Tottenham v Arsenal London Derby boosts punters irrational behavior

The English Premier League plays host to some more derby match action as Arsenal plays Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane for bragging rights to London.

If the odds and lines given by JackpotFinder-approved online sportsbooks bet365, Bodog and Sportsbook.com are any indication, this match should be a thriller.

This week’s Tottenham-Arsenal faceoff isn’t quite a “pick ‘em” match, but the differences in odds on “outright winner” betting at the online sportsbooks can be quite slim and only figure to get closer as game time approaches. The difference at Bodog is already pretty thin, with Hotspur getting 7/4 odds to win outright while Arsenal is at 7/5.

Result	Bet365	Bodog	Sportsbook.com
Win	15/8	7/4	37/20
Draw	12/5	12/5	9/4
Lose	7/5	7/5	27/20

Surely Tottenham would love to hamper Arsenal’s season a bit further, with the Gunners coming off a hard-fought, exhausting 1-1 draw against Liverpool on the weekend – in a match Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stated was a must-win if the chance of catching leading Manchester United were at all possible. Going into the Wednesday match, Arsenal will instead merely be holding onto a slim two-point lead over Chelsea for second place on the Premier League table.

Even worse news for Arsenal fans is the realistic possibility that 41-year-old Jens Lehmann will be playing at goal for the Gunners, thanks to the team’s sudden thinness at the position. It seems like Sportsbook.com is already preparing for the eventuality as the “over 2.5 goals scored in match” prop result has odds of 3/4 and falling.

Interestingly enough, the weekend saw the association bestow a couple of “Best Player” awards on two going in this derby: Hotspur’s Gareth Bale received PFA Player of the Year honors, while the Gunners’ Jack Wilshere was named Young Player of the Year for 2011. If you believe either player will add another chapter to his storybook season, bet365’s “Goalscorer” proposition bet reckons Bale has a 13/5 chance to net one, while Wilshere’s getting a line of 4/1; Robin Van Persie’s tops in this prop at 6/5 to score any time in the match.

Outright odds for the Tottenham Hotspur-Arsenal derby match as offered by bet365, Bodog and Sportsbook.com can be found in the table.