Reading v Arsenal: Preview and Predictions

Arsenal have had one of the most inconsistent starts to a Premier League season under Arsene Wenger – one that’s been responsible for creating a feeling of malaise that’s become far too familiar for some fans.  The pressure’s been mounting on Wenger to step aside at the end of the season and he’s now hinted that he may do.  It’d certainly be a shame for that to be the case at the end of a season if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League – which could be the case if they don’t start winning more games back to back.

           Reading’s losses to Southampton and Sunderland will have dented their confidence – but they’ll see Arsenal’s visit as a fantastic opportunity, given the previous result when the last two teams met.  They’re in contention to be relegated again and fans have good cause to be concerned.

          We expect Arsenal to win – which they have to if they’re to keep their supporters content after crashing out of the Capital One Cup to Bradford, 64 league positions below them and with a squad that cost less than a £1m. 

          Wenger’s still popular with the board at Arsenal because the club, with the highest priced season tickets in the Premier League, have been making consistent profits.  However, its results and silverware that matter to the fans – and they may eventually have the final say if results don’t start to go Wenger’s way more often.

          Arsenal’s season looks likely at this stage to be determined by movement in the transfer window.  They may have trouble signing established players with the Premier League out of their reach and if they look unlikely to qualify for the Champions League, players may think twice about a move to the Emirates.  Walcott is being linked with a move to Manchester United or Liverpool and this game, at this stage in the season, is one that Wenger can’t afford to lose – the future of the club is resting on the December performances of the team.  The last things fans want is to have to increasingly rely on players like Gervinho, last seen running around like a seven year girl that needs the toilet, for the rest of the campaign.

          Reading have had near misses against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United this season and have beaten Everton at home.  Home is where they’ve unsurprisingly performed their best – and they haven’t had the fortune of playing there very often lately, most of their recent fixtures have been away.  It should be close, but Arsenal are expected to cross the finish line as victors.

         

Reading v Arsenal: Verdict – Arsenal 4/6

Arsenal v West Brom: Preview and Predictions

West Brom have been exceptional lately have had made progress which recently promoted teams can only dream about in the last few years.  Fewer and fewer teams have been able to make an impact in the Premier League comparable to West Brom and their coming away from the Emirates with a point at the least would be no upset.

          Arsenal have been woeful lately and it seems a while since they had something to celebrate.  Pressure has been placed on Arsene Wenger by Arsenal fans and he has hinted at this season being his last in charge.   It seems unlikely that the gunners will win silverware again this year and this is heartbreaking for fans and most neutrals.

          Arsene Wenger has been in many must-win situations in his long tenure as Arsenal manager – but most of them have involved title chases rather than his managerial credibility.  Fans are beginning to become disillusioned and for the first time in his career he is in need of winning a big proportion of Arsenal fans over – and we expect his team to rise to the challenge.  They have to.

Arsenal v West Brom – Verdict: Arsenal 1/2

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur: Preview and Prediction

Saturday 17^th November 12:45: Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur – Verdict: Draw 11/5

Thierry Henry recently said he was proud to have never lost a game to Spurs wearing an Arsenal shirt, something fewer first team players may be saying in the future.

          Arsenal fans do have something to be smiling about though and that’s the fact that Arsene Wenger has a pile of money earmarked for January spending.  Although Eden Dzeko is more likely to be used as a bartering-tool as a part of the proposed Falcao bid than he is to join Arsenal in January, fans can be pleased that the club is linked with players like him and they look likely to sign an established player – but in the meantime they’re struggling somewhat.

          Spurs beating Manchester United at Old Trafford, as a part of an impressive winning-streak, seems a somewhat distant memory and the team, or at the very least Villas-Boas, have been subjected to jeering from supporters in recent weeks – this, however, is a game that Tottenham will be well-prepared for.

          This game, especially when you consider the recent results and form of both sides, has not been harder to call for several years, so we’re backing a score-draw.

