Written by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro) There comes a time in every great sporting dynasty when the tide begins to turn and the continuation of the norm comes under scrutiny. That is the exact situation we see at Arsenal now with boss Arsene Wenger under the microscope once more as yet another trophy-less season beckons. Last week Arsenal faced arguably their greatest humiliation in the successful Wenger led era. A virtual full strength side crashed out of the Carling Cup quarter final away to League Two Bradford City. In previous seasons this would have been accepted because Arsenal historically fielded a weakened team in this competition. Such a strong side sent out by Arsenal suggested they saw this as their biggest chance to gain silverware. That defeat was a crushing blow and turned this game into a massive test of character for his side. The Arsenal fan base can be clearly defined now between the AKB’s and the AKFA. AKB stands for ‘Arsene Knows Best’ and AKFA stands for ‘Arsene Knows F A‘. I can let your well educated minds work out what the FA stands for! This divide now is mainly due to the stubborness of Wenger and has split the fans right down the middle. Around half of which believe that Wenger has the determination, experience and strength of character to arrest the recent slide. The other camp, seemingly growing in number each week, feel it is time to move on and away from Wenger. Ironically, as split as the Arsenal fan base is the statistics for this game are also split right down the middle. All of these background factors makes this such an interesting Monday Night Football in the full glare of the nation live on Sky Sports. This...

Written by Bruce Friedman (follow him on twitter @notthefakebruce) BUY: Marshall (12-15, Cincinnati) The Thundering Herd welcome the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats to Huntington Saturday in what looks to be walk in the park for Cincy.  This is the highest Cincinnati has been ranked in years (12th), but could could they get caught looking ahead against a Marshall team that has failed to cover the spread yet this year??  Yes, thats is right, Marshall is 0-6-1 ATS this year.  Now granted, Cincy is only 3-2 ATS, but they have still met Vegas expectations at least once.  Cincy should be over confident before they even make the trip, whereas Marshall will be ready to pull off an upset (wishful thinking).  This will be a game similar  to Illinois-Western Carolina where I stated that Illinois already knew they won and played down to the Catamounts with the dog cover never in doubt.  We will not have to sweat Marshall in this game, take the points and grab lunch. USC (12-15 UC Riverside) Trojans are coming off a 5-game losing skid with the last two losses against formidable teams in New Mexico and Minnesota. UC Riverside should be just what the doctor ordered to help the Trojans get back in the win column.  I believe this is a matchup that USC desperately needs to get back on track and will come out knowing that they need to handle their business.  Look for a surprisingly decisive win for the offensively challenged Trojans. SELL: Indiana (12-15 Butler) Butler visits the Hooisers in what should be a fairly interesting game.  Butler brings their “we can beat anyone” mentality against the best team in the country and I believe they will compete.  When I say compete, I tend to mean compete witinh the number.  Indiana has...

by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro) This Sunday sees the two current giants of the EPL meeting head to head at The Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Host Manchester City trails their fierce rival Manchester United by three points but this gives them the opportunity to draw level at the top of the table with the Red Devils. Conversely this match offers United to chance to put the clear daylight of a full six points between them and the Blues.  Six points would be a large gap for City to claw back, even at this stage of the season. Both teams suffered defeats in midweek action in the Champions League.  Although United’s defeat at home to Cluj was arguably more surprising, the loss for City away against Borrussia Dortmund signalled the end to their embarrassing European campaign for the season.  City’s tally of three points is the lowest by an English side in the group stage of the competition. Could such European humiliation lead to a big response from Roberto Mancini’s City players? Maybe but I am not sure I can trust their apparent fractious dressing room to respond so positively. This season their play has been indifferent but credit to them as they continue to pick the points up. You know you will get a committed and honest performance from United under Sir Alex Ferguson. The current market prices have City as quite strong favourites but rather than oppose them outright I sense another market may offer better betting opportunities. At first glance there has been an equal distribution of the over/under 2.5 goal line in recent meetings as 5 have hit the over with 7 going under that line. However, when you drill down a bit deeper into the statistics there...

Written by Bruce Friedman (follow him on twitter @notthefakebruce) BUY: Kentucky (12-4, Samford, 12-8, Portland) Another college hoops season begins and Kentucky are the same old Wildcats.  They can never seem to cover an early season game anymore, win-less ATS to start this season as well.  Coming off their first road game in which they were dominated by Notre Dame, they returned home to face Baylor who took advantage of Kentucky’s lack of finishing at the tin.  Numerous times Kentucky had a tip-in missed or squandered bunny making it hard to watch.  However, now welcome Samford and Portland to Lexington and I believe Kentucky will take out their frustrations on these small schools to get their kinks out before their match-up with Louisville at the end of the month. Connecticut (12-4, NC State, 12-7, Harvard) UConn is a team that is in limbo, they cannot go to the Tourney this year but still are showing plenty of fight early in the year.  They beat Michigan State to open the season, later beat Wake Forest before losing to New Mexico, their only loss of the season.  Unfortunately, the only game UConn covered was their opener, SU winners as an 8-point dog.  They now face NC State at MSG who enter off a tough loss of their own against Michigan.  I think that UConn will be able to hang with NC State and should be able to beat the Wolfpack.  Harvard is next up after NC State for the Huskies and the Crimson are no stranger to early season struggles so far.  They lost to a Vermont team that may be better than we all thought in a surprisingly high-scoring affair.  Havard was also blown out at St. Joe’s but did get back in the win...

