English Premier
2009-04-25 - Everton vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
Football: England, Premier League
Saturday, 25th April 2009 - Kickoff 15:00
Everton (6th - Home Rec : 7-5-4 27:17)
Everton's home form has been first class after a slow start, with five wins from the last six at Goodison Park in the league, the exception being a 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
And with a semi-final success against Manchester United in the FA Cup (albeit on penalties after a 0-0 scoreline) and a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in midweek confidence must be booming with the Toffees.
The only negative for Everton might be the forced absence of on-loan striker Jo, who will not play against City as they own his contract, but that is offset by the return of Belgian Marouane Fellaini who was rested against Chelsea.
Manchester City (10th - Away Rec : 1-5-10 15:27)
Manchester City's away record is awful, with just one goal in six road games and five defeats, but as is typical with City the one game that was drawn was possibly the toughest test - away at Anfield.
City have been leaking goals in recent weeks and have conceded 11 goal in the last four games, something that they can ill afford against an Everton team that just are not conceding goals.
City have been a real yo-yo side in the last three months, alternating between home wins and away losses, and with just one draw in the last 12 league games they've been the punters friend in terms of predicting backable results.
The Betting Verdict
This one looks cut and dried, with a home side in good form facing a visiting team that just does not seem to fancy playing away from home.
The one "knock" might be that Everton are tired after a string of games just three days apart, and that could be reflected in the price on a home win of 10/11 (1.91) which looks big to me considering the stats.
I have Everton rated a goal and a half better than City given the venue and heavily favoured to win - so I'll be backing the Toffees at this price.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Everton 2-0 Manchester City
