Tag: Arsenal

Champions League Preview 25th February

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Arsene Wenger will be relishing the prospect of meeting his old club Monaco in their first leg Champions League last 16 tie. The two sides clash at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night , the first time that they have ever met in European competition.

Wenger led Monaco to the French league title in 1988 during a seven-year spell in charge. Silverware may have been hard to come by at Arsenal in recent years but they have a good chance of reaching the last eight in the Champions League and are still defending the FA Cup which ended their long trophy drought last season.

The Gunners have failed to reach the last eight since beating Porto in 2009/10 but they are in good form in the Premiership and have a stronger squad than in previous years. There is healthy competition for most places, particularly up front since the return to fitness of Giroud and Walcott. The form of Sanchez and Cazorla has been key to Arsenal’s recent form and they look to have enough fire power to take a first leg lead.

Monaco won Group C with the best defensive record in the competition, conceding only one goal. They have also been in good form domestically with a defeat against Guingamp their first in nine games. The wise bet here may be to go for the Gunners to win by a single goal.

The other Champions League tie is between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid. Leverkusen were knocked out comprehensively by PSG last year and have a poor record against Spanish opposition. They are currently only sixth in the Bundesliga and have been leaking goals in recent matches.

Spanish champions Atletico were beaten in the final by Real last season and have failed to keep pace with their rivals this season in La Liga. They did manage to beat them at home and away and are strong favourites to make it through to the last eight.

It will be interesting to see former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres back in action in this competition. All of his goals for the club have so far come in the Copa del Rey. His first spell with Atletico was back in 2004 to 2007 when the Champions League was just a pipedream.

Arsenal to win by 1 goal @9-4 Bet365

Atletico Madrid to win @31-20 BetVictor

Get Man Utd v Preston at 7/2 from 2/5 and make £191!

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We’re about to tell you how you could turn £10 into a minimal of £191 on tonights Manchester United game.

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£45 on Chelsea (to beat PSG) and Arsenal (to beat Monaco) for a clean sweep for the London clubs over the french challengers.

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FA Cup Fifth Round Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Betcirca football followers were 20 points up on Wednesday night’s Premiership games after we correctly forecast the score for the matches at Old Trafford and St Mary’s. Profits could easily have been doubled had Branislav Ivanovic broken the deadlock at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately he had one disallowed, blazed another over the bar and had a decent shot saved by Howard in the Everton goal.

The Premiership gives way to the FA Cup this weekend and the shock exit of Chelsea and Man City in the last round has left us with a rather bland set of fixtures. No doubt supporters of the sixteen remaining clubs would beg to differ so we’ll see if we can find some value bets for die-hard FA Cup enthusiasts.

The tie of the round is probably Crystal Palace versus Liverpool, Saturday’s late kick-off. The Reds survived by the skin of their teeth in the previous round against Bolton and struck late again in midweek against Spurs. That 3-2 victory has re-ignited their hopes of finishing in the top four so there must be danger of some squad rotation from Brendan Rodgers on Saturday.

If any Premiership team is going to be fully committed to the FA Cup you would expect them to be those in mid-table, not worried by relegation but too far down to be in contention for Europe. Crystal Palace fit the bill quite nicely and it may be worth taking Alan Pardew’s men to cause an upset.

The early kick-off sees West Brom host West Ham and I favour the home side to capitalise on the fact that the Hammers have endured two very tough matches in the past week. They were robbed of a victory in injury-time by Man United on Sunday but clung on with ten men against Southampton on Wednesday. They lost their goalkeeper to a red card and Andy Carroll picked up another knock so it could be a patched-up West Ham team that takes the field.

I don’t see Arsenal slipping up against Middlesbrough on Sunday and they can be backed to win comfortably and it should be a similar story for Man United at Preston on Monday. Van Gaal’s team selection is anybody’s guess so the goalscorer markets may be best avoided. It is difficult to predict the outcome of the game between managerless Aston Villa and rudderless Leicester while Stoke could struggle at Blackburn after their 4-1 home defeat by Man City.

