The time has finally come to play out the reverse fixture of the 8-2 defeat that Arsenal suffered at the hands of Manchester United on that horrific August evening at Old Trafford. The memories of that mauling are fresh on the minds of not only the Gunners fans but also European bookies like Champions League betting, which is why Arsenal have been priced as the underdogs even though this Sunday's match is taking place in the North Londoners' own backyard.

By Chris Wright

What with Liverpool set for their first visit to 'Anfield South' in 16 years by way of their Carling Cup semi-final win over Manchester City last night, we though we'd revisit the last time the club earned themselves a day out at Wembley, i.e, the 1996 FA Cup Final against Manchester United.

Knowing that just one Milan goal would effectively end the tie, and despite struggling to contain my pre-match excitement, I entered the game with a little apprehension. However, little did I know, I was about to witness one of the greatest halves of football in my life don't forget, I'm still only 20 years-old.

It comes as no surprise that AVB is being linked with the Inter Milan post in the summer after Claudio Ranieri was sacked this week. In fact, AVB is the bookies favourite or should I say "was" until apparently Massimo Moratti spoke with Jose Mourinho for advice on AVB. It seems as though Jose has advised Moratti that he isn't the right man for Inter.

Premier League betting: odds on a Manchester City or Manchester United title win - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Sky Sports are screening both Manchester games on the final day of the season, and it's City (on SS1) who are firmly in the driving seat and long odds-on to clinch their first title in 44 years.

Jermain Defoe Blonde

So, it feels pretty good to be a Spurs fan at the moment right?! Six points off City with a game in hand and possibly even more satisfying, six points in front of Arsenal with that same game in hand. I'm looking forward to the FA Cup this weekend and I'm hoping we will make short work of Cheltenham even if most of the first eleven are given what would be a well overdue rest.

Mirror: What are the odds City beat United in Sunday's FA Cup showdown? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

The fact that Chelsea are favourites for the FA Cup tells you all you need to know about this year's competition. Namely, that the bookies have made a pig's ear of pricing it up.

Being forced to sell his captain during the January and consequently losing matches heavily did for Simon Grayson. While OTP feels slightly sorry for the recently sacked Grayson, we won't be dwelling on his departure for too long because there are some exciting prospects in contention to be the new boss at Elland [.

AC Milan will be looking to put behind them their disastrous weekend outing when they host Juventus at the San Siro tonight in the Coppa Italia first leg semi-final. With Juventus also having settled for a similar barren draw with Siena in the weekend, the match will definitely be an explosive one.

Bookies are slashing odds on the Anfield Cat to become the next England boss. After his fearless display on Monday night, the Cat has been attracting attention from all over the globe. The 4 legged cutie showed more bottle in one night than in 5 years under the atrocious Sven McClaren.

'With England's woeful displays in recent tournaments, a change of direction is exactly what the team need', said the Cat's owner.

Written by 26may

5-2? What a day, and not just for the bookies. Hyperbole it may be, but I can think of few more suitable games to be described as epic.

I admit it, I approached this game full of pessimism. We're not as bad as some make us out to be but it is beyond dispute that we have declined, while our N17 neighbours have finally, finally got themselves a decent squad.

After two straight defeats, even against tough opposition, it's sad but inevitable to see the papers suggesting that Spurs are in freefall at this stage of the season. Manager Harry Redknapp is convinced however that the club are still favourites to finish the campaign in third place.

"We're still in pole position although that 10-point lead has suddenly become four points," said Redknapp after the United game.

Do you like those what comes next kind of puzzles? Try this one.

0-2:5-2 | 1-0:1-2 | 4-0: ?

Tough one, eh!? Okay let's make it easy. Here are the multiple choice options.

A) Miracle ; B) Pride restored but little else ; C) Complete Disaster ; D) Meh, bring on Newcastle

You know what, it's still a tough one for me.

Fast forward to May

The wonderful thing about making predictions is that, if it were that easy, we'd all win a million at the bookies or through online gambling. The fact that they make a massive profit while we don't means the odds are stacked, and not in our favour.
And while he may have done quite well at the World Cup, even a famous octopus isn't going to get every result spot on.

'Club Bias Integrity' due to certain PGMOB referees, as mentioned in the previous post, impacts both positively and negatively on the leading teams in the country.
The list below yields the positive and negative biases on such clubs without disclosing which referees are up to what (+ = bias in favour; - = bias against).

When bookmaking organisations see no benefit in allowing a market on a match to exist eg agreed draws at the close of the Serie A season in Italy or very overwhelming insider trading on non top-tier matches where liquidity issues prevent the options of hedging and/or balancing the books (never mind turning an honest profit), the market is suspended or terminated.

Chelsea's unlikely draw at Barcelona and their advancement to the Champions League Final means a third place finish in the English Premier League could be essential for Arsenal if they're to make the Champions League next season. There's now a 50 per cent chance that Chelsea's going to lift the trophy on May 19 in Munich's Allianz Arena.

