Newcastle vs Arsenal betting preview 13/08/2011

The Premier League season returns on Saturday and the evening kick off sees a repeat of one of the great games of last season. In that game, Arsenal took a 4-0 lead after just 30 minutes, but Newcastle came back in the second half and leveled the game with just 3 minutes remaining. Both teams have gone through somewhat of a transition since then, losing players, and bringing some new faces in. If you fancy another 8 goal thriller then huge odds of 250.0 can be found at Skybet for another 4-4 draw.

Newcastle vs Arsenal odds

Newcastle’s preparation for the new season has been far from perfect with high profile outgoings and players speaking out about the club’s transfer policy. While on paper it could be said that Newcastle’s squad is weaker than last season after Kevin Nolan was allowed to leave the club and a replacement for Andy Carroll still hasn’t arrived. Joey Barton could also leave the club before the window shuts, which is even more worrying as the Magpies didn’t win a single game last season when Barton and Nolan were absent from the side. New signings Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux look good, but it remains to be seen how well they will adapt to the English game. Demba Ba is another summer signing from West Ham were he scored 7 goals in 12 games last season and is looking like Newcastle’s most likely source of a goal. With this in mind, the striker is looking a great price at 3.4 with Stan James to score at any time. Newcastle’s home form was poor last season, winning just 6 games, but they did manage to score 41 goals which was the second highest in the division. This points in the direction of plenty of goals on Saturday then and so betting on over 2.5 goals is bringing odds of 1.8 from Bet365.

Much like Newcastle, Arsenal’s preseason hasn’t been ideal, as the transfer saga surrounding Cesc Fabregas remains unsolved and many believe Arsene Wenger hasn’t strengthened the relevant areas of his squad. Arsenal’s defensive problems could be seen by all last season as they let another title challenge slip, and with no new defensive signings as of yet, it seems all their old problems could continue to haunt them. The Gunners did have the best away record in the league last season though, as their pace on the counter proved a real threat. This is why Arsene Wenger’s men are the current favorites for the weekend clash and best priced at 1.95 at BlueSQ. One of the new faces in North London this season is Gervinho, who arrived from Lille were he looked very dangerous as a forward. The Ivory Coast international looks set to start on Saturday evening and is currently good odds of 6.5 at Paddy Power to open the scoring. Although there are still questions around the future of several players and Wenger is keeping his cards close to his chest in relation to injuries, the Gunnars should have too much for Newcastle, and so a 2-1 away win is showing great value at 8.5 with Skybet.

Highlighted Bets

Over 2.5 goals – 1.8 Bet365
1-2 Arsenal – 8.5 Skybet
Gervinho first goal scorer – 6.5 Paddy Power
Demba Ba anytime scorer – 3.4 Stan James
Both teams to score 1st half – 4.33 Skybet

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