EPL Betting – Arsenal Hope to Reverse Old Trafford Trend
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Arsenal (+140) at Manchester United (+215), Draw (+225)
A tough visit to Old Trafford this weekend (Sunday, 9:05 Eastern) could slow down Arsenal’s run to the top of the English Premier League. The Gunners will head north to face Manchester United in a stadium where they have not won since 2006.
The Gunners are tied for second in the EPL with Tottenham. Their 51 points are two back of Leicester City. Arsenal would lose the tiebreaker to Tottenham (goal difference) if the season ended today, but their game is on the rise. They’re undefeated in their last four EPL matches (3-1-0) and have won two straight, including a massive 2-1 win over Leicester.
The last-minute win over the Foxes put the league on notice that Arsenal are real title contenders. However, Old Trafford has always been tricky ground for the Gunners. They haven’t won in their last eight visits (0-2-6).
United aren’t having their best season, currently fifth in the standings with 41 points, but they’ve shown flashes and still have a lot to play for (needing to gain six points on rival Man City to reach the top-four and earn a spot in next year’s Champions League).
United played arguably their best game of the season on Thursday, beating Midtjylland 5-1 score in the Europa League Round of 32. And that came despite a litany of injuries, including Wayne Rooney, the team’s only consistent threat to score. Even at home, the Red Devils are struggling to find the net. They average just 1.25 goals per game at home. Luckily for manager Louis Van Gaal, they’re conceding a miniscule 0.4 GPG.
Despite their domination of Midtjylland last time out, Van Gaal remains on the hot seat. He needs to get Manchester back to the European tournaments for next season, which means piling up wins down the stretch – especially at home. Unfortunately for United fans, the team has struggled to pick up wins against other top squads, and they’re still ravaged by injuries.
Pick: Draw (+225).
(Photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Sports Writer
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