Crystal Palace to beat Liverpool by one goal @9-2 Paddy Power

West Brom to beat West Ham @7-5 Bet365

Saido Berahino to score at any time @2-1 Betfair

Arsenal (-1.0 handicap) to beat Middlesbrough @6-5 Bet365

Man United (-1.0 handicap) to beat Preston @5-4 Bet365

Arsenal to pile the pressure on Pearson

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Premiership title race took a big swing in Chelsea’s direction at the weekend with Man City stumbling to a draw at home to Hull City. There is still plenty of time for further twists and turns with the top two in action again on Wednesday night.

Tuesday night sees five of the bottom six teams in action with two relegation battles and Leicester visiting Arsenal. The Foxes have been in the news in recent days for media speculation surrounding the future of coach Nigel Pearson.

Pearson was involved in an undignified scuffle with Crystal Palace midfield James McArthur in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat. Rumours circulated that he had been sacked and four hours passed before the club issued a denial. The bookmakers see it as no more than delaying the inevitable and are already betting on Pearson’s successor.

A trip to the Emirates is not ideal for a manager under fire, particularly with the Gunners keen to erase memories of their weekend defeat in the North London derby. Arsenal led in that match through Mesut Ozil but two goals from Harry Kane allowed Spurs to leapfrog their rivals in the chase for a Champions League spot. With Tottenham facing a tricky visit to Anfield on Tuesday, Arsenal could easily repair the damage with a comfortable home win.

Arsene Wenger felt that the loss of Alexis Sanchez to a hamstring injury prior to Saturday’s game was a big blow. His leading scorer is fit to return to action and it will be very surprising if he is not in the starting line-up. With the likes of Ozil and Walcott approaching peak form, Arsenal can win this to pile further pressure on Pearson.

Tottenham have performed better in the big games than they have done in previous seasons but are still prone to the odd slip-up. Their recent record against Liverpool is abysmal but they managed to stop Chelsea and Arsenal in their tracks. The match is being billed as the clash between Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane but it is more likely to be contested in midfield. Liverpool lacked creativity against Everton in the bore draw at Goodison Park and could face another stalemate here.

The two relegation battles are difficult to call, particularly in the light of fine performances from Aston Villa and Hull at the weekend. Villa emerged with credit despite losing at home to Chelsea and ended their long wait for a goal just minutes short of eleven hours. Hull were desperately unlucky not to win at the Etihad and they will also be encouraged. A draw looks the most likely outcome.

QPR’s away form is the stuff of legends with no points in twelve matches. Sunderland are the hosts this time and Gus Poyet’s team could take a giant step towards safety with three points here. The signing of Jermain Defoe is looking like a good piece of business and the Black Cats are taken to edge it by a single goal.

Sunderland to win by a single goal @13-5 BetVictor

Jermain Defoe to score at any time @7-5 Paddy Power

Alexis Sanchez to score and Arsenal win @5-4 Ladbrokes

Arsenal 3 Leicester 0 @8-1 Bet365

Hull v Aston Villa DRAW @9-4 Bet365

Liverpool v Tottenham DRAW @29-10 Bet365

Premiership Preview February 7th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Last weekend’s top of the table Premiership clash between Chelsea and Man City proved something of a damp squib. The absence of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa sowed the seeds of doubt in the mind of Jose Mourinho and he elected to play for a draw. The Blues went ahead through Loic Remy but never threatened once City had drawn level, seemingly content to protect their five-point lead at the top.

Costa is serving the second of his three-match ban at Villa Park tomorrow when the Blues face Aston Villa. The home side were put to the sword by Arsenal last week and will need to pick themselves up quickly if they are to avoid further embarrassment. The good news for Chelsea fans is that Fabregas returns and Chelsea should win relatively comfortably.

