Preview
When Arsenal hosts Everton in a Premier League game on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium, they will be seeking retribution. About 25 days before the rematch would be played in London, Sean Dyche led Everton to an unexpected 1-0 victory in the opposite match at Goodison Park on February 4.
Arsenal will aim to defeat Everton and win their 100th league game, which they failed to do last month. They would become the first team in English league history to win a century of games against a particular opponent if they were to win this in midweek.
Based on past results between these two teams, Arsenal will be confident of earning victory 100 in this game; they have only lost one of their last 26 Premier League home games against Everton (W21 D4).
Nonetheless, Everton has triumphed over Arsenal in four of their previous five Premier League encounters, including that 1-0 victory last month. In their previous 28 encounters with the north London team, they had only recorded one victory (D8 L16). The bad news for Everton is that they will need to do a feat they haven’t done in 37 years: defeat a team that is currently atop the table while playing away from home in a league game.
Form Guide: Arsenal
With 57 points after 24 games, Arsenal leads the Premier League standings. They only have a two-point advantage over second-place Manchester City, but they still have the game in hand.
Despite some recent disappointing performances, they have won their previous two league matches at Aston Villa and Leicester City. Everton, who had 21 points in 24 games and was back in the bottom three, finished the weekend in 18th place in the league.
In addition to two 1-0 victories over Leeds and Arsenal, they have lost four of their previous six games, including a 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa. For now, a win for the visitors will take them out of the relegation zone, though they would have played one match more than the sides around them.
However, Arteta’s current crop could now become just the third Arsenal team to reach 60 points in their first 25 Premier League games with a win here – the 2003-04 Invincibles and 2007-08 team are the only previous ones to achieve that feat – and the new manager bounce appears to have firmly worn off for Everton.
Form Guide: Everton
Everton’s subsequent relegation to 18th position after failing to secure a third straight home victory, despite Leeds just being one point better off, was made worse by the positive results for West Ham United and Leeds United.
Everton has never defeated a team at the top of the Premier League standings on the road, and their recent road form does not inspire confidence that such a scenario will occur on Wednesday. A new chapter in history must be written if the Toffees are to win all three points.
Although Dyche’s club has lost seven straight away Premier League games and has only scored one goal during that stretch, the Toffees defeated Arsenal 1-0 earlier in February, marking their fourth victory in five meetings with the vengeful Gunners.
The win over Arsenal was some introduction to Everton for Sean Dyche, who also got a crucial win over Leeds in a six-pointer either side of a dismal Merseyside derby showing and home defeat by Villa last time out in which they spurned numerous big chances. The Toffees are back in the relegation zone after other results went against them at the weekend and one point adrift of safety as things stand.
How the game could go
The Gunners enter this match having given up goals in six of their previous seven games and going three games without a home shutout. Although if Everton isn’t very dangerous offensively, the visitors have already managed to draw 1-1 with Manchester City this season, and they injured the Gunners from set pieces in the reverse matchup last month.
On the plus side, Arsenal has excelled thus far in the attacking department.
They have scored in all but one of their home league matches, and that was against Newcastle, which has the best defense in the Premier League. Everton is far from that point as they have given up in 91% of their away games this season.
Despite emerging as one of Arsenal’s bogey teams in recent years, Everton cannot realistically expect lightning to strike twice against the Gunners, especially considering their abysmal goalscoring form on the road.
Arteta’s side should be better prepared for the intense physical battle that awaits them in midweek, and a five-point lead at the summit should be their courtesy of professional performance and return to winning ways at the Emirates.
Betting Predictions
Arsenal to Win
Our initial prediction for today’s match between Arsenal and Everton is a home victory for Arsenal. Everton hasn’t traveled well so far this season, and Arsenal has defeated the Toffees three times in their last four home games. Everton has lost their past three away games, while Arsenal has won their last two league games and kept a clean sheet against Leicester last time out. The Gunners have won eight of 11 home league games this season and the Gunners have a 100% record against teams in the bottom half at the Emirates. Meanwhile, the Toffees have one of the worst away records in the league, having lost six times on their travels heading into this one. Bet9ja have 1.35, 1xbet have 1.36 and Paripesa have 1.36 odds.
Over 2.5 Goals
Even though Everton has appeared considerably more organized in defense since Sean Dyche took over, there isn’t much time left for them to escape the relegation fight. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s lead at the top has been reduced to only two points as a result of recent setbacks. The Gunners haven’t had many convincing victories at the Emirates since they frequently give up goals at home. Given that Sean Dyche is gradually enhancing the opposition, I anticipate a close encounter, but the home team should prevail. In order for both teams to earn three points today, they should both score. Bet9ja have 1.80 odds, Paripesa have 1.88, and 1xbet have 1.88 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Arsenal)
Bukayo Saka
Saka joint-top scores for Arsenal in the league this season with 9-goals and is his side’s dedicated penalty taker. The 21-year-old has scored in two of his last three appearances for the Gunners and we’re backing the England international to find the back of the net in a game we expect Arsenal to dominate from start to finish.
Bet9ja have 2.85 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.40.
Gabriel Martinelli
Eddie Nketiah was unexpectedly cut from the first XI amid rumors of a possible knock, and the Englishman may be fighting an uphill battle to force his way back in over Martinelli, who took a stamp on the knee from Wilfred Ndidi while scoring the winner against Leicester but still completed the full 90. They look like great opposition for Gabriel, who scored Arsenal’s only goal last time. Bet9ja have 2.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.60.
Anytime Goalscorer (Everton)
Neal Maupay
Calvert-Lewin is going to play a major role in Everton’s survival bid under Dyche and his absence is a blow. Without him, the Toffees will struggle to get up the pitch on Wednesday and are likely to succumb to sustained Arsenal pressure. Maupay seems to be the obvious choice to start upfront here. He has a good history against the Gunners since his time at Brighton and we can expect a good performance from him today. Bet9ja have 5.85 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 6.20.
Dwight McNeil
]Having managed him at Burnley for five Premier League seasons, Sean Dyche knew exactly what to expect from Dwight McNeil. The young English winger moved to Merseyside in the summer but struggled to make much of an impact under former boss Frank Lampard at the club. However, Dyche is once again getting the most out of the 23-year-old. McNeil has been Everton’s top creator since Dyche arrived at Goodison Park, both overall (11) and from open play (10). Bet9ja have 9.75 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 9.60.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
