Mike Norman / 30 January 2010 Free Bet View Market

Best Bet: Back Arsenal @ [2.68] to beat Man Utd

Also: Back Over 2.5 Goals @ [2.02], Back 2-1 @ [11.0] and 3-1 @ [25.0] to Arsenal in Correct Score market

Football games don't come much bigger than a top-of-the-table clash between two of the country's big four clubs; which is perhaps why Sky Sports have chosen Arsenal v Manchester United to be the first ever live sporting event anywhere in the world to be broadcast in 3D

Now I'll try anything once, but Wayne Rooney in 3D, come on! He wasn't the prettiest of guys in 2D, and then with the introduction of High Definition he became the cause of Sunday afternoon vomiting up and down the country. But now we have to see his mug in all its glory. Well, I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm letting my son watch this one. He's only nine-year-old, and the last thing I need is for him to be going to bed suffering from nightmares having seen Rooney jump through his TV screen. Women's beach volleyball in 3D, that's what this country needs. I'd love to hear Martin Tyler's commentary on that!

All joking aside today's clash is huge - even Sir Alex Ferguson has labeled it Manchester United's biggest game of the season so far; I have a hunch that Arsene Wenger is of the exact same opinion.

In the Match Odds market Arsenal, with home advantage, are available to back at [2.68], United are at [2.94], and The Draw is available at [3.4]. Ahead of the game Man Utd can be backed at around [4.8] in the Premier League Winner market, whilst Arsenal are on offer at [6.6].

It's hard to disagree with all the media hype suggesting that this game revolves around two players - Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and United's Wayne Rooney. Both have been in sensational form this season and stand head and shoulders in front of anyone else when it comes to talking about the PFA Player of the Year.

Fabregas definitely holds the key to an Arsenal victory today however. United are likely to play three in the middle of the park - probably Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, and Michael Carrick - with Carrick trusted with the job of stifling the runs and creativeness of Fabregas. But with Denilson by his side, and the fully-fit again Tomas Rosicky and Samir Nasri as outlets, Fabregas has plenty of options and I believe the Spaniard and his midfield colleagues will just gain the upper hand this afternoon.

If I'm right then this will afford the Gunners a lot more possession than their opponents and I would fancy the home side - with the brilliant Andrei Arshavin in attack - to go on and win the game. However, I have been known to be wrong occasionally (have you seen the amount of snow we've had lately?) and if that's the case here then the freshness of United's wide men could prove pivotal.

Ryan Giggs and Nani were exceptional in midweek, but both are likely to drop to the bench against Arsenal. Antonio Valencia is likely to play on the right, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if big-game player Park Ji-Sung came in on the left because of his trackbackability - now there's a new word for you!

In other team news Sol Campbell has been given the ultimate 'welcome back son' present - the job of keeping the White Pele (Rooney) quiet, whilst for United, Rio Ferdinand is suspended but is likely to be replaced by fit-again Nemanja Vidic.

It's a mouth-watering encounter, one that I believe Arsenal will win by a scoreline of either 2-1 - available to back at [11.0] - or 3-1 ([25.0]). The goalscoring and head-to-head stats for today's clash can be found all over the betting.betfair UK & Ireland Football pages so I won't bore you with them again, but I'm definitely with most 'writers' in siding with Over 2.5 Goals ([2.02]). If you disagree, you can back Under 2.5 Goals at [1.96].

I don't have any strong opinions in the First Goalscorer and To Score market as there are so many good players on show, but I appreciate that both markets are very popular so will point you towards a few of the leading contenders.

Arshavin ([8.8] FG, [3.2] TS) is likely to be joined in attack by Nicklas Bendtner ([9.6] FG, [3.3] TS) and must be on any shortlist, whilst it wouldn't be a surprise at all if Fabregas ([9.6] FG, [3.4] TS) or Rooney ([7.0] FG, [2.64] TS) were to make the net bulge at least once - the latter being awful news for any child watching the game in 3D. Sleep tight won't you!

*The game is live on Sky Sports 1 this Sunday, kick-off 4:00pm