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Premiership

Premier League Final Day Betting: Man United v Wigan

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The conspiracy theorists among you will, no doubt, be expecting Steve Bruce's Wigan to roll over and have their tummy's tickled today, safe in the knowledge that they will be playing Premier League football next season. Richard Walker is not with you.

Apparently, this fixture all revolves around how kind Wigan Athletic manager Steve Bruce is feeling towards his old boss, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rubbish.

There'll be no favours at the JJB - there won't need to be. United are too strong, both mentally and physically, that some last-day pairing of former club colleagues should have any say whatsoever in the destination of the Premiership title.

The Red Devils are [1.25] to prevail just down the road in Wigan - and in doing so regain their Premiership crown. The draw, which would surely hand Chelsea the title, is a [7.2] shot while you can back Wigan at [15.5] to cause the mother of all upsets. But don't bother - it ain't going to happen. United aren't going to engineer a title-winning position across 37 matches then throw it all away at the season's finale.

Wayne Rooney's unlikely to start for the visitors with that troublesome hip of his the reason. Mario Melchiot and Erik Edman are Athletic's missing duo but none of this team news is particularly earth-shattering nor should it have much bearing on the game's story.

Having seen odds around [3.0] and [4.0], Cristiano Ronaldo is something like [1.73] to back in the To Score list. Well, being as he's been my headline tip of many previous United previews there's no reason to desert the Portuguese now. If that price is a bit short in your eyes, perhaps his [3.85] First Goalscorer odds offers sufficient return? And in a game where Wigan can relax and have a good crack at it, my live outsider for you is the aerially excellent Paul Scharner, whose To Score price of [17.5] is big enough to have an interest on.

If United score early - much as they did at home to West Ham last weekend - then the exhibition-style football, despite the magnitude of the match, will surely follow. Okay it's the most likely scenario but I get a feeling the Latics might just be able to stem the tide until half-time. So take a risk with Draw/Man Utd, at [5.1], in the Half Time/Full Time options. For the less adventurous, or indeed for those who think it'll be all over by the break, [1.73] is the return on the Man Utd/Man Utd variant.

As far as Correct Score betting goes, Any Unquoted (taking in scores with four or more goals in them) should be covered at [3.95]. It's almost a stock selection for Man United matches and we've relied upon it to good effect before. Three-one to the champions elect is backable at around [12.5] and seems a decent stab at a scoreline which could just about be anything. If you can't see Wigan breaking through, how about the [8.2] on offer for a 3-0 title-clinching victory?

Regardless of the exact science of finding the right combination of figures to make up the final score, markets like Total Goals and Winning Margin are worth more than just a fleeting glance. At [4.54], I think 5 goals or more is tempting enough in the Total Goals mark-ups, while a winning margin of either 3 goals - at [5.5] - or 4 goals or more - a [5.6] chance - are, for me, the stand-outs in the Winning Margin section.

The Overs and Unders lists suggest a high-scoring affair and that's to be expected given recent form. Laying Under 1.5 goals, to a [6.0] liability, seems a logical thing to do if you like to get involved in these markets. Over 3.5 goals can - and should, in my opinion - be backed at odds of [2.54], for this takes in the unlikely scenario of Wigan ad-libbing away from the script and scoring a couple themselves or a goal fest from a rampant United.

Finally, the most popular market in the Overs and Unders list, the 2.5 goals option, sees [1.63] the return for siding with Overs. I say don't miss out on this. A great base bet on a day where Man United will want to finish the job and finish it well.