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Birmingham v Arsenal Odds: Back Blues to hold title chasers to a draw in the betting

Arsenal face a tricky away fixture at Birmingham in the live late afternoon kick off on New Year's Day and will be keen to atone for their disappointing draw with Wigan on Wednesday. They are 4/6 odds on favourites to win on Saturday with William Hill, but Birmingham boast an impressive record against the top teams and look decent value at a best price of 9/2.

Birmingham may be down in seventeenth place in the Premier League but they possess an enviable record against the top six teams at home. They have not lost in 18 months against a top six side at St Andrews, culminating in their last gasp equaliser against league leaders Manchester United on Tuesday. They are a well organised side and are unbeaten at home in their last five matches, and have drawn six of their last nine matches. The draw could be the way to go on Saturday and has shortened to odds of 13/5 with Hills.

Alex McLeish's team rely on the bulldozer that is Cameron Jerome up front and he was outstanding in ploughing a lone furrow against Vidic and Ferdinand on Wednesday, and he is currently tempting odds of 7/1 to score first on Saturday. Birmingham midfielder Alex Hleb is likely to face his former employers and he will be keen to impress after a disappointing start to his Blues career, and he is 6/1 to score anytime.

The last time these two sides met at the Emirates earlier this season it was an ugly encounter and Jack Wilshere was sent off, and it seems bad feeling still runs deep since Eduardo's broken leg at St Andrews a few years ago. SkyBet offer odds of 7/4 for Wilshere to be booked on Saturday and it could be a betting market worth looking at.

Arsenal drew 1-1 at Birmingham in March and it is likely to be another tough encounter this time around when they endure a culture shock at St Andrews. They were disjointed in drawing 2-2 with Wigan and Arsene Wenger has had to bat off criticism for making eight changes to a side that beat Chelsea 3-1 just two days before. He is likely to bring back in some stellar names on Saturday and Theo Walcott is at odds of 15/2 to score first with Hills, or 9/4 to score anytime as he bids to build on his man of the match performance against Chelsea.

The match at St Andrews is likely to be a battle of attrition for the Gunners and will be a serious test of their title credentials, they currently occupy third place and are two points behind Man Utd. They will have to be a lot more steely and solid than they have shown against the lesser lights this season and will do well to emerge with three points. Of the 39 goals they have scored this season 21 have come in the second half and they generally come good in the second 45 minutes, while 12 of Birmingham's 18 goals have come in the second half of matches. With this in mind the odds of 2/1 for there to be under 0.5 goals in the first half on Saturday with WilliamHill.com could be worth a look, as is the half time draw and full time draw at 9/2.

The draw could be the way to go in this game with Birmingham earning another valuable point as they look to move away from the relegation zone, and the 1-1 draw is at odds of 13/2 with Hills. You could also hedge your bets by going for the 'double chance' of the match finishing in a Birmingham win or a draw at odds of 23/20 with William Hill.

Birmingham v Arsenal Form

Check the season's statistics for both Birmingham and Arsenal plus the odds ahead of Saturday's match.

Birmingham Stats | Arsenal Stats

Birmingham v Arsenal Tips

Tip #1: Birmingham and Arsenal to draw 1-1 @ 13/2
Tip #2: Cameron Jerome to score first @ 7/1
Tip #3: Double result of a half time draw and full time draw @ 9/2

Birmingham v Arsenal Odds

Match Betting

9/2 Birmingham
13/5 Draw
4/6 Arsenal

Correct Score Odds

12/1 Birmingham 1-0
28/1 Birmingham 2-0
16/1 Birmingham 2-1
10/1 Draw 0-0
13/2 Draw 1-1
18/1 Draw 2-2
6/1 Arsenal 1-0
7/1 Arsenal 2-0
15/2 Arsenal 2-1

First Goalscorer Odds

7/2 Robin Van Persie
4/1 Marouane Chamakh
5/1 Samir Nasri
5/1 Nicklas Bendtner
11/2 Andrey Arshavin
13/2 Cesc Fabregas
7/1 Cameron Jerome
7/1 Nikola Zigic
15/2 Theo Walcott
17/2 No Goalscorer
9/1 Carlos Vela

Odds supplied by WilliamHill.com bookmakers, plus over 100 other markets on this match and all Premier League fixtures, including live betting in-running.

Posted: Thursday, 30th December 2010
Author: Chris James
Tags: english premiership, birmingham, arsenal, alex hleb, william hill,

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