English Premier
2008-05-11 - Wigan Athletic vs Manchester Utd
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
England, Premier League
Sunday 11th May 2008 - KO 15:00
So the title race does come down to the final round of the season and both title chasing sides are big favourites to win their final game.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Wigan secured their safety last week with a very good 2-0 win at 6th placed Aston Villa and they're unbeaten in their last seven games at the JJB Stadium (4 wins and 3 draws) so you might think that there is a chance of an upset.
But the conspiracy thinking seems to be surfacing here - as the home side are quoted at huge prices to win or draw, with prices as high as 16.00+, and 6.50+ respectively.
Of course Wigan are managed by Manchester United old boy Steve Bruce, and in the last week there have been all sorts of "generous" transfer deals being discussed between the two clubs.
Of course last weekend we had West Ham boss Alan Curbishley praising United before the kickoff as worthy champions - and then having his team succumb meekly - going down 0-3 in about 25 minutes.
IF it happened in Italy then punters would be shouting "fix".
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Red Devils are moving towards a possible "double" with a Champions League final against Chelsea to look forward to as well - but recent league form has been patchy at best.
A pair of draws at Middlesbrough (2-2) and Blackburn Rovers (1-1) opened the door, and Chelsea took full advantage with a 2-1 win at Stamdford Bridge.
While United's squad strength is second-to-none in England, the results underlined the importance of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to United, as manager Alex Ferguson choose to rest these two for European competition.
There will be none of that here, with the final still 10 days away we should see the strongest possible line-up with Ronaldo and Vidic invovled - although I suspect that Rooney's injury is more severe that we are being led to beleive and he will only be on the bench.
United's away record is just 9-5-4 this season in the Permier League - suggesting that they fail to win 50% of their road fixtures - but there will be total focus on this match - with no room for mistakes.
HEAD TO HEAD
United have an outstanding league record against Wigan in the recent past winning 4-0, 3-1 and 4-0 at Old Trafford, and 2-1 and 3-1 here at the JJB Stadium.
THE VERDICT
It does look like a United win here - but ignoring the "fix" theories I can find little use for the 1.25 price quoted on an away win.
Instead I'm more tempted to take Ronaldo to score anytime, or even an over 2.5 goals bet, as they're both paying out at around 1.60 to 1.70.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Wigan Athletic 1-2 Manchester United