Written by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro) Fulham v Tottenham Considering that only two of the last seven meetings between these sides has cashed the over 2.5 goal ticket, my choice here may strike you as a bit odd. However, both teams always look fragile against mobile passing teams as their midfield players do not appear capable of protecting their defence to enable them to keep a clean sheet.  Spurs have won the last five meetings and are unbeaten in the last seven games. This season Fulham has scored in every home game they have played and Tottenham’s found the back of the net in each of their away games.  Both sides play tight and intricate passing games which should help create chances galore at Crave Cottage.  With Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham) and Clint Dempsey (Tottenham) keen to get on the scoresheet against their former clubs, this game should produce excitement at both ends of the field. Man City v Everton Everton has won five of the last six meetings of the two sides and before last seasons defeat in Mancheste,r they had won four straight games on the road at the Etihad Stadium. All seven of Everton’s away games this season have seen at least two goals scored whilst five of seven games at City have gone over the 2.5 goal line. Everton are particularly strong at set pieces, corners and free kicks, so I take them to get on the scoresheet for sure. The strength of City at home over the past few seasons tells you that it will be a tough game as Manchester has been a fortress for the defending champions.  We all know about the attacking prowess of City but in Fellaini and Jelavic the blues from Merseyside...

Where has the time gone this college football season? Championship week is upon us and Adam Kramer, Bud Elliot, Drew Collins, and myself break down all the big games and provide our betting perspective.  There’s a good chance rambling will take place but I promise the information quality makes it all worthwhile. If the widget below doesn’t pop up, blame your internet platform but we’ll help you out anyways so...

Written by Mike Quinn (follow him on twitter @BroadStCappers) Action has tipped on the college hardwood yet again and as you navigate the first few weeks of non-conference games and early season tournaments, keep in mind that the conference schedule that starts in January will be here sooner than you think.  The conference schedule is where big money can be made on the strength of situations.  Let’s fast break through some of the scenarios that you should keep an eye out for come January. Multiple Road Games In A Row The difficult part of college basketball compared to college football is that the teams are playing multiple games a week.  This leaves little rest and preparation time.  Those conundrums are magnified when a school is forced away from home for upwards of a week straight at points.  There is value to be had when fading these teams against a somewhat rested home opponent.  The travel aspect of these situations can be tricky and one of the best ways to find out what the team’s travel plans are is to review the team’s website or a local beat reporter’s write-up.  That type of information can be invaluable in situational analysis.  Another angle to explore here is the first home game back after a long road-trip.  If facing a sub-par opponent sandwiched between the road trip and a more talented foe, it is likely that between trying to get back to normal at home and looking ahead to a big game later in the week, that team will stumble a bit.  That presents a great ATS situation for bettors to capitalize on periodically. Look Ahead to Big TV Games Another positive for bettors due to the condensed scheduling of college basketball is the old look ahead...

Written by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro) My pre season EPL column suggested that only two clubs are capable of winning this seasons EPL crown; Manchester City and Manchester United. Twelve matches into the campaign, just under a third of the total games to be played, those two teams sit aloft at the top of the table. The troubling thing for any team wanting to challenge is that both teams have showed weaknesses. Despite the obvious flaws within both sets of players so far, no other side has managed to keep pace with them. I advised at the beginning of the season that backing both sides blindly should provide a minimum of a 12.5% profit if you were prepared to tie your funds up for nine months. That calculation was with a futures price of Manchester City +125 and Manchester United +325. So, where are we now price wise and what should bettors do at present whether they hold a futures ticket or are yet to enter this market.  Existing ticket holders may opt to do nothing but new  entrants to this particular market may see some short term value with what I detail below. The period between late November and New Years Day is always a hectic time for professional footballers. In the 38 days between 25th November and 1st January both teams play ten games in a period that will define their seasons. I have listed below those fixtures against each other as the schedule for both teams throws up some potential short term value. Manchester City            Manchester United A Chelsea                        H QPR A Wigan                          H West Ham H Everton                      A Reading A  Dortmund (UCL)    H Cluj UCL H Man Utd                    A Man City A Newcastle                  H Sunderland H...

There’s no better way to spend your holiday than firing wrecklessly at college football games. At least after this podcast, you’ll have a few informed opinions from the experts Adam Kramer, Bud Elliot, and Collins Drew. As for me, well there’s a reason they keep me on the podcast and I’m pretty sure it’s only so they have someone to laugh at after a rough weekend. Problem with the Widget? Not my fault…blame Talk Shoe but click here...