Arsenal in the mood to inflict more
discomfort on Liverpool
The time has come for punters who took my
advice on Arsenal at the start of the season to decide whether to cash in.
Arsenal were a fantastic trading opportunity in the outright Premier League
market on the betting exchanges - available at 11.5 (10.5-1) on Betfair (and
12-1 with the traditional bookmakers) to win the title. My tip was to back
Arsène Wenger's team with a view to laying the bet off before they took
on Liverpool and then Manchester United in successive weeks.
The first
of those fixtures is on Sunday so punters must decide whether to stick or twist
as they are holding an ante-post voucher with double-figures odds about Arsenal
winning the title or an exchange account that is showing a potential profit. My
advice would be to wait until after this weekend at least.
The north Londoners are 9-4 (Bet Direct
and Paddy Power) to win the league (and can be laid at 3.8, that is 14-5 in
fractions, on Betfair) and are the form team. They recorded a 12th successive
win, against Slavia Prague, on Tuesday and Sky Bet are offering 10-1 they break
their record of 14 consecutive victories set 20 years ago. For that bet to be
successful, Arsenal will have to win on Sunday then defeat Sheffield United
next Wednesday in the Carling Cup and United a week tomorrow. Rafael
Benítez's team, having been cut to as short as 15-8 with some firms
after taking 10 points from their first four Premier League games, are out to
6-1 (Boyle Sports and VC Bet) to win the title.
Arsenal are 2-1
(general) to win at Anfield, which is a tempting price, Liverpool are 6-4
(Bet365) with the draw 9-4 (general). A home win would not appeal at even
double the price at the moment, as Liverpool are struggling in front of the Kop
this season. Just one domestic win at Anfield coupled with a 1-0 reverse to
Marseille in the Champions League marks the Merseysiders as a team not to trust
at short odds on their own patch.
So what is the best way to back
against them? Well, you could lay them on the exchanges - Liverpool were
trading at around 2.78 (9-5 approximately) to lay at lunchtime yesterday - but
a better, and potentially more profitable, option might be to back Arsenal in
the "draw no bet" market at 11-10 (Blue Square and Boyle Sports). Should
Arsenal win, you more than double your stake; if the match ends all square, you
get your money back.
Liverpool were pushed out to 25-1 (general) to win
the Champions League, following their 2-1 reverse at Besiktas on Wednesday and
1-2 (Ladbrokes) to fail to make the knockout stages (Arsenal are 9...#8209;1
best price with Betfred in the outright market). The pressure is mounting on
Benítez (Ladbrokes quote 20-1 that he will be the next Premier League
manager to leave) and, if Fernando Torres does not recover from injury, the
Spaniard's team will be without their most effective striker. With that in
mind, it may pay to back Arsenal, who have not conceded a goal in seven of
their last eight fixtures, to keep a clean sheet at 23-10 (Paddy Power).
Theo Walcott might be grabbing the headlines for Arsenal (the former
Southampton forward is 5-2 with Bet365 to be named in the England squad to face
Croatia next month), and he could retain his place in the starting line-up at
Anfield - his pace would certainly worry the ponderous Liverpool central
defensive pair of Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher. Walcott is a 12-1 shot to
score first but a better option might be Alexander Hleb.
The
Belarussian is in fantastic form at the moment and, with Robin van Persie
injured and Eduardo da Silva short on Premier League experience, Hleb could
play as a second striker to Emmanuel Adebayor on Merseyside. Having already
scored three times this season (which is as many as he did in the whole of last
season), he looks a cracking each-way punt at 16-1 to get the opener. Hleb can
be backed at 11-2 (Sky Bet) to score at any time.
TIP: Hleb can be backed at 11-2 (Sky Bet) to score
at any time
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