For Arsenal, the only battle on their hands is whether they finish second, third or fourth in the league, however, for Dick Advocaat’s Sunderland there is a lot more at stake as they battle to avoid the drop once again.
Hull City’s loss at home to Burnley has left the Black Cats in a much more comfortable position than the one they were previously in. Crucially, as the teams at the bottom of the division like Aston Villa and Leicester City put runs of good form together, Sunderland have won back to back games (before last weekend’s match) and those wins have helped them climb out of the relegation zone.
However, they may well have a hard time continuing their good run of form as they travel to the Emirates to face an Arsenal side whose 10 game unbeaten run was ended by Swansea City last Monday. That defeat was also somewhat undeserved with the Swansea defence putting in a fantastic shift to stop Arsene Wenger’s side from hitting the back of the net.
Advocaat’s men haven’t beaten the Gunners since 2009 and they haven’t recorded a win in north London since 2002 so the odds are certainly in Arsenal’s favour as the two sides meet on Wednesday.
Arsenal v Sunderland Betting Tips
- Arsenal to win – It is no surprise that Arsenal are big favourites to win this one given their recent record against the visitors and with the form they have been in it is hard to see Sunderland getting a result at a ground which they have yet to record a victory at. The Black Cats are weak at the back and with Arsenal’s attack including the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla, we’re backing a home win at odds of 2/7 with Ladbrokes.
- Arsenal to win by two goals If you do fancy the Gunners to get the win then it may well be worth a look at the winning margin market especially with the outright odds at a meagre 2/7. Two out of Arsenal’s last three wins over Sunderland have been by a two goal margin and with the run of form that they’re in at the moment we fancy them to put a few past the Black Cats. You can back a two goal winning margin at 3/1 with Bet365.
- Alexis Sanchez to score first – The Chilean international has enjoyed an excellent first season at the Emirates following his big money move from Barcelona and he has scored plenty this season. You can back him to open the scoring at 4/1 with Bet365 – great value given he got both goals in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
- Arsenal to win and keep a clean sheet – The Gunners have been much better at the back recently and although the Mackems have been on a good run, two of their goals against Southampton were from the penalty spot and they don’t create much from open play. If Arsenal can remain disciplined then they have every chance of winning to nil which can be backed at 21/20 with Betfair.