Rivals Man City are at home to another struggling side in Hull City. The visitors have never won at the Etihad and have not scored in 400 minutes of football. City were poor against Arsenal recently but will take heart from their draw at Stamford Bridge and have a fully fit squad. It would be no surprise to seem them resume normal service with Aguero and Dzeko back on the scoresheet.

Assuming there are no dramas at the Chelsea and City games, it is the two big derby games that will get most of the media attention. Steven Gerrard plays his final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park against an Everton side that tasted victory for the first time this year on Saturday. An early goal from Romelu Lukaku was enough to beat Crystal Palace and the Toffees will be looking to build on that against their old rivals.

Despite a good run, Liverpool are still not entirely convincing and came perilously close to being knocked out of the FA Cup by an injury-hit Bolton in midweek. Everton will be up for this one and a draw could be the value bet.

The early kick-off is the North London derby between Spurs and Arsenal. The Gunners have a much stronger squad than they did at the season with several long-term injuries having returned to action. Arsene Wenger’s biggest problem will be team selection and he could probably afford to leave out Sanchez even if he passes a late test. This game finished 3-3 last year and it would be no surprise to see another goal feast here. Arsenal just look the stronger side and can grab three vital points in the battle for a Champions League place.

Arsenal to beat Tottenham @13-10 Bet365

Chelsea (-1.0 handicap) to beat Aston Villa @11-10 William Hill

Man City (-2.0 handicap) to beat Hull City @6-4 Paddy Power

Everton v Liverpool DRAW @5-2 Stan James

FA Cup Fourth Round Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The FA Cup Fourth Round draw did not exactly provide us with a feast of big matches and it is difficult to see where, if any, the major shocks will be.

Chelsea and Man City both have relatively easy home matches against Bradford City and Middlesbrough respectively. The Blues have the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final with Liverpool on Tuesday night and then Man City in the Premiership on Sunday. Fortunately for Mourinho, he has a fully-fit squad and afford the luxury of some squad rotation.

Bradford are priced at 28-1 but a more likely outcome is a repeat of Chelsea’s 3-0 third round victory over Watford. There has been speculation that the Blues were willing to part with Andre Schurrle but he is in the line-up on Saturday and can score in a comfortable home win.

City had an unusual prep for the home tie with Middlesbrough by playing in Dubai. They are likely to field a strong enough team to see off Boro with Sergio Aguero looking to recover his goal scoring form. Predicting the line-up is almost as difficult as forecasting the result but I’d expect Aguero to score in another home win for the champions.

There are two all-Premiership games with Southampton at home to Crystal Palace and Tottenham facing Leicester. Spurs were poor against Sheffield United on Wednesday and grateful to escape with a 1-0 advantage to take to the second leg. Leicester have been battling away but you have to wonder about the merits of a Cup run whilst they struggle to avoid relegation.

Crystal Palace seem to have been revitalised by the arrival of Alan Pardew and their clash with Southampton is a tricky one. The Saints needed a replay to get past Ipswich in round 3 and they could face a similar scenario here. The late kick-off sees Liverpool host Bolton, another side buoyed by a new coach in the shape of Neil Lennon. The former Celtic boss has only lost one in twelve since joining the Trotters but Liverpool may just edge this one.

Sunday should see Arsenal and West Ham go through safely, at Brighton and Bristol City respectively. Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil could make their return for the Gunners as Arsene Wenger’s squad gradually approaches full fitness. Arsenal could be worth a bet on the handicap in this one while the Hammers deserve to go further in the competition after their epic battle with Everton.

Andre Schurrle scores and Chelsea win @5-4 Paddy Power

Sergio Aguero scores and Man City win @8-11 Ladbrokes

Southampton v Crystal Palace DRAW @3-1 Bet365

Tottenham to win by one goal @11-4 Sky Bet

Liverpool to win by one goal @3-1 Ladbrokes

West Ham to beat Bristol City @21-20 BetVictor

Arsenal (-1.0 handicap) to win @7-5 Paddy Power