FA Cup Odds: Sutton Seeks Huge Upset vs. Arsenal
Sutton United (+2000) vs. Arsenal (-550), Draw (+700)
Sutton United are preparing for the biggest game in their club’s history on Monday, February 20th, when they face Arsenal in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The FA Cup is famous for its ‘giant killing’ moments and this year has not disappointed. Already we’ve seen Championship side Wolverhampton beat Liverpool and Stoke, while Derby County had an impressive win over West Brom. But none of that would come close to the lowly Sutton beating Arsenal.
Sutton are a National League team, the fifth tier league in England. They’ve lost their last three games and are ranked a dismal 17th in the standings. But their FA Cup run has been nothing short of a fairy tale. They advanced to the fifth round after they won 1-0 against Championship side Leeds United, beating AFC Wimbledon, Cheltenham, and Dartford along the way.
This is the furthest the club has ever advanced in the FA Cup and the upcoming game will be the highest profile match in their history. Arsenal will leave behind the luxuries of Emirates Stadium and take to Gander Green Lane, where they will play on an artificial field in front of a sell-out crowd of five thousand people.
Usually, no one outside of Sutton would give this game much consideration. But given how Arsenal have been performing lately, anything could happen. The Gunners are still licking their wounds after a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Club morale is low: it’s only February and the league title is already out of reach, their Champions League hopes are gone, and they’re out of the League Cup. All they have to play for now is the FA Cup. And everyone – from the players and manager, to the fans – understand how humiliating it would be to lose to a team like Sutton. That’s a lot of pressure, and we’ve all seen how Arsenal perform under pressure.
It’s a tough sell trying to make a case for Sutton, a team struggling in the fifth tier league. But it’s quite easy to make the case against Arsenal. When things go wrong for the Gunners, it’s an absolute train-wreck. And at +2000 odds, hoping for an Arsenal meltdown doesn’t seem like such a bad pick.
Pick: Sutton United (+2000)
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
