City will be relishing trip to DW Stadium
Wigan face the daunting task of hosting Manchester City on Monday evening and if the head-to-head record is anything to go by, the Latics look like they are in for a long evening. Roberto Martinez’s side were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by lowly Swindon at the weekend and that’s not the ideal preparation when trying to stop the league leaders.
Spread punters must look back to September 2008 to find the last time Wigan beat Man City as the underdogs ran out 2-1 winners that afternoon. Since that victory, the Latics have failed to beat City in six consecutive matches. The money being spent in the blue side of Manchester obviously means City are a different beast nowadays and the league meeting this season ended in a 3-0 hammering at the Etihad Stadium.
The match supremacy market will likely be a hot topic for discussion in the pubs before kick-off given that City have won their past four games against Wigan to nil. The average winning margin in that period stands at 2.25 goals.
More English pain against Spain
The world and European champions are in London tomorrow and England will need to pull out all the stops to get a positive result. Those looking at Spain’s win index for the Wembley clash might like to know that the side have won 27 of their past 32 away internationals.
In contrast, the Three Lions largely booked their place at the 2012 European Championships on the back of their away form. There were some dreadful results at Wembley in the group stages, including draws against Montenegro and Switzerland. To make matters worse, England have really struggled against Spain in their recent meetings.
Spread bettors interested in the match supremacy market may have seen that England have lost their past three games against Spain. In that period, England have failed to find the back of the net, conceding four times in the process.
Ireland to shut out Estonia and cruise to Euro 2012?
Ireland will look to banish the memories of their play-off heartache against France when they meet Estonia for a place in the 2012 European Championships next summer. Fans will likely recall their controversial defeat to Les Bleus largely because of Thierry Henry’s handball in the build up to the deciding goal in extra time.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni will certainly fancy his chances of getting past Estonia over two legs with the first game on Friday evening. These two nations have not met since 2001 and anyone looking to buy the match supremacy will be hoping for more of the same in Tallinn. The Emerald Isle pulled off a comfortable 2-0 win on their last visit to Estonia after goals from Richard Dunne and Matt Holland completed the scoring. Match supremacy buyers will also like to hear that the game before that in Ireland also finished 2-0.
Another point bearing in mind is that Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal for Armenia last time out was the first time that Ireland had conceded a goal for eight internationals.
Gunners to fire blanks at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea’s game against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge is the pick of the weekend’s action as both clubs look to close the gap on Man City. After a slow start, the Gunners have eventually found some form this season, but their defensive frailties remain. If they are to get anything from the contest they will need to be faultless against a side that has had the better of them in recent encounters.
Spread bettors looking at the win index markets should note that Chelsea have been ahead at the break and final whistle in four of their past five matches against Arsenal. Although the Blues have conceded in each of their four home league games this season it hasn’t stopped them winning each match with three HT/FT results.
Those looking at the match supremacy market may also like to know that Arsenal have been beaten to nil in their previous two visits to Stamford Bridge – conceding twice on both occasions.
Home advantage key in Manchester Derby
All the talk this weekend is about Sunday’s Manchester Derby as the top two in the league go into battle. Roberto Mancini’s side are two points clear of their city rivals, although both sides can boast of unbeaten starts to the season. With the game being at the Theatre of Dreams, United will certainly fancy their chances against City – especially on the run they are on there.
Anyone looking at either the match supremacy or win index markets will be astounded to hear that United have won their past 19 home league games and by at least two goals in the last five. United have also won their last six home contests against top-six opponents.
Further support for those looking to get with United on the spreads is that City have lost five of nine away games at top-six sides under Mancini.
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