Betting: Southampton and Arsenal to share the spoils in the FA Cup fourth round
Southampton will be gunning for two upsets in a matter of days when they host Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round tomorrow.
The Saints booked their place in a first major Wembley final since 1979 on Wednesday, as Shane Long’s late winner downed Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
The south coast club knocked out Arsenal in the round before, and manager Claude Puel will be hoping for a repeat in England’s oldest competition.
Before last weekend’s fixtures, Puel’s side had lost four in a row, with Saints fans becoming increasingly worried about the team’s form.
However, two successive victories and a Wembley date to look forward to will allow the Frenchman to breathe a little easier.
Their opponents, Arsenal, also come into this game with confidence, having won five of their last six in all competitions.
One of those wins was a last gasp victory against Preston in the third round, with Olivier Giroud netting an 89th minute winner.
Giroud has five goals in that run, but is unlikely to play tomorrow, with Danny Welbeck set to be handed his first start for seven months.
It could be a much changed team for the Gunners, with important fixtures against Watford and Chelsea ahead next week as they battle to stay in the title race.
Manager Arsene Wenger should be wary of taking Southampton lightly – they’ve won just two of their last eight matches against the Saints, and were beaten 4-0 on their last trip to St Mary’s.
With that in mind, I see them being frustrated again.
I’ll be backing a Paddy Power’s 5/2 for the draw.
There may not be many goals in this – four of Southampton’s last five have finished 1-0, with Puel’s men coping well with the loss of skipper Jose Fonte to West Ham.
I suggest selling goals at 2.65 with Sporting Index.
Pointers
Draw – 5/2 (Paddy Power)
Sell total goals – 2.65 (Sporting Index)