          Don’t part with any serious amounts of money when betting on this one - play with loose change or expect loose bowels.

Premier League High-Risk Accumulator

Premier League High-Risk Accumulator 36/1

Arsenal v Fulham – Verdict: Arsenal 1/2

Aston Villa v Manchester United - Verdict: Manchester United 1/2

Everton v Sunderland – Verdict: Everton 1/2

Stoke v QPR –Verdict: Stoke 5/6

Reading v Norwich – Verdict: Draw 9/4

Chelsea v Liverpool – Verdict: Chelsea 17/20

There are bound to be some upsets this weekend, but for a small-stake backing this gamble offers you quite a few talking points.  The Reading and Norwich draw bumps the price of this sixfold up, and that’s the highest risk of the lot if you want to lower the risk.

          If Saturday’s successful then you’ll have landed a 36/1 bet on Chelsea for Sunday with this accumulator.  Recently we said Daniel Sturridge was a tasty as a tramp’s toenail, but we’re bound to be a lot kinder to him if he plays with the weight of this bet behind him.

          The more reserved of you may want to look into making the most of the double chance markets instead of the outright result and if that’s the case then you may want to favour a draw in the Stoke game as well as the win.

          Good luck with whoever you back and whoever you support – and follow on twitter: @tfpredictions

Premier League Low-Risk Treble

 Aston Villa v Manchester United – Verdict: Manchester United 1/2

Everton v Sunderland – Verdict: Everton 1/2

Southampton v Swansea – Both teams to score 4/7

We’ve spent a long time looking over the Premier League fixture list expecting something to jump out at us like a magic-eye puzzle, but the games this weekend are actually quite close to call. 

          Swansea’s visit to Southampton may be reminiscent of Fulham’s a few weeks back – so both teams scoring seems like a safer call than a result in that one.  

          One of the reasons football is so popular is because of the way form can quickly change.  Everton are on form and Sunderland have been pedestrian lately, but this could change in their meeting – we’ll obviously be hoping it won’t.

          The safest backing of the weekend is Manchester United in their visit to Aston Villa and you can expect to see either their greying babyface or their plug-ugly troll scoring; Van Persie or Rooney will surprise us if they don’t convert – they’ve been outstanding lately.

          This treble offers a realistic 25/10 but adding Arsenal to the list, for those of you that are less conservative, will give you a higher price of 43/10.

Arsenal v Fulham: Preview and Prediction

 Saturday 10^th November 15:00: Arsenal v Fulham – Verdict: Arsenal 8/15

Arsenal’s current side isn’t comparable to some of the recent outfits Arsene Wenger has had at his disposal but they still have a squad capable of challenging for Champions League football next season – which is why this fixture comes at an interesting time; Fulham are currently in Champions League contention and are above Arsenal in the table.

          Arsenal lost to Manchester United, as we thought they would, but they did manage to score with only ten men on the pitch  and didn’t get the credit they deserved for their second half performance for two reasons: Van Persie took the headlines and Andre Santos took his shirt.  There was a lot for Arsenal to reflect on positively and we think this weekend will be a time when Arsenal show what they are capable of as a team.

          Although we don’t expect Fulham to be able to beat Arsenal at The Emirates, but there could be an upset if Arsenal don’t start strongly.  Arsene Wenger’s side have yet to score a goal in the first half an hour of a domestic fixture and if they continue to make slow starts to games they’ll find their opposition more frequently dictating the pace. 

          Look out for Arsene Wenger’s jacket, which we’re convinced is getting longer.

Low Risk Accumulator for 3rd Nov

Low Risk Accumulator for 3^rd Nov  3/1

Man United v Arsenal – Verdict: Man United 7/10

Swansea v Chelsea – Verdict: Chelsea 4/5

Tottenham v Wigan – Verdict: Tottenham 1/2

At 3/1 this treble should offer you more than a bit of fun for Saturday’s Premier League fixtures, especially considering the first game of the weekend is the televised clash between Manchester United and Arsenal.  The more reckless of you, or those of you that support Arsenal, may want to make the most of the draw at 3/1 – but we see it as an unlikely prospect.  Fans of Chelsea and Man City can have a weekend where they can back Manchester United and share in the glory of the Gunners if they lose their money.  The most likely to cause concerns out of these three fixtures is the Chelsea game – Swansea can play fast paced football and a draw isn’t beyond them in spite of returning squad members like Torres being available for selection.

