Ralph Ellis / 18 January 2010 Free Bet View Market

"Fabregas is now 3.3 joint favourite to be PFA Player of the Year with Wayne Rooney, who fills the same Game Breaking role for Manchester United. With no Ronaldo or Tevez, it’s Rooney who is carrying Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and was vital to their eventual 3-0 win over Burnley."

In American Football they call them the Game Breakers. They are the guys who produce a bit of fantasy from somewhere that rises above all the pre-planned moves when those are resulting in stalemate.

Over here, in what the Yanks would call 'Soccer', we call them Match Winners. But the principle is exactly the same. When everybody has had a week to organise their tactics and plan their defence, games are won by the handful of players who can suddenly do something different.

For Arsenal that's Cesc Fabregas. He proved it over Christmas with that devastating 27 minute cameo that destroyed Aston Villa. And he proved it again yesterday by making the difference for the Gunners in their win at Bolton. While all around were busy running, tackling, and battling, Fabregas kept playing the game at a different pace and with yards of space to spare.

Crucially he will be fit enough to play again at The Emirates on Wednesday night when a repeat of the 2-0 scoreline would be enough to take Arsene Wenger's team to the top of the table. The big question will then be how many games he plays for the rest of the season if Arsenal are to stay there.

Fabregas is now [3.3] joint favourite to be PFA Player of the Year with Wayne Rooney, who fills the same Game Breaking role for Manchester United. With no Ronaldo or Tevez, it's Rooney who is carrying Sir Alex Ferguson's side and was vital to their eventual 3-0 win over Burnley. His goal on Saturday took him into the outright lead as the Premier League's top scorer, and he's [3.6] clear favourite to finish the season there, and now odds-on at [1.81] to be top English scorer. But with United leaning on him more and more there's a clear danger his body will break under the workload, especially as the Champions League reaches its knockout stage and he will no longer be rested from those games.

Chelsea, of course, are without the bloke who is supposed to be their Game Breaker at the moment while Didier Drogba is at the African Cup of Nations. Didn't seem to do them too much harm as they strolled past Sunderland with a 7-2 blitz. It was a performance that underlined their status as [1.87] title favourites.

Liverpool's big players are Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Without the pair of them at Stoke because of injuries, they looked astonishingly ordinary. Where the other big teams have played through Tony Pulis's team in between heading away long throws and corners, the Reds were content simply to try to win a battle. That's why they ended up losing two points to Robert Huth's late equaliser.

But the other clubs chasing fourth spot failed to cash in. Manchester City continue to have problems with the man who was supposed to supply their fantasy. Robinho at £32million continues to be the ultimate waste of money, but Roberto Mancini's problem is that while the Brazilian postures and poses, nobody will pay that sort of fee again to rescue him. His cameo as a substitute - put on for the injured Roque Santa Cruz after nine minutes then dragged off again after 60 - during City's 2-0 defeat at Everton was the polar opposite of the devastating performance Fabregas gave against Villa. City remain [1.99] favourites to be winner without the Big Four but it's still a dangerous bet as Mancini has plenty to sort out.

Tottenham are fourth at the moment and [3.6] to stay there, but had one of those days when they couldn't find a first goal and the White Hart Lane crowd got on their backs. On the day they had nobody in their ranks to provide the piece of fantasy finishing. And Aston Villa looked tired from their midweek cup exertions in a 0-0 draw at home to West Ham. Martin O'Neill's side are as short as [1.15] to qualify for the Carling Cup final but with only a single goal lead that could be a dangerous bet if the edgy crowd affects them again against Blackburn on Wednesday night.

At the bottom of the table Wigan edged a few places higher by winning 2-0 at Wolves, who are [2.3] for relegation and far more likely to go down than Hull at [1.7]. Roberto Martinez's side have two match winners at that level in Hugo Rodallega and Charles N'Zogbia. Owner Dave Whelan says neither will be sold in this window. Be warned, he said the same thing about Emile Heskey and Wilson Palacios last January and both were sent on their way. If Whelan takes the cash again then [8.2] for Wigan to go down remains a stand-out bet.