EPL Betting Preview – 14/15 January
Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers – Latest Odds.
Old Trafford
Saturday 14th January 2012.
It’s been a mixed week for Manchester United, with the delight of edging out neighbours City in the FA Cup tempered by the ongoing speculation regarding Wayne Rooney’s future at Old Trafford.
The England man has reportedly again issued the club with an ultimatum concerning the signing of quality reinforcements, exactly as he did a year ago and it appears that the patience of boss Sir Alex Ferguson is wearing thin.
Rooney did at least return to the side last weekend and very pointedly kissed the club badge after converting a penalty rebound, but his relationship with Fergie appears to have sailed into stormy waters yet again and that is not good news for a Red Devils side that still looks weak in key areas.
Frank Lampard is the latest player to be linked with a move to Old Trafford and while some may scoff at the notion of the Chelsea stalwart exchanging blue for red, it seems no less likely than Paul Scholes coming out of retirement and being thrust straight into first team action as he was last weekend.
United certainly need a world class creator in midfield and have been linked with Newcastle revelation Yohan Cabaye as well as Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder, yet it seems Ferguson is either unwilling or unable to finance such a move and may well leave Rooney and the majority of the club’s fans frustrated by keeping his wallet closed during January.
Next on the agenda for the reigning champions is a home clash with local rivals Bolton Wanderers which, on paper at least, provides them with a perfect opportunity to keep up the pressure on leaders City whom they currently trail by three points.
United have won thirteen of the last fourteen games between the two sides, including a 5-0 victory at the Reebok Stadium back in September and have lost just twice at home to the Trotters since 1980.
In terms of early team news, the hosts are not expected to welcome any of their walking wounded back into the squad, although Fabio da Silva and Tom Cleverley should both be back in action before the end of the month.
As for Bolton, they continue to languish in the relegation zone along with Lancashire rivals Blackburn and Wigan despite having been tipped by many as potential top ten finishers before the season got underway.
Curiously enough, they have managed a respectable four wins on the road, but at home they have earned a pitiful return of just four points from ten games conceding a division-worst 24 goals in the process.
It is a testament to Owen Coyle’s status within the game that he has not come under anywhere near the same kind of pressure exerted upon his Blackburn counterpart Steve Kean, but the former Irish international is undoubtedly feeling the heat and desperately needs his side to start winning games in a hurry if he is to avoid becoming the next Premier League managerial casualty.
The Trotters are expected to be without key defender Gary Cahill on Saturday as he continues to thrash out the details of his proposed move to Chelsea, meaning David Wheater is likely to be handed another chance to stake his claim as the England man’s natural successor and first-choice ‘keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen is also a major doubt with a knee injury.
Long-term absentee Stuart Holden, meanwhile, remains unavailable, but Ricardo Gardner could come back into contention as he has all but recovered from a knee problem.
Enigmatic midfielder Chris Eagles will be keen to impress against the club where he began his professional career and another player worth keeping an eye on is England Under-21 international Fabrice Muamba who will make his considerable presence felt in the midfield engine room.
United may have stumbled several times in the league recently, but it’s hard to see them doing so again on Saturday.
And while Bolton’s recent away win at Everton will offer the travelling fans a glimmer of hope, the reality is they are likely to be making the short journey home reflecting upon yet another defeat.
Prediction: Manchester United 3-0 Bolton Wanderers
Swansea City v Arsenal – Latest Odds.
Liberty Stadium
Sunday 15th January 2012.
Has Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice secretly retrieved his boots from the cupboard and dusted them down just in case?
Could the 62-year-old become the latest old Gunners star to make a playing return for the club?
Well perhaps not, but with Thierry Henry following in the footsteps of Jens Lehmann and Sol Campbell by becoming the third fans’ favourite to unexpectedly resume first-team duties at the Emirates in recent times, the Northern Irishman could be forgiven for getting his hopes up.
The former France international made an immediate impression by scoring the winner against Leeds in the FA Cup on Monday after coming off the bench and it will be interesting to see if he gets the nod to start, or is again used as an impact substitute when the Gunners tackle Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
If press reports are to be believed, meanwhile, Henry may soon be joined in North London by fellow-countryman Eric Abidal who has been strongly linked with a move from Barcelona.
Arsenal have of course lost several full-backs to injury over the course of the season and are consequently said to be keen to land the man with 60 French caps and a host of domestic and European honours to his name.
As far as the trip to South Wales is concerned, Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho will again miss out due to their ongoing commitments in the African Cup of Nations and the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Francis Coquelin, Abou Diaby and Lukasz Fabianski are all regarded as major injury doubts.
Swansea, meanwhile, are ticking along rather nicely in 12th place and given that they have lost just once at home this term and were unfortunate not to pick up at least a point from their visit to the Emirates back in September, will be quietly confident of giving the Gunners a rough ride on Sunday.
Boss Brendan Rodgers has been pretty active since the transfer window reopened, drafting in midfield duo Gylfi Sigurdsson and Rory Donnelly despite stiff competition from a host of other top flight clubs and the Ulsterman has also used his Chelsea connections to snap up highly-rated youngster Josh McEachran on loan.
And there may be yet more new arrivals at the Liberty over the next couple of weeks, with Bristol City hot-shot Nicky Maynard said to be considering making the short trip across the Severn Bridge for a fee of around $5.5 million.
Given the relative lack of squad depth at his disposal even with the new signings on board, Rodgers will be relieved that long-term injury victims Ferrie Bodde and Alan Tate are the only senior players definitely unavailable to him this weekend, although he may be concerned by press reports linking his first-choice left-back Neil Taylor with a move to Sunday’s opponents.
The Gunners have lost on two of their five trips to Swansea, with both of those defeats coming at the old Vetch Field rather than the new Liberty Stadium and the North Londoners have not fared too well on their travels more recently either, losing three of their last four away from the Emirates in all competitions.
With both sides known for their slick, short passing style, the purists should enjoy this one and don’t be too surprised if the Swans produce a repeat of their fine performance against Spurs a fortnight ago and claim a valuable point.
Prediction: Swansea City 1-1 Arsenal
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