mission in the Champions League this season.

City’s 4-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach last month was just the tonic the club needed, and has since inspired the players to even greater things in the Premier League. However, Monchengladbach and Barcelona are two different beasts and no one will know that more acutely than Guardiola. Having taken Barcelona to Champions League success in 2008/2009, the Spaniard not only knows what it’s like to win the competition, but what makes Barcelona tick.

Unfortunately, as if a group stage match against Barcelona wasn’t enough, City will have to travel to the fabled Nou Camp on Wednesday night. To compound that fact, a three-game winless run means the pressure will be on when the tackles start to fly. For analysts and fans alike, the current problem with City seems to be a lack of tactical consistency.

Guardiola doesn’t seem to have found a groove he likes, and despite sitting atop of the Premier League, there’s still work to do if he’s going to mount a serious challenge in the Champions League. In contrast, Barcelona aren’t short of goals at the moment and a 4-0 win over Deportivo last Saturday just goes to prove that (as does September’s 7-0 hammering of Celtic).

Although there have been some bumps in the road of late (i.e. a 2-1 loss to Alaves on September 10), the Spanish side will enjoy a slight advantage heading into the game. Of course, if you’re not quite sure how the land lies before the kickoff, there’s always the option of making an in-play bet. At bet365 this week you can earn a free in-play bet for the Barcelona vs. City game by making a pre-match wager.

As advertised, you can get a free in-play bet by: “placing a bet before kick-off then, once the game starts, place another bet on any In-Play market. If your FIRST In-Play bet loses we will refund this stake, up to the same value as your largest pre-match bet (max refund £50*)”.

As it stands, Barcelona are 8/15 for the win, while City will start the game as the 5/1 underdogs. A draw with bet365 will return you 15/4 on your money and if you want the latest live odds you’ll have to check out the site during the game for the best prices.

Bayern Munich vs. PSV Eindhoven

The other standout fixture in the Champions League this week is Bayern Munich vs. PSV Eindhoven. Two veterans of the competition, the odds would suggest that Munich will come away with a comfortable win, but they certainly can’t take things for granted. PSV haven’t lost in five matches, and while those results have been mainly draws, Phillip Cocu’s side have shown they have a certain amount of resilience on the pitch.

In fact, when you look at Munich’s last five results there’s not much more to get excited about. A 3-0 win against Hertha back in September was then followed by a 1-0 win over Hamburger SV before a loss to Atletico Madrid. Despite a less than stellar string of performances, Munich are currently commanding odds of 2/9 at Ladbrokes while PSV are the 12/1 outsiders. However, if you’re looking for a value bet based on recent form, 11/2 on the draw is more than worth a look. Although Munich are undoubtedly the better side, nothing is ever guaranteed in the Champions League; especially when the opponents are as experienced as PSV.

Can Swansea City Deny the Gunners at Emirates Stadium?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

After finishing second last season in the Premier League to Leicester City, Arsenal fans will be looking for another strong season this term. They currently stand third in the league, and Wenger’s lads are only 2pts behind a Manchester City team that have kicked off the season like a house on fire.

The Emirates Stadium seems to be a challenging place to visit. The lesser teams struggle there, even though Liverpool did a seriously good job at pulling Arsenal’s teeth, when they scraped through with a 4-3 win. Swansea City is a team in crisis. They never really recovered after losing managers Brendan Rodgers and then Garry Monk, plus the Swans eventually decided not to appoint Ryan Giggs after dispensing with Francesco Guidolin.

Can Swansea deny The Gunners?

It is really tough to state a case for Swansea on Saturday, and new manager Bob Bradley is walking straight into a baptism of fire in this fixture. Swansea has only picked up 4pts all season and is currently fourth from bottom of the league on goal difference from West Ham.

It seems certain that this fixture will arouse the attention of all those punters that fancy having Arsenal as part of their accumulator. So where is the value? Most betting firms have Arsenal as short as 2/7 with both Stan James and Sky Bet offering those odds. Many people may even think that price represents value and will give Swansea no chance.

What Price the Swans?

BetVictor offers a best priced 12/1 on a Swansea City victory. That’s not a bad price considering that Southampton only lost 2-1 at The Emirates a short while ago. Arsenal can be notoriously inconsistent and a better wager could come from one of the other markets.

For example, do you fancy Arsenal to dominate possession? Do you also fancy Arsenal to be frustrated? If so then why not back the draw at 5/1? Once again BetVictor is the best price in that market as it stands.

Will Bradley get his tactics right?

