Everton look the best bet on decisive final day of the season
THERE have been so many twists and turns in this year’s title race that it is still unwise to believe that Manchester City are the champions elect. However, the Citizens have one hand, four fingers and half a thumb on the trophy and even the most ardent Manchester United fans surely now accept that the battle is over.
We backed City at 9/2 at the start of the season, as well as the City-United straight forecast at 11/1, so let’s just hope that QPR don’t spoil the party at Eastlands on Sunday. City are a best price 1/7 with Coral and QPR are around 20/1 on Betfair, so I’m going to leave this game and just hope that Roberto Mancini’s side don’t bottle it.
United travel to Sunderland and although I fully expect them to win, they are no value at 4/9 with Coral. They are likely to be feeling deflated after throwing away a seemingly unbeatable position and the Stadium Of Light is never an easy place to go.
Newcastle have had a tremendous season, but their tough run-in was always likely to catch them out in the hunt for fourth spot. The win at Chelsea gave their supporters hope, but they were well beaten by City and I think they will struggle at Everton on Sunday.
The Toffees have had a decent season and David Moyes has done a remarkable job with the limited funds at his disposal. The big carrot for rounding the campaign off with a win is that they will finish above Liverpool for the first time since 2005 and although they have drawn their past two away games, they’ve won their last three at Goodison Park, scoring 10 goals and conceding none.
Alan Pardew’s Newcastle will definitely give it a go, but they really needed to take something from the game against City and I can just see them petering out after what’s been a herculean effort over the past couple of months. Everton can be backed at 13/10 on Betfair and I also wouldn’t put anyone off buying their supremacy at 0.4 with Sporting Index.
Bolton have to win at Stoke to have any chance of staying up, but they’ve been poor in recent weeks and although Wigan managed to save themselves at the Britannia on the final day last season, I don’t think Owen Coyle’s men can repeat the feat. They are a best-price 19/10, but I would rather take the 6/4 Coral offer about a home win. It’s true that the Potters haven’t been playing great in recent weeks, but they are tough to beat at home and should have the edge.
Arsenal travel to West Brom and know that a win will guarantee them the all-important third place. This is England manager-to-be Roy Hodgson’s last match with the Baggies and he’ll want to go out on a high, but I think Arsene Wenger’s side will have too much for them. Back the Gunners at 8/11 with Blue Square.
Pointers…
Everton at 13/10 on Betfair
Buy Everton supremacy at 0.4 with Sporting Index
Stoke at 6/4 with Coral
Arsenal at 8/11 with Blue Square