Manchester United vs. Arsenal and Pick to Win
Date:Sunday, May 7th 2016
Where: English Premier League Emirates Stadium, London, UK
by Keith, Professional Soccer/Football Handicapper, Predictem
Match Odds: Manchester United 3/1, Arsenal 1/1, Draw 27/10
Moneyline: Manchester United +300, Arsenal +100 (Evens), Draw +270
Over/Under Best Market: UNDER 2.5 (21/20) +105
One of the most historic rivalries in the English Premier League features a battle of two cities that love to hate each otherManchester and London. Its the Gunners of Arsenal against the Red Devils of Manchester United. The latest edition of this rivalry is set to take place Sunday at the Emirates Stadium in the Holloway section of London where the Gunners will curate the host duties against this hated foe. At one point this feud settled English Premier League championships and was dubbed a clash of European Champions League titans. Now, a Europa league berth and a possible Champions League play-in qualification is at stake here. In the most recent Premier League collision between both teams, the result was a draw at Manchester United in November. At this point Man United were still working in their newly-hired manager Jose Mourinho and the Gunners were still very much in the thick of the English Premier League race. A late equalizer from the Gunners allowed Arsenal to escape with a point in a 1-1 draw.
Arsenal has had their bumps of the road as of late as they have lost two of their previous four fixtures, most recently a gut-wrenching 2-0 defeat suffered against their hated rival Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby. Arsenal found themselves blanked at White Hart Lane by the Spurs. The Gunners have had a week to catch their breath and would love to make a statement against a Manchester United team that has suffered many injuries to their backline. The Gunners have hovered toward the top-six English Premier League table as of late and for many accounts, they have had a very disappointing season. For Manchester United, the Red Devils come in off a disappointing 1-1 draw against bottom-feeder Swansea City precipitated by a hard-fought 0-0 stalemate against cross-city rival Manchester City in the Manchester Derby. Had it not been for a disallowed goal in the 90th minute by City, the Reds would have not left Etihad Stadium with a point. The Gunners defeated the Blues at the Emirates in the FA Cup Semifinal with a 2-1 victory in North London, a few weeks ago.
Manchester United has hit a very rough patch mostly in part to the injuries they have sustained that have ravaged their depth. Uniteds offense has seemingly looked non-existent and there is the potential for the Reds to encounter trouble with their attempt to dish star goalkeeper David De Gea. These variables and circumstances have driven down the stock of the Reds and ultimately portray them as a risky play. The fact remains, Mourinho is committed to a Champions League qualification and thus he will be pulling out all the stops to keep pace with Liverpool and Manchester City to have a chance at achieving such a feat. Nevertheless, Manchester United needs to win and a draw thought it is the most viable scenario, will not help their cause. With this being said Arsenal has always established itself as a difficult team to beat on its own pitch and thus given the fact they are here at the Emirates at an affordable price, they are almost a must-play. The stock in Arsenal is down as well after they were humiliated by Tottenham, last week so now would be a great time to get a piece of them. A win here or even a draw will send their stock back up. Buying low and selling-high is the name of the game. In Over/Under Goal Markets we will go ahead and call for the UNDER 2.5 as scoring will likely be minimized with both these teams playing conservative defensive ball when they meet each other. We stand to risk two units for the potential of collecting 2.05 units if we are successful.
Manchester United Recent Form
D Swansea City 1-1
D Manchester City 0-0
W Burnley 2-0
W Chelsea 2-0
W Sunderland 3-0
Arsenal Recent Form
L Tottenham Hotspur 0-2
W Leicester City 1-0
W Manchester City 2-1
W Middlesborough 2-1
L Crystal Palace 0-3
Keith’s Prediction for the Game: ARSENAL (+100) EVENS and UNDER 2.5 21/20 (+105)
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