FOOTBALL BETTING: PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW:
Betrescue’s Chief Sports Writer Chris Hutcheon takes his weekly look at all the major Premier League action in England.
Liverpool went to Old Trafford last season and won 4-1 but the fact that a repeat of that scoreline is priced by 888Sport at 250/1 this time around says everything about how far apart these two teams are.
Manchester United of course, are involved in a three-way tussle for the title while Rafa Benitez’s side, by contrast, face a huge battle just to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League, having lost nine matches so far.
The Reds’ away form is their main problem, they’ve won just four of their 15 matches on the road and subsequently, despite the fact that they’ll undoubtedly raise their game against one of their fierce rivals, they offer little appeal at 9/2 with 888Sport.
Inevitably given the magnitude of the game, there are bound to be plenty of punters willing to tackle Victor Chandler’s 13/5 chalked against the draw, nevertheless, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have won 13 out of 15 at home, conceding just eight goals in the process and at 8/11 (bet365) they’re worthy favourites.
Defensively sound now that Ferdinand and Vidic have been reunited in the heart of their rearguard, the champions also catch the eye at 6/4 with Partybets, to win without conceding and with that in mind, Betdaq’s 6/1 for them to bag the only goal won’t be without support.
However, since they were beaten 1-0 at home by Villa, United have won all seven Premiership games at Old Trafford, scoring an unbelievable 26 goals without reply and so they may be able to register a more comfortable triumph in this one.
They’re a generous 19/10 courtesy of Jaxx.com to prevail by at least two clear goals and, more specifically Paddy Power quote odds of 13/2 for Fergie’s troops to register a 2-0 triumph.
Wayne Rooney meanwhile, can’t stop scoring and as an Evertonian at heart, he’ll be desperate to add to his tally against Liverpool; he’s 3/1 (William Hill) to break the deadlock and 4/5 with Stan James to notch at any stage.
At Ewood Park, Chelsea can keep pace with United by overcoming Blackburn; a result rated by Betfred at 4/9 but as Rovers are relatively strong on home soil, they can make life difficult for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who may have to settle for a victory by a one-goal margin (5/2, bet365).
Arsenal can complete a treble for the top three, an accumulator that would pay at 2/1 with bet365; the Gunners a home banker at 2/9 (Ladbrokes).
Also set to pick up three points on their own patch are Aston Villa, who Totesport quote at 2/5 to send Wolves home empty-handed but Martin O’Neill’s side may be the only side in the battle for fourth place, to collect a maximum haul because Manchester City and Tottenham both appeal at 23/10, with Stan James and Paddy Power respectively, to only manage draws at Fulham and Stoke.
At the bottom, Portsmouth are 6/5 (Betdaq) to get the better of Hull and Jaxx.com mark 4/5 against a Wigan victory against Burnley at the DW Stadium. Everton’s solid run at Goodison Park looks set to continue meanwhile, they’re 8/15 with Betfred to defeat Bolton and finally 888Sport offer 5/4 for a Sunderland triumph against Birmingham.
To compare all the weekend’s match odds, click here
