New man Ange a longshot with Forest at Arsenal.
The marquee match of the footballing weekend is the Manchester derby, with two managers – Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim – under pressure to meet extremely high expectations.
Nottingham Forest’s visit to Arsenal will be another focus of attention when English Premier League football returns after the two-week international break.
The firing of Nottingham Forest’s successful and popular manager Nuno Espirito Santo grabbed media attention away from Fifa World Cup qualifiers around the world – as did his replacement by Ange Postecoglu, sacked himself only a few months ago by Tottenham Hotspur.
Bookmakers don’t think this is good for Forest as they’ve made the Europa League qualifiers a remarkable 8.20 for the win at the Emirates Stadium. Clearly, they reckon the players will be unsettled, but anyone who believes in “new manager bounce” will be climbing into that offer.
A draw in the match also carries a noteworthy price: 5.20. Arsenal are 1.38.
In the popular Double Chance category on Betway, Notts and the draw are 2.95, while Arsenal and the draw are 1.10. And, of course, all the Over/Under and Handicap bets suggest an Arsenal victory.
Nuno was the favourite in the “sack race”, but that dubious honour now belongs to Manchester United’s Ruben Amorin – at around 2.00 – with West Ham’s Graham Potter next in the taxi queue.
United visit “the noisy neighbours” and there’ll be noisy anticipation in the air with both sets of fans hoping to see an improvement in form.
City are favourites at 1.70, with United at a 4.70 that would have been an insult a decade ago.
The draw at 4.20 is a value proposition – especially with United having spent a lot in the transfer window and a sense that the Red Devils will turn around fortunes any day now.
Two London derbies – West Ham (3.40) versus Spurs (2.13) and Brentford (4.50) versus Chelsea (1.77) – will also attract plenty of betting action.
Betway odds correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
