EPL Sunday Betting Preview
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur – Latest Odds HERE.
Etihad Stadium
Sunday 22nd January 2012.
Last season’s two clashes between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur were effectively play-offs to clinch fourth place and the Champions League berth that goes with it.
Fast forward a year and now the two clubs, along with Manchester United, are embroiled in a serious tussle not to scrape into Europe, but to take out the title itself.
And it’s Spurs who come into the Etihad Stadium clash with the formbook on their side.
They may be five points adrift of City, but they have lost just once in the league since Sunday’s opponents hammered them 5-1 at White Hart Lane back in August, while Roberto Mancini’s side have won only two of their last six games in all competitions.
Confidence is oozing out of the North Londoners at the moment despite last week’s slightly disappointing home draw with Wolves and both Scott Parker and Ledley King have confirmed publicly this week that the Spurs players genuinely believe that they are in with a shout of the title.
The spectre of boss Harry Redknapp’s impending court case does of course hang over the club, but the man himself seems happy to get on with business as usual and he could be writing out another cheque over the next few weeks if press reports linking Blackburn defender Christopher Samba with a move to the Lane prove to be accurate.
Snapping up the Congolese international would make perfect sense for the side from the capital given that William Gallas is still sidelined, Ledley King’s fitness is a week-by-week proposition and neither Michael Dawson nor Younes Kaboul are exactly strangers to the treatment room either.
Redknapp seems likely to stick with the side that started against Wolves for the trip north, meaning another frustrating afternoon on the bench for Jermaine Defoe who has played down speculation that he is angling for a move away from the club.
City boss Mancini, meanwhile, could be set to face another testing few weeks with his side’s stuttering form reportedly rekindling dressing-room tensions that were put on the back burner when the men in blue were sweeping all before them.
To compound the Italian’s problems, he also some major selection headaches to deal with as the Toure brothers remain away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations, Vincent Kompany is still suspended after seeing red in the FA Cup tie against Manchester United and both Micah Richards and Mario Balotelli will have to undergo late tests to prove their fitness ahead of Sunday’s game.
Little wonder then that he has been even more animated than normal on the bench during the last couple of games, prompting the FA to issue him with a warning about brandishing imaginary cards as and when he feels referees should be booking or sending opponents off.
Solving the Carlos Tevez saga would probably take a weight off Mancini’s mind and it does now look as though the sulky striker will be heading for Inter Milan before the end of the month.
Spurs can take heart from their recent record at City which has seen them lose only three of the last thirteen meetings in the north-west and although the home side will almost certainly start as warm favourites, there could be value to be had in backing Redknapp’s in-form side to bag a win that would throw the title race wide open.
Prediction: Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal v Manchester United – Latest Odds HERE.
Emirates Stadium
Sunday 22nd January 2012.
If Spurs are keen to avenge their 5-1 defeat against Manchester City earlier in the campaign, Arsenal must surely be chomping at the bit to make amends for the utter humiliation of their 8-2 shellacking at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford back in August.
The Gunners will have that opportunity on Sunday when the Red Devils visit the Emirates, but they will have to show a vast improvement on last week’s display at Swansea if they are to regain some pride.
That 3-2 defeat at the Liberty Stadium means Arsene Wenger’s side have now managed just two wins in their last six league games and trail fourth-placed Chelsea by four points.
In the Frenchman’s defence, a string of first-teamers are currently ruled out through injury including Abou Diaby, Francis Coquelin, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Bacary Sagna, Santos and Jack Wilshere, but crucially, Mikel Arteta could recover from a calf strain in time to face United and Thomas Vermaelen may also shake off his calf problem and come into the selection equation for Sunday.
The Spaniard and the Belgian are among the Gunners’ more consistent performers and their return would provide a massive boost for a side whose confidence has looked very brittle indeed in recent weeks.
As for the visitors, they are not travelling all that well at the moment either, with the FA Cup triumph against Manchester City and the regulation league win over Bolton not quite managing to paper over the cracks that have appeared at Old Trafford.
The return of Paul Scholes has certainly added some much-needed drive and creativity to the midfield, but the veteran former England man will have to be used sparingly over the coming weeks and United must hope that Tom Cleverley can return from injury sooner rather than later and start to fulfil his massive potential.
Seeing his charges concede eight goals in their last four games in all competitions is something that will have outraged boss Sir Alex Ferguson and he will be hoping that England duo Phil Jones and Chris Smalling will both be fit enough for inclusion this week having been out of action since the City Cup tie.
Off the field, meanwhile, the reigning champions have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace’s highly-rated young midfielder Wilfried Zaha and Dimitar Berbatov’s days at Old Trafford seem to be coming to an end as he is currently involved in transfer talks with Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen.
The last five clashes between the two sides at the Emirates have produced an even split of two home wins, two away wins and a draw and Sunday’s clash is likely to be similarly nip and tuck.
Defeat for either side would have massive implications for the remainder of their respective seasons, so there’s a decent chance that they might err on the side of caution and battle out a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United
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