English FA CUP
2009-04-18 - Chelsea vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Chelsea
Chelsea look to build on their recent momentum of reaching the Champions League Semi Final by reaching their 2nd FA Cup Final in the last 3 years.
Chelsea feel they are still challenging on 3 fronts this season as they are only 4 points behind Manchester United in the Premier League, although United do have an extra game to play. They have a 20-7-5 record over the course of the season in the League and they have been particularly impressive on their travels where they are 11-2-3 with 27 goals scored and 9 conceded. They have the best away record of any team in the top flight and also have the best defensive record away from home.
They have still only lost the 1 match under the guidance of Guus Hiddink but it is recent defensive lapses that have garnered all of the headlines in England. They have conceded 7 goals in their last 2 matches, and have only kept 1 clean sheet in their last 5 matches in all competitions. However, they have begun to look impressive going the other way, scoring 13 goals in their last 4 matches, 7 of those coming against Liverpool in 2 matches. Chelsea have only lost 1 of their last 8 matches away from Stamford Bridge.
John Terry will make his return from suspension and Jose Bosingwa is back in training. Deco is still carrying an injury but I very much did not expect him to start anyway.
Arsenal
Arsenal have been on an impressive run of late as they have quietly gone about their business while the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea dominate the headlines. They will also be boosted by progressing to the Semi Final of the Champions League and the fact that they have almost guaranteed a top 4 finish in the Premier League as Arsenal look to win their first trophy since 2005.
Arsenal sit in 4th spot in the Premier League but Arsene Wenger is beginning to look up at the teams above them now, with Chelsea now being seen in the distance with only 6 points separating the sides. With the change to the Champions League format next season, finishing 3rd or better is still a real priority for the Gunners. Arsenal have a 17-10-5 record in the League this season and this is 8-5-3 away from The Emirates. In those away games, Arsenal have scored 30 goals and conceded 17. No team has scored more goals away from Arsenal in the Premier League and only Liverpool have lost less games away from home.
The Gunners have only lost 1 of their last 25 games in all competitions and this run has seen them make 2 Semi Finals and gain a real advantage in making the top 4. They have won 6 of their last 7 games as many of their key players have started returning to the first team. Arsenal have won 4 of their last 5 away games in all competitions but failed to keep a clean sheet in any of those games.
Arsenal are suffering from injury problems at the moment in defence with William Gallas being out for the rest of the season. He is joined on the sidelines for this game by Bacary Sagna, Johann Djorou, Gael Clichy and Kieron Gibbs.
Head to Head
Arsenal and Chelsea have met already this season when Arsenal came from behind to win 1-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have only managed to win 1 of the last 4 matches played between these sides.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 FA Cup matches against Chelsea although their last meeting was in 2004 when Arsenal won 2-1 at home.
Prediction
Chelsea have played well going forward recently and were very impressive in their win at Anfield 10 days ago, but defensively they have looked all at sea in the last couple of matches. Didier Drogba is on fire at the moment which will not please Arsenal fans, especially with his recent record against the Gunners.
Arsenal have quietly moved into a position where they can win trophies without too much fuss and they have now had many of their key players returning to the side. However, defensively Arsenal have many problems and a Chelsea side looking dangerous going forward could expose this.
I think this match is not going to go the way of usual FA Cup Semi Finals which tend to have few goals, but will actually be quite entertaining and I expect a very good match. As both defences look a little suspect at the moment, and both of these sides attack very well, I am going to go with over 2.5 goals as my bet.
The Pick :
Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal
BEST BETTING TIP :
OVER 2.5 GOALS
