City look good things to continue impressive home record

No doubt about the big game of the weekend and that is the battle at the Etihad which sees league leaders Arsenal away to fourth placed Man City on Saturrday lunchtime (12:45, BT).

The home side have won their last seven Premier League games in front of their own fans and will be full of confidence after a midweek victory over Bayern Munich and you can back Man City to take all three points at odds of 17/20 (BETVICTOR). Arsenal though can take heart from a record that has seen them win ten of their last 12 away games in the Premier League and you can back the Gunners at 18/5 (sportingbet) while the draw is 14/5 (BETVICTOR/STAN JAMES).

I prefer Man City as their home form has been impressive against all comers and they have a remarkable 44 goals from 11 games in all competitions at the Etihad this season. Arsenal suffered a defeat to Napoli in midweek and after a tough game against Everton last weekend could be running on empty. Take Man City then for all three points at decent odds of 17/20.

Sergio Aguero is the man for goals for Man City this season with 12 so far and the Argentina forward is 9/2 (BETVICTOR/ladbrokes/CORAL) to grab the opener while Alvaro Negredo is a 11/2 (GENERAL) chance. Those looking for Gunners players can get Olivier Giroud at 8/1 (bet365/SKYBET/BETVICTOR) and Aaron Ramsey is 12/1 (GENERAL).

Although both sides are blessed with scoring talent I am shocked to see the under 2.5 goals as big as 23/18 (32 RED). The games between the top teams tend to produce few goals and the last six competitive matches between these pair have seen just a total of seven goals. It is true that Man City score a lot in home games though Arsenal do not tend to concede many in away games so this in itself will balanace things out. One final that has to be worth a small interest is the 14/1 (paddy Power) that Yaya Toure will net from a direct freekick during the game. The Ivory Coast man already has seven goals this season with quite a few of these coming from his set-pieces. In a tight physical game Toure might be presented with a couple of chances and this has to be worth an interest.

The live evening game (17:30, SKY SPORTS) comes from the KC Stadium as Hull take on Stoke in a battle between the sides in 12th and 13th. Both these sides have slightly exceded expectations this season, especially Hull since their promotion back in the Premier League. At home is where they have done a lot of their good work with the Tigers losing just one of their eight games in front of their own fans this season and they can be backed at 13/10 (BETVICTOR).

Stoke are 13/5 (BETVICTOR/STAN JAMES) to register just their fourth victory from their last 36 away games in the Premier League though they can take heart from the fact they beat Chelsea last time out and that Palace have recently won at the KC Stadium. Six of the seven Hull home games in the Premier League this season have finished 1-1, 1-0, or 0-0 and I think a strong case can be made for the draw here with a saver bet on the winning margin being by one goal. You can take the game to end all square at 9/4 (GENERAL) and then cover your losses with a one goal winning margin bet at 4/5 (betway).

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Man City to beat Arsenal, 17/20 (BETVICTOR)
SILVER: Draw between Hull and Stoke, 9/4 (GENERAL) SAVER: Winning margin in game one goal, 4/5 (betway)
BRONZE: Yaya Toure to score direct from a free-kick, 14/1 (paddy Power)

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14/12/2013     © Frixo 2026