English Premier
2011-01-01 - Birmingham City vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday, January 1st, 2011 - Kickoff 5:30PM GMT
BIRMINGHAM CITY
Birmingham were in the relegation zone when they played league leaders Manchester United earlier this week but you would not have know it from watching them play. City frustrated their opponents for 90 minutes and earned themselves a draw with a late equaliser from Lee Bowyer. It was their 3rd draw in their last 4 outings.
Birminghams defensive, negative style of football might grate a few, but it kept them up last year, indeed saw them finish in the top half of the table.
It's tough this year, and despite the results they are still 16th, far from safe, but they have had some excellent results, with the 1-0 win over champions Chelsea arguably the biggest scalp. They've only won 3 games all season, in case you're wondering, and yes, all of them have come at home.
There is talk Alex Hleb might be able to make an appearance against his former side in this one, but it's not a sure thing. Birmingham will be lucky to score against Arsenal, if you ask me. And their best chance will be from a set piece, because that is Arsenal's weakness this season.
ARSENAL
What a rollercoaster journey it is with Arsenal, first the highs of beating, nay, thumping Chelsea 3-1 for the 1st win over the champs in 5 meetings and then giving away yet another 3 points having fought back from a goal down. I'm glad 2010 is behind us, because from here on it'll be early goals followed by 2nd half annihilations ...
Arsenal come into this lying 3rd in the Premier League, behind Manchester City who have played more games and Manchester United, who are still, somehow, at the top of the table despite being more rubbish than they've ever been in the history of the Premier League.
Against Wigan, Arsenal fell behind following a penalty that should not have been given, but roared back via substitutes Arshavin and Bendtner. They should have been awarded a penalty to win it after Wigan had equalised via a Squillaci own goal but it was wrongly not awarded. Still, the truth is Arsenal let this one slip away and should not have been in a position to need the ref to give them that last minute chance.
That last game was played with a team consisting of 8 changes from the one that bummed Chelsea 2 days prior. Having suffered the setback and had a chance to rest, I expect the changes to be made again with the likes of Chamakh, Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri all returning to the starting line-up. Vermaelen will be missing, again, from the defence, while Fabianski will continue in goal.
BETTING VERDICT
These two have already played each other this season, at the Emirates. Birmingham jumped out to a lead before Arsenal came back for a 2-1 win.
While many might expect Birmingham to take a point as revenge in this one, especially considering the results these two had in their last matches, I do believe Arsenal will somehow find a way to win this one.
The price is certainly not good value by any means, so I will suggest Arsenal -1 as the main bet, and if that is a push then the Arsenal win will be the settling bet.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal to win
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Arsenal to win @ 1.70 (Pinnacle)
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take Arsenal -1 AH @ 2.20 (Bet365) (main bet)
