ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - ARSENAL V WOLVES

English Premier

2010-04-03 - Arsenal vs Wolves

A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted

Arsenal v Wolverhampton
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday 3rd April 2010 - Kickoff 3pm

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With the Champions League tie still level, Arsenal have everything to play for when the teams meet in midweek. But with the injuries now claiming the scalps of some of our most influential players, how will the team cope?

Arsenal

The Gunners finally dropped points in the Premiership after 6 consecutive wins. They faced a tough Birmingham team at St. Andrews, where none of the top 4 had won, and finally took the lead through a fantastic Samir Nasri strike from outside the box.

Sadly, with less than a minute to play, a Song clearance deflected off the face of Kevin Phillips and despite Almunia getting a hand to it, looped up and spun in for the equaliser. 2 points very much dropped, and if winning the rest of the games wasn't already required, this game with Wolves is a win or forget about it situation.

Midweek saw Arsenal play Barcelona in a game where they were bossed around for the first 70 minutes and were being outshot 10 to 1! Somehow, through excellent defending and goalkeeping, not to mention luck, the game was level at the break. Almunia was to blame for coming way off his line to allow the first goal, which was more cheap than the second, both from Ibrahimovic.

With the score at 2-0, Arsenal showed why they are a great team to bet on. As a punter, we NEED a team to be fighting right till the death. With all the late goals Arsenal are now famous for, they did it again. Despite losing Arshavin, Gallas and even Fabregas to season ending injuries, Walcott and Bendtner fought on, resulting in a 2-2 final score. This means the team has tremendous strength of character and the desire to fight with whatever broken tools they have left.

Those 3 men will be missed on Saturday, but Campbell and Vermaelen are still fit, as is Silvestre and Song. With Almunia behind, I have enough confidence that they will do well against Wolves.

The front line, although weakened, will cope as they have Nasri, Bendtner, Eduardo, Walcott and Rosicky who can all score. With Manchester United playing Chelsea, the top two will drop points between them so Arsenal will no doubt fight even harder after their last 2 results.

Wolverhampton

Mick McCarthy's team have done amazingly this season, picking their battles and winning them, with excellent victories and assorted results against stronger opposition. The team now lie 14th, unbeaten in their last 4.

Wolves have actually scored more goals away from home, playing better when not under the pressure of having so many home fans watching. The underdog role clearly suits this team, and they have capitalised on it on many occasions this season.

At 16/1, I wouldn't want to talk any Wolves fans of having a cheeky punt on them, considering the injuries suffered by Arsenal. But this game is being played at the Emirates, so IF there was to be an upset, the draw is probably the only way forward.

Burnley, West Ham and Aston Villa have all managed to score against Wolves, whose defence has not really kept up with their forwards, who have notched 7 in their last 3 away games. Against a determined Arsenal side brimming with talent up front, I would be surprised if they kept the Londoners to even just the solitary goal.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

Take Arsenal to win @ 1.25 - Main Bet
(Use in accumulators due to small odds instead of lumping on)

Try Handicap Bet with Wolves +1 - Result: TIE @ 3.75 (Bet365)

Try Walcott to score @ 3.00 (Bet365)