Arsenal v Leicester City Betting Preview, 2016-02-14

Arsenal to win an entertaining clash

Premier League Tips

Sunday 14th February 2016 Kickoff: 1200hrs                           Arsenal v Leicester City                                                         Football – England – Premier League

It may well be Valentine’s Day on Sunday, but any true football fan will surely be glued to the television screen rather than their other halves with the top four all facing off against each other in a truly Super Sunday. The first of the clashes witnesses everybody’s new ‘second team’ Leicester travel to the Emirates to face third place Arsenal. For the first time this season, the surprise league leaders are now favourites with many bookmakers to go on and clinch the title.

Arsenal ended a run of four league games without a win by seeing off a determined Bournemouth last weekend. It was anything but vintage from Arsene Wenger’s men but it is much more about results than performances from here on in. Goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain were enough to seal the three points and were also the first league goals Arsenal had managed since the 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the middle of January. Two goalless draws with Stoke City and Southampton, either side of a 1-0 loss at home to Chelsea, saw the Gunners drop from first to fourth before last Sunday’s game, so anything else but a win at home to Leicester would be seen as a failure. The gap is currently five points, and with FA Cup and Champions League commitments to negotiate this month, they can ill-afford to drop further behind the leaders.

From somebody who backed, and advised others to do likewise, Leicester to go down this season before a ball was kicked, I have never been happier to see a bet fail in such a monumental way. As this season has evolved, Leicester have went from early pacesetters, to capitalising on other team’s inconsistency to occupy a Champions League spot for a period of time, to small murmurings of finishing there come the end of the season, to eventually being considered as legit title contenders. Last weekend’s 3-1 win away to Manchester City firmly cemented that point of view, particularly coming off the back of a win over Liverpool only a few days previous. The results of both games are impressive enough, but the manner of the victories was most notable. Despite playing against two teams who have spent tens of millions assembling their squads, Leicester were far superior in both fixtures and looked every bit like a side who deserve to be considered favourites for this season’s Premier League.

It’s well documented how long it’s been since Arsenal last won the Premier League and for long periods of this campaign, you would struggle to think of a better opportunity for them to end their 16 year wait and secure the championship. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have barely been able to raise a gallop in terms of challenging this season, whilst City appear to be suffering from the news that their manager is to be replaced at the end of the season and unable to show any consistency. Wenger is aware of that and has had to deal with the pressure that comes along with being one of the biggest ‘names’ and it appears to be getting to his players going by their recent run of results. Many still believe they are best-placed to finish top come the end of the season simply because the quality they possess, but make no mistake about it, Sunday represents a massive challenge for the home team and one that will go a long way to deciding where they do finish.

As much as last weekend’s win at City was virtually the last bit of proof that even the staunchest of doubters would have needed to accept Leicester as genuine title contenders, it has done nothing to change the mindset of Claudio Ranieri who maintains that his team is under absolutely no pressure. In my book, it depends how you define pressure. If you believe – like many did at the start of the season – that anything other than relegation would be treated as success then of course there is no pressure on the players or coaching staff. However, they are all professionals and despite this being quite an extraordinary situation, it is one they have to embrace and accept everything that comes along with it, including expectation and pressure. Sunday will be another stern examination of their credentials but even if they do not manage to secure a result, Leicester will still very much remain one of the few sides who can win this season’s Premier League.

Arsenal v Leicester City Betting Tips

Arsenal are about the only team to have comfortably seen off Leicester this season when winning 5-2 at the King Power Stadium back in September. Many felt that would be the beginning of the Foxes slide down the table but it was anything but. That said, Arsenal were able to exploit Leicester’s back four with the searing pace of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott and that will surely be their aim using the wide open spaces of the Emirates. The home team will, of course, have to respect the pace that Leicester have in attack, particularly if Arsenal push their full-backs forward which is often Wenger’s desired style of play at home.

The three goals that Leicester managed at the Etihad last weekend means they are now the joint-top scorers in the Premier League, alongside City, with 47 goals. It’s quite remarkable and should instil confidence on Ranieri to go with two strikers once again – it’s where their major strength lies, after all. That doesn’t mean they don’t have to respect their opponents, of course, but they have to continue playing their own game.

I’m very much looking forward to this game and expect it to be as entertaining as the first meeting between the two. We may not get as many as seven goals this time around but I think it will be the same result – an Arsenal win. The way the teams match up it promises goals so the selection is for a home win and over 2.5 goals to be scored in the game.

Arsenal to win and over 2.5 goals 6/4 @ Betfred