United evens for league title

Backers who fancy Manchester United to retain the Barclays Premier League title should make a beeline for William Hill, whose offer of even money is a stand-out price. Most bookmakers are odds-on, and Coral are already as short as 4-5 about the Red Devils.

That price may not last long, because the sides have very different assignments on Saturday. United visit relegation-haunted Fulham, while Arsenal entertain an in-form Aston Villa side keen to press their own Champions League ambitions.

Arsenal are a best-priced 11-8 for the title, which is generally available, but they face a monumental test of character after their unhappy experiences at Birmingham last week.

The bookmakers have also reported plenty of interest in their market on who will finish fourth, and so seize that coveted Champions League spot.

Liverpool are hot favourites at 4-7 with Ladbrokes, but they are having a real tussle with local rivals Everton - three points ahead but having played a game more - who are 7-4. Aston Villa are 7-1 with Manchester City, beaten 2-0 by Everton on Monday evening, out to 33-1.

Comments

[Pajero Tim]

I took Manu at 9/4 last week with SkyBet and 2/1 was still widely available. This was when Manu were still 5 points behind but I think this was very generous. Having watched the odds since Christmas, I think Manu have been great value and I'm not quite sure why? To me they have a much better recent pedigree than Arsenal.