WILL Arsenal be the next big side to become an FA Cup victim? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) takes a look at the betting for us.
Brighton v Arsenal | Sunday 16:00 | BT Sport 1
4pm on a Sunday. Usually always an exciting time for football fans. Not this week. Come on be honest, does this game really get you excited? I’ll watch the highlights later and instead be tucking into my neeps and tatties as it’s Burns Day. Even the supreme shagger that was Burns would find it hard to get aroused about this.
Anyway, enough of the negativity. The analysis is simple, Arsenal don’t lose these kind of games. Their FA Cup defeat to Championship side to Blackburn in 2013 was the first time in almost two decades they’d lost to a lower league side in this competition.
Saturday’s results would have pricked the ears of fans and staff alike at Arsenal and you would imagine they’ll be a little more purposeful on Sunday. Last weekend’s stunning win over Man City could be a watershed for the club. But it almost certainly won’t. They will though feel the benefit of that result here and should be too strong for Brighton in what looks the ultimate Middle Class Derby.
The underrated Chris Hughton has come in at Brighton and has already started to turn things around with four wins in their last five matches including a sensational win against Ipswich midweek. His brief though will be to keep his side in the Championship with anything else a bonus.
These sides met in the 2013 FA Cup with Arsenal winning 3-2 on the South Coast. Brighton reached the Championship play-offs that season and it certainly looks like they’ve regressed since that day two years ago.
Arsene Wenger’s side are 8/15 to win the match. It looks vile but it’s probably just about right. I’ve been having an argument with myself whether to go for Arsenal -1 or 2-3 Match Goals and I’ve decided on the latter.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Brighton failed to score a goal and at the same time I can’t see Arsenal knocking more than two past this improving side. This bet at 21/20 fits my thinking.
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Brighton v Arsenal – Exactly 2 or 3 Goals (21/20 BetVictor)