Lord Redknapp of The Sandbanks or Woy The Hedge or Stuart Pearce?
A colleague has had an entertaining conversation with a senior HMR&C official and was informed that the police found copious amounts of highly incriminating evidence when the mansion of a certain individual was raided.

Pep Guardiola is stepping aside, so who will be the new man in charge of the European champions? Here are 10 potential candidates of varying degrees of likelihood. 1. Marcelo Bielsa The Athletic Bilbao boss has caught the eye this season with his team playing very attractive football to very good effect.

Arsenal are visiting Stoke. Normally, there wouldn't be any need to mention Chelsea. Or Newcastle. But this time around we have to, with a passing mention of Spurs thrown in.

The Champions League semi-finals threw up some not entirely unexpected surprises. Roberto Di Matteo, Just a year after being sacked from West Brom where his attacking style put the club's survival at risk, will lead the Chelsea bus to Munich for the Champions League Final.

Arsenal are visiting Stoke. Normally, there wouldn't be any need to mention Chelsea. Or Newcastle. But this time around we have to, with a passing mention of Spurs thrown in.

The Champions League semi-finals threw up some not entirely unexpected surprises. Roberto Di Matteo, Just a year after being sacked from West Brom where his attacking style put the club's survival at risk, will lead the Chelsea bus to Munich for the Champions League Final.

Quite a Sunday ahead.
Celtic hosting Rangers and Hibs continuing their long, frustrating struggle to shake off relegation rivals Dunfermline against St Mirren. Two games that might normally have the Betfair football betting experts scratching their heads.
Today's match at Celtic Park is both essentially meaningless and yet crammed full of meaning.

Roy Hodgson is on the verge of becoming England's new manager. His current employers, West Brom, have given the FA permission to make an official approach, with private talks between Hodgson and the FA having already taken place behind the scenes. In other words, he definitely wants it, the FA definitely want him and West [.

Men's Football Tournament 26th July - 11th August 2012
Venues -Wembley, London 90,000
Old Trafford, Manchester 76,000
Millennium, Cardiff 74,500
St James Park, Newcastle 52,000
Hampden Park, Glasgow 52,000
Ricoh Arena, Coventry 32,500



Group A: Great Britain, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay
Group B: Mexico, South Korea, Gabon, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Egypt, Belarus, New Zealand
Group D: Spain, Japan, Honduras, Morocco


1st round - 26th July, 29th July, 1st August
Quarter-Finals - 4th August (London, Manchester, Newcastle & Cardiff)
Semi-Finals - 7th August (London & Manchester)
Bronze medal match - 10th August (Cardiff)
Final - 11th August (London)
Bookies' favourites in order: Brazil, Spain, Great Britain, Uruguay, Switzerland, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Belarus, Senegal, Morocco, Gabon, Honduras, U.

Despite losing 2-0 to Manchester United on Sunday, Swansea City have had a tremendous first season in the Premier League, playing entertaining football and staying comfortably out of relegation danger all season. So, perhaps inspired by Hartlepool's Smurfs, Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has asked the club's fans to wear something special for their final match of the season at home against Liverpool.

South Wales is experiencing a severe shortage of Elvis Presley fancy dress costumes as Swansea fans step-up to their manager's request for a fancy dress tribute to the King. Brendan Rodgers asked Swans supporters to don Elvis outfits for their final game of the season against Liverpool on Sunday. He touted the idea after last [.

1. Rafa Benitez Let's talk about facts: Rafa is still loved by the Liverpool faithful, is settled on Merseyside and is available. Little wonder that he's gone straight in as the bookies' favourite for the job. 2. Graeme Souness Woah, woah, woah, Rafa. If the Reds are going to continue this retro manager vibe then [.

TweetChelsea overcame Bayern Munich on penalties to be crowned champions of Europe in a match which left In The Stands' Rolly Pelovangu all the more wiser. Home Advantage Meant Little Advantage For Bayern Munich It was meant to be their final, on their ground, in their country. At 4/5 bookies made Bayern Munich strong favourites [.

Andre Villas-Boas has told pals he has ‘no chance' of getting the Liverpool job.
The Portuguese coach, sacked by Chelsea in March, held talks with the Reds earlier this month about replacing sacked Kenny Dalglish in the Anfield dugout.
But after being installed as the bookies' favourite to assume the Kop reins, Villas-Boas, 34, has dropped down the pecking order in the last 24 hours.

The bookies usually give a very good indication of where a player will end up during the transfer window so I like to have a periodic roundup of where the money is going re: Arsenal transfer targets. So I've just had a quick look at the latest prices across the board, and Skybet have got [...]

After Chelsea's heroics in this season's Champions League, the comparisons are mounting between what Chelsea have achieved, and what England could potentially achieve, this summer, at Euro 2012.
Of course, Chelsea were the underdogs going into both the semi-final, against Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, in the final, but they came through to be successful.

Arsenal in recent weeks have become the bookies' favourites to land hard-tackling Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila this summer, but the French club aren't yet ready to let their star man go on the cheap, and are testing the Gunners with a £25 million valuation for the 21-year old club academy graduate.