Arsenal v Man City Prediction 13th January 2013

Arsenal v Man City Betting Preview
Starting the weekend seven points adrift of leaders Man United, reigning champions Man City can ill afford another slip up. But this is looking like a difficult match for them, and City have failed to score a victory at the Emirates in the Premier League. The two sides drew 1-1 at the Etihad earlier in the season, a deserved point from the visitors. So can Arsenal, who are scrapping for a place in Europe next season do both themselves and the Red Devils a huge favour by securing a home win?

Arsenal v Man City Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet Victor
Arsenal 8/5, Man City 9/5, Draw 5/2

Arsenal v Man City Recommended Bet:
Looking at the history between the two sides, Man City getting anything more than a point out of this clash may be a big ask. First of all, Arsenal are not in bad form at all in the Premier League. They are unbeaten in their last five, winning four of those as well. Their last outing was a poor performance at St Mary’s against Southampton which resulted in a 1-1 draw, and they took a draw at Swansea in the FA Cup last weekend too. The Gunners have now drawn seven of their last fifteen matches in all competitions. They have only been beaten twice at the Emirates this term in the league and have won their last two back to back there. This is a fixture which is generally low scoring, as there have been just five goals in the last six meetings at the Emirates between the two in all competitions.

Theo Walcott has been seeing time as a central striker, an area which he wanted to prove himself, but his flaws showed up badly against Southampton in that role, suggesting that he is not a solution to be relied on right now. The Gunners have scored well at home this term, averaging a big 2.78 goals per game on home soil (being helped out of course by that 7-3 drubbing of Newcastle recently). Their defence has been better away from home than it has been in north London this season, conceding at home at a rate of 1.4 goals per game. The Gunners have been very good in the final fifteen minutes of halves this season, scoring eleven times in both the 31-45 and 76-90 minute brackets. The Gunners have never lost at home against City in the Premiership.

Man City have failed to score in each of their last five visits to the Emirates, so this is a tough fixture for Roberto Mancini’s men. If they have any hope of catching Man United then they can’t throw away any more points. Set plays have been the downfall of the Citizens this season, conceding a higher percentage of goals from dead ball situations than any other side in the Premier League this season. From open play they have allowed opposition the fewest amount of shots of all teams this term. It is unlikely that a big margin is going to settle this game, but there have been four red cards in the last five EPL meetings between the two clubs, which could sway things if it happens again. City have only suffered one defeat on the road this season, crucially for them at Old Trafford.

Besides that loss they have racked up five wins and four draws in their campaign so far away from the Etihad. They have struggled for goals though on the road this season and could crucially be missing Sergio Aguero with a hamstring problem for this big clash. City have scored at a rate of 1.6 goals per game on the road, and that number has only been bumped up lately with good wins away at Wigan, Newcastle and Norwich. The Citizens have won three of their last four away games, their only away defeat coming against Sunderland on Boxing Day. The history between the two sides does tip things to Arsenal’s favour and a 1-0 win for the Gunners (a repeat of last season’s scoreline) is trading at odds of 11/1 with online bookmaker Bet Victor.

Form
Arsenal DWWWDD, Man City WWLWWW

Stat Attack
The Gunners have now picked up seven draws in their last 15 games
There have been just five goals in the last six EPL meetings between the two at the Emirates
Arsenal have conceded more goals from individual errors than any other side this term
There have been four red cards in the last five Premier League meetings between City and Arsenal

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