Arsenal vs Manchester City Betting Preview
- By A.J. Ryder on November 28, 2011 17:16 GMT
It appears as though Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be opting to rest a number of his higher-profile players and could be set to deploy a youth team against the Premier League's reigning best side Manchester City.
The Citizens will be without Mario Balotelli who was sent off at the weekend for an elbow while Gareth Barry is also suspended for this one.
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There could be withdrawals of Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby and Robin Van Persie. The Dutchman has emerged as the saviour of the Gunners this year as a number of football observers predicted their demise after a very rough start to the season.
Arsene Wenger has traditionally relied on his youth team for the Carling Cup and you can expect starts for the likes of Park Ju-Young and the exciting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who is now competing for an England selection.
Manchester City will also be looking to wards their bench for this one with former Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves set for selection after recovering from a calf injury.
The fixture appears to be a very tight affair odds-wise with Manchester City getting the slight edge despite being the visitors for this one. They're priced out at 11/8 by most bookmakers while Arsenal aren't too far behind at a 2/1 margin. Even the draw is trading at 9/4 and that's not far off the Arsenal price either.
The bookmakers still haven't adjusted many of the odds for the goalscorer selections and the likes of Ju-Young and Oxlade-Chamberlain are priced at 6/1 and 9/1, respectively while Van Persie is a slim 7/2.
It goes without saying that Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero are going to be very solid bets to grab a goal in this one, especially if Arsenal's defence looks shaky once again. Things have been firmed up a bit at the back and this has had a lot to do with their recent record.
Additionally, the lack of pace would be apparent if Theo Walcott was to start on the bench. It could be the type of match where he makes a big difference, particularly if Arsenal can take it into half-time at 0-0.
