Arsenal v Stoke City Preview
Arsenal (10-2-5) take on Stoke City (6-3-8) at Emirates Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League. The Gunners will be happy to be playing at home after complaining about the poor quality of turf at Old Trafford on Monday when they lost to Manchester United 1-0. Expect them to get back on track against Stoke this weekend.
The loss to Manchester United kept Arsenal in second on the league table behind the Red Devils. It was a major blow to their Premiership championship aspirations, but don’t expect that to affect the outcome against Stoke. The Gunners have won their last eight matches against Stoke, including two last season. Arsenal won 2-0 at home and 3-1 on the road last season, making the two goal win margin a tempting bet.
Arsenal got off to a hot start in the Premier League while Stoke, currently 12th in the league table, struggled. For the first goalscorer betting market, check out Samir Nasri for Arsenal. He has scored four goals in the last four matches, and six goals in six matches at the Emirates. He has 9/2 odds at SkyBet to score first. To note, the Gunners have scored the first goal in five of their last six matches.
All is not lost for Stoke. Arsenal have lost three of eight home matches this season, but none have ended in a draw. After a bad start, Stoke beat Blackpool 1-0 to rise up in the table. Matthew Etherington has scored three goals in the last four matches and has 6/1 odds at SkyBet to score anytime. The Potters have scored more than one goal five times this season. Three of the last four fixtures between these two sides have produced four goals, so expect a high scoring affair. Stoke are improving but not enough to avoid a loss to Arsenal. A 3-1 win for the Gunners has great value at SkyBet with 11/1 odds.
Arsenal v Stoke City Match Odds (supplied by SkyBet)
Arsenal: 2/7
Draw: 9/2
Stoke City: 9/1