Fiery affair as Man U meet Arsenal
Betting tips 
/ Lee Dixon / 22 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
With the injuries piling up, this may be a good time to play United an I think Arsenal will get a draw at the very least
We all know Manchester United and Arsenal are quite simply two teams who don't like each other, something that Lee Dixon predicts will create fireworks out on the pitch when they meet this weekend in the EPL.
Manchester United are still very much in contention in the Premier League, but crashed out of the Champions League, whereas Arsenal are still in Europe's premier club competition but realistically don't have a chance of winning the domestic title and haven't since very early on in the season.
Regardless, this is still one of the games in English football that you simply don't want to miss irrespective of where these two teams are in the table and at the very least, this will be played with plenty of passion and commitment.
Manchester United went some way to getting themselves back on track with that good win against Bolton but they'll still be reeling after unexpected losses to Blackburn and Newcastle earlier in the month. They can't afford too many more slip-ups because Manchester City are developing a habit of winning close matches and winning ugly, always a hall mark of potential champions.
The return of Paul Scholes is an interesting one because United were definitely crying out for a midfield general with injuries to key players in that position, but we'll have to wait and see how much of an impact the little man will have on the team for the remainder of the season. We know there's not much wrong with that footballing brain of his but football in this league is played at break-neck pace and that's where he might struggle given his age and the time he spent away from the game.
Arsenal's struggles have mostly been on the road this season because they've scored a fair few goals at home and haven't conceded too many at the other end. Robin van Persie hasn't looked quite as sharp in recent weeks as he did just before Christmas, but he's no flat-track bully and he's saved some of his best performances over the years for the biggest games.
Let's not forget he scored a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge earlier on in the season.
Arsenal's home record this season is good enough to make you wonder whether United deserve to be favourites before kick-off. I'm not so sure and let's not forget that Bolton are relegation candidates and that City were down to ten men for most of the match when United knocked them out of the FA Cup.
With the injuries piling up, this may be a good time to play United an I think Arsenal will get a draw at the very least. After all, according to Opta, in five league matches at the Emirates, the home side have won three and lost just one. I'm laying Manchester United.
We should consider that 8-2 scoreline at Old Trafford earlier on in the season a bit of an anomaly. It was completely out of line with recent matches between these two and was just one of those times where virtually every effort on goal ended up in the back of the net.
This could end up being a niggly sort of game with neither team particularly keen on gambling too much, given how high the stakes are. Arsenal don't concede too many at home and United may decide to protect what they have if they do go ahead. By the same token, I've mentioned van Persie looks a little jaded and if we're being completely honest, Arsenal rely heavily on him to either score or create goals.
It should pay to go low and 'unders' is the bet at [2.16].
Over the years people have talked about how the influx of foreigners has diluted the passion in this fixture. I'm not so sure about that. I can remember the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Nemanja Vidic all getting pretty worked up at one stage or another in this game in recent times.
And yes, there's no Vieira and Roy Keane around anymore to serve as a catalyst for mid-pitch brawls but it's not often that tempers don't flare sooner or later when these two play. [1.65] on there being nine points or more in the bookings odds market looks a pretty sure thing.
2 pts Lay Manchester United at [2.5]
2 pts Back Under 2.5 goals @ [2.16]
3 pts Back Nine points and above in the bookings odds market @ [1.65]