There couldn’t be a stiffer test for US coach Bob Bradley to have in the Premier League for his opening game. Swansea will hardly touch the ball for long periods of the game. They are many peoples’ pick to be relegated this season. Turbulent seasons tend not to make for consistency, and this is what is required in order to stay in the league.

Added Incentives

Any negative result on Saturday could see Swansea drop into the bottom three. From that position, it is difficult to see them anywhere else but in the bottom six for the rest of the season. The key will be the first twenty minutes. If Arsenal scores quickly, then this result could become embarrassing for Swansea.

However, should Swansea get to half-time nil-nil, then they’re in with a chance. A big added incentive for Arsenal in this game is the chance to go top of the league. If Manchester City slips up at home to Everton, this is precisely what could happen.

If you think that Arsenal at home to Swansea is a home banker then place your bet. You may find it difficult this season to get a bigger gap between the home and away side than in this fixture. This is both in terms of league position and player confidence. However, Swansea City have absolutely nothing to lose and they may just cause a shock……just don’t count on it!

Arsenal v Swansea – Premiership Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Betcirca soccer fans were in profit on Sunday to the tune of 9 ½ points after we correctly forecast the Chelsea result and goals for Aguero in Manchester City’s mauling of QPR. Monday’s action comes from the Emirates Stadium where Arsene Wenger’s Gunners bid to draw level on points with City in the battle for second spot.

Arsenal play host to Swansea who are in excellent form following victories against Stoke and Newcastle. The Gunners start the evening three points behind City in the Premiership but with two games in hand.

Garry Monk has done a remarkable job at Swansea who are pressing the fading Tottenham and Southampton in a sideshow for sixth and seventh places. There is no doubt that they should put up a good show but they have lost four of their five away games against sides in the top six this season. However, their record against Arsenal is good with three wins and a draw in seven meetings. The Swans won here in 2012 and held the Gunners to a draw last season so there is some cause for optimism for the travelling fans.

They have compensated for the loss of Bony with goals from Ki Sung-yueng, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jonjo Shelvey but Arsenal are on the crest of a wave. Only their dour stalemate with Chelsea has prevented them from a winning run of nine consecutive matches, leading at half-time and full-time in the other eight. Wenger’s men are also keen to impress the boss and secure a place in the starting XI at Wembley for the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

Arsenal have only lost once in 34 home games and injuries to Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey are unlikely to halt their progress. Alexis Sanchez has now scored 16 league goals from 30 starts including four in his last three appearances and he looks the man to follow in the goal markets on Monday.

With only two goals conceded in their last seven home games, I’m going for a 2-0 win for the Gunners with Sanchez sending them on their way.

Arsenal 2 Swansea 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Alexis Sanchez to score first @17-4 Spreadex

Sanchez to score and Arsenal win @7-5 Paddy Power

Premiership Preview – April 26th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two big games in the Premiership on Sunday with Everton playing Man United before the big London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea. The title race cannot be decided but Chelsea will have one hand on the trophy if they can avoid defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

The action begins at Goodison Park where Everton will be hoping to continue their recent revival against a United team still smarting from their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Louis van Gaal felt that it was possibly United’s best performance of the season and that can only be taken as a compliment to Chelsea.

The Blues have a phenomenal recent record against the Gunners and Mourinho is yet to lose to a side managed by Wenger in twelve meetings. There is clearly no love lost between the pair, as illustrated by their minor skirmish on the touchline at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season. Arsenal are in far better form now and a win would give them a psychological boost as well as delay Title celebrations for the Blues.

Mourinho has managed to coax his side through some tricky matches in the absence of Diego Costa and they are definitely a weaker team without him. Olivier Giroud was used sparingly in last week’s FA Cup semi-final and this could be his chance to shine in a big London derby.

Manchester United’s progress has left them on the brink of securing a Champions League spot and that will have been the brief given to Van Gaal in the summer. They played well against Chelsea but lacked a cutting edge, something that the signings of Falcao and Di Maria was meant to provide. Even with those two players falling well short of expectations, they are still a force to be reckoned with and Juan Mata has been impressive in recent weeks.

Roberto Martinez has not had a great season at Everton but a recent rally has at least given them a respectable league position. They have managed clean sheets at home to Burnley, Southampton and Newcastle in recent weeks so will not be easy to break down. United can just edge this one with Mata worth considering in the goal scorer markets.

Man United to win @6-5 Bet365

Juan Mata to score at any time @4-1 Skybet

Everton 1 Man United 2 @9-1 Bet365

Man United to win by one goal @14-5 Ladbrokes

Arsenal to win by one goal @3-1 Ladbrokes

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 1 @19-2 BetVictor

Olivier Giroud to score at any time @9-4 BWin