FA CUP: The Striker looks ahead to the FA Cup fourth round clash on Friday between Manchester City v Arsenal with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MANCHESTER CITY V ARSENAL
8pm We have an intriguing FA Cup Fourth Round weekend on BETDAQ Betting Exchange, and what a clash we have on Friday night too! Manchester City host Arsenal as the sides do battle at the top of the Premier League. With Arsenal having a five point advantage there, this is definitely going to be a fixture to get in each other’s heads. It will be fascinating to see what kind of XI’s the managers go with – usually we see weaker XI’s at this stage of the FA Cup, but there’s more at stake here than just the Fourth Round of the FA cup in my opinion!
Manchester City got to enjoy a week off as they got knocked out of the League Cup against Southampton. I’m sure they would have preferred to be in the Semi-Final this week, but it’s been a hectic schedule since re-starting the Premier League season, and they do have the Champions League coming up soon. After losing the Manchester Derby and recording their lowest xG of the season at Old Trafford, they have bounced back well with a 4-2 win over Spurs, that wasn’t without drama as they were 2-0 down at half-time and then a smooth 3-0 win over Wolves.
Arsenal couldn’t come into this fixture in better form. They must be full of confidence after beating their North London rivals Spurs and then Manchester United. As I said in my preview of that game, a win would have given them a huge boost belief wise given the history between the clubs, and the way in which they won would have felt even better! Despite having a five point advantage at the top of the Premier League, most football fans believe Manchester City are still the best side in England. The market here pretty much backs that up as City come into the game odds on favourites at 1.77.
Given the situation in the Premier League, I would expect a strong line-up from both sides. But we could easily see some changes given the way clubs view the FA Cup these days. This is definitely a game where we could see a lot of market movement around the team news, and from that point of view it will be fastest figures first when the team news breaks on Twitter. We have to consider that if the managers decide to rest players, Manchester City will have a much stronger side – their second XI could probably challenge for a European spot they would be that strong!
Most xG tables have Manchester City topping the table based on performances. I know Arsenal fans will take offense to that, but you can’t knock the facts. I feel