English Premier
2011-02-23 - Arsenal vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Wednesday 23 February 2011 - Kickoff 7:45pm
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger said he was becoming a little concerned with the fixture congestion that is piling up for his team after they drew at Leyton Orient on Sunday. This game allows them to catch up with their Premier League schedule, until the weekend at least, and also gives Arsenal the chance to put some additional pressure on Manchester United.
The Gunners are currently 2nd in the Premier League but have a chance to cut the gap to United to just 1 point with a victory here. Arsenal are 9-1-3 at the Emirates Stadium, scoring 29 goals and conceding just 12 this season. Only 2 teams have scored more home goals than this team so far this season and only United have more home wins.
The draw at Brisbane Road means Arsenal are now unbeaten in their last 10 games in all competitions and they have won 8 of those. The Emirates is becoming a increasingly difficult venue for the opposition to visit and Arsenal have now won 6 in a row there, scoring at least 2 goals in each of those games.
Arsene Wenger is expected to ring the changes again from Sunday and we could see up to 9 changes being made here. The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri will be called upon while Johann Djourou is expecting to return from a back injury. Abou Diaby remains suspended for one final game.
Update: Since the time of writing this preview, it has been confirmed that both Robin Van Persie and Laurent Koscielny have been ruled out, but should be ready for Sunday's Carling Cup Final.
Stoke City
Tony Pulis was also overseeing a FA Cup tie at the weekend as he guided Stoke City into the 6th Round courtesy of a 3-0 win over Brighton. With West Ham at home in the next round, surely the Potters are dreaming of Wembley, but now they must concentrate on the Premier League and securing their place in the top flight.
Even though Stoke sit in 10th place in the Premier League, results in recent weeks mean the side is only 6 points better off than Wigan in the final relegation spot. I dont realistically believe that Stoke are in danger of going down, but I am sure Tony Pulis wants to get past the 40 point mark as soon as possible. They will have to improve their away record if they want to get anything out of this game, so far being 3-1-9 with 12 goals scored and 19 conceded.
The Potters have interchanged wins and losses over their last 6 games in all competitions and have been in a little trend during those games of scoring and winning, or not and losing. Stoke have suffered 4 consecutive away defeats in the Premier League, the last 3 without scoring, and they have conceded 2 goals in 3 of the 4 games.
Matthew Etherington has been suffering with a back injury and may not be risked here after coming off in the Brighton game. Asmir Begovic is expected to be given the Number 1 jersey ahead of Thomas Sorenson who started on Saturday.
Head to Head
Stoke have lost on both visits to the Emirates since they returned to the top flight.
Arsenal won the game 2-0 last season and were 4-1 winners in the other game.
Prediction
I dont believe the confidence at the Emirates would have been knocked too much by the draw at Leyton Orient, although it would have told Arsene Wenger a lot more about what his first choice XI are in most games. This is a big chance for Arsenal to put pressure on United at the top of the table, especially considering the Red Devils have to play at Chelsea and Liverpool in the next 2 weeks.
Stoke City are a tough team to play, but most of their big results have come at the Brittania Stadium and the team does not travel as well. They have already suffered defeats at Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool this season, and the lack of goals in recent away games will be a worry.
At the moment it seems the Arsenal players have a lot of belief in their own ability, bolstered by the win over Barcelona, and I cant see them letting that go here. The team looks good for at least a couple of goals here at home, especially looking at recent results, while Stoke are looking a little short up front.
The loss of Etherington for this game will reduce the attacking abilities of Stoke even further, and I think Arsenal will come away with a win by 2 goals at least.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 3-0 Stoke City
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take Arsenal - 1.5 Asian Handicap @ 2.0 (4 UNITS)Follow me on Twitter @DavindaAulak- the direct link is below
