Mancini’s men can keep it tight against pass masters

SPORTS BETTING:

ONE of the most significant matches of the Premier League season so far will be held at the Emirates Stadium tonight.

Third-placed Arsenal are two points behind Manchester City, who in turn trail pacesetting United by three points.

So it is vital to the title ambitions of both sides that they avoid defeat in tonight’s Sky Sports-televised showdown.

A draw would be acceptable, but I expect Arsenal to be the more gung-ho in their search for victory and that could just leave them vulnerable to City.

The Blues have won six of their 10 away league games this season – a record only Arsenal can match.

And City’s ultra-cautious boss Roberto Mancini is sure to adopt a safety-first policy tonight in a bid to frustrate the slick-passing Gunners.

Manchester United allowed Arsenal plenty of possession when beating them 1-0 at Old Trafford before Christmas, but most of the Gunners’ moves came to nothing in front of a disciplined United defence.

I expect Mancini to employ similar tactics tonight, packing the City midfield and placing a shield in front of the back four.

With Carlos Tevez, at least one winger and Yaya Toure capable of lightning-fast breaks, Arsenal could be vulnerable to counter-attacks, so the 17-5 about a City win looks generous, given their class and away record.

For good measure, I shall be having a little on City to win 1-0 at 12-1.

Those of you who fancy a home victory can get 20-21, while the draw is 11-4.



ENGLAND are in complete control of the final Test in Sydney (see Page 33) so it is no surprise to see them a best-priced 2-5 for victory and a glorious finale to the Ashes series.

The draw is rated a 12-5 shot, while Australia are 40-1 to pull off a miracle.


ADRIAN Lewis was a 25-1 winner of the PDC World Darts Championship, leaving the bookmakers laughing all the way to the bank.

The odds-layers will be hoping for a similar result in the much-inferior BDO version at Lakeside, but Scott Waites has been pretty impressive so far and is down to 13-8 favourite to lift the crown.

Martin Adams is second favourite at 9-4, with Gary Robson 8-1 and Martin Phillips 10s.


RECOMMENDATIONS: Manchester City to beat Arsenal, 17-5 (Victor Chandler), City to win 1-0, 12-1 (Bet365).