FA Cup Betting – Arsenal Set to Overwhelm Watford

Watford (+550) at Arsenal (-166), Draw (+300)

Midweek, Arsenal were able put to bed an FA Cup series against Hull City that went one game too long. They will try to avoid any surprises today when they host an overmatched Watford side at Emirates Stadium in London (8:30 AM Eastern) with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

After a shocking nil-nil draw with Hull City at the Emirates a few weeks back, Arsenal dropped the hammer in the rematch on Tuesday, winning 4-0 on the road. Arsenal, back-to-back cup champs, are now undefeated in 16 straight FA Cup games (15-1-0).

The team has been able to dominate the FA Cup in years past because it’s been the focal point of their season; they haven’t been in the running for the EPL crown or any European titles the last couple seasons. But that’s not the case this year. The Gunners are third in the EPL and still have dreams of a Premier League title, though they trail league-leading Leicester by eight points.

Another reason Arsenal are riding such a long undefeated streak is the competition they’ve faced. This season, they’ve faced Sunderland, Burnley, and Hull City, not exactly a murderers’ row; and they’ve only really had two tough matchups (Tottenham and Liverpool) over the past three seasons, combined.

Watford, on the other side, have never won the FA Cup. They were able to reach the semis back in 2007, though, and doing so again would be a tremendous accomplishment for the team, which sits 13th in the EPL. They advanced to this point by beating Newcastle United, Nottingham, and Leeds United, each by the same 1-0 score.

The team’s recent Premier League results don’t bode well. They’ve won just one of their past six matches (1-2-3) and now have a negative goal differential (-1). The recent head-to-head against Arsenal is even more bleak; Watford has dropped six straight meetings, including a 3-0 home loss in the last one (2015).

Some people believe that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may be shown the door if he doesn’t bring an EPL title to the Emirates this year. But I expect a third straight FA Cup would be enough to secure his job for another season. With the league title slipper further out of reach as the season winds down, expect Wenger to field a strong squad and for the Gunners to put in a solid effort that overwhelms the Hornets.

Pick: Arsenal (-166). 

(Photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)