Football League Preview 17th Dec

If the last time these two sides met is anything to go by then we are in for a real treat at the Madjeski as Reading play host to Arsenal in the Monday night Football game.

The last time these sides met was in the League Cup where Arsenal won 7-5 after extra time with the game ending 4-4 after 90 minutes. BetVictor and BWin make the 4-4 draw a 250/1 chance. Fans of either side will just be happy with three points no matter the scoreline as both teams are really struggling at the moment.

Reading enter the game on the back of a five game losing streak and with QPR winning on Saturday they now sit bottom of the Premier League. Arsenal arrive here on the back of a disappointing League Cup exit to Bradford in midweek. The Gunners have now gone six games without a win away from home in all competitions and it is 5/7 (pinnacle) that they win here, the draw (the result in four of the last five Arsenal away games) is 37/12 (pinnacle) and a Reading victory is win 9/2 (Totesport/betfred/Stan James). If pushed I would lean towards an Arsenal victory as Reading have been poor in recent weeks and at the Stadium of Light in midweek made a not so good Sunderland side look world beaters. At these odds though I’ll be looking at other markets.

Theo Walcott netted a hat-trick when these two sides met in the League Cup and he is 7/1 (bet365/Stan James) to grab the opener here and 2/1 (Stan James) to score anytime. Oliver Giroud is the 5/1 favourite (bet365/Stan James/Coral) while Lukas Podolski is 11/2 (general). Those looking for a Reading scorer will see that Adam Le Fondre is 19/2 (BWin) while Pavel Pogrebnyak is the same price (also with BWin). The best bet for me in this game is on Reading defender Sean Morrison to score first at 33/1 (paddy Power/Stan James). Morrison has grabbed two in the last four games and with Arsenal a mess at the back the Royals will look to set-pieces. Morrison is also 11/1 (paddy Power) in the anytime market.

This also seems the perfect place to try and point you in the direction of a couple of value antepost bets in the Premier League. Tottenham are 5/4 (bet365/BetVictor) to finish in the top four despite being on the same point as Chelsea. Everton and Arsenal are expected to be the nearest rivals however with Gareth Bale set to return soon, Scott Parker coming off the bench against Swansea, Tottenham could be set to improve as the season goes on. In addition I would expect them to back Villas-Boas in the transfer window in January. Not only could they finish fourth the way Chelsea are playing under Rafa Benitez it would not be a shock to see them finish third. One more bet to consider is Aston Villa to finish in the top ten at 6/1 with BetVictor. Paul Lambert seems to have his team well organised and the win at Liverpool at the weekend showed the team were coming together. In Christian Benteke they have a forward in real form and he spearheads a young side that can only develop. With question marks over a number of teams above them and just five points seperating them from the top ten this looks a great bet.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Tottenham to finish in the top four, 5/4 (bet365/BetVictor)
SILVER: Aston Villa to finish top ten, 6/1 (BetVictor)
BRONZE: Sean Morrison to score v Arsenal, 33/1 First (paddy power/Stan James), 12/1 (paddy power) anytime.

Go To bet365

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07/01/2013     © Frixo 2024