Manchester United v Arsenal: Preview and Predictions

Manchester United v Arsenal Saturday 3rd November 12:45 - Verdict Manchester United 7/10

  Manchester United have begun to find their feet as a side and are breathing down league-leaders Chelsea’s neck like an elderly Labrador.  By beating a wavering Arsenal side at home Sir Alex Ferguson will look ever more likely to getting his wise and liver-spotted fingers on the Premier League trophy.

          After losing to Chelsea this week Manchester United will want to quickly return to winning ways and having rested the likes of Van Persie and Rooney they should be capable of overturning Arsenal, who are priced at 19/5.  Interestingly Arsenal are the only side in the Premier League not to have scored a goal in the first half-hour of a game and Manchester United have been making very quick starts to games of late, conceeding after taking the lead - so steer clear of Arsenal first goal-scorer markets.  The second half of this game could be tense and fast-paced - if Arsenal haven't thrown their chances away in the first.

          Van Persie faces his former team in this fixture and having him either score or assist, only to praise Wenger and label Arsenal a 'top-team' or something equally as condescending in a post-match interview is almost certain - but this will be an emotional and heated game with his involvement nonetheless.  It could quite easily end up being as dirty as a bag-lady's bra-strap and with all of the furore involving referees and key decisions this is the hardest fixture of the weekend to officiate.

          Arsenal don’t seem in any shape to be taking three points at Old Trafford, although it’s not within the realms of possibility.  Arsenal fans may revel in the fact a second string squad was able to mount an epic seven goal comeback against Reading, but we have to remember they allowed the Royals to help themselves to four first.  Van Persie and Rooney tend to be slightly more effective than Pog/Roberts partnership and we expect Manchester United to give Arsene Wenger and his sleeping-bag-style jacket more to ponder in the run up to the opening of the transfer market.

Follow us on twitter @tfpredictions

27th to 28th October High-Risk Premier League Accumulator

High-Risk Premier League Accumulator for 27th to 28th October 103/1

Arsenal v QPR - Verdict Arsenal 1/3
Aston Villa v Norwich - Verdict Norwich 3/1
Man City v Swansea - Verdict Man City 2/9
Reading v Fulham - Verdict Fulham 6/4
Everton v Liverpool - Verdict Draw 11/5
Newcastle v West Brom - Verdcit Newcastle Evens

This sixfold offers a price at 103/1 and, although its an unlikely backing, we thinks it's tempting and at the end of the day you can lose a pound in the bottom of your bag.  When you consider the chances of winning a tenner on the lottery are 54/1 we think this is a much better backing this weekend.  Norwich are the long shots and will send the winnings through the roof if they manage to beat Villa - look towards them to let you down here.

Arsenal v QPR 27th November 15:00

Arsenal v QPR – Verdict Arsenal 1/3

There’s no such thing as a certainty in football – but there is such thing as a must win game.  Arsenal and QPR will see this as a game they each have to win, with Arsenal having lost to Norwich for the first time in ten years and QPR staring relegation in the face like a man watching a donkey fall down a flight of stairs.  Mark Hughes is almost certainly going to be out of a job before Christmas unless he can start winning some points – and we believe that it could be a lot sooner than that if Arsenal win by a clear margin.  If they carry on as they have done QPR will score less than a dozen points this season, so this is a game that could turn the luck around if they can win – which is easier said than done when you’re away to Arsenal.  Wegner will be nervously pacing the sidelines in his sleeping bag once again – but we think that after a tense start they’ll take control of the game, dominating in the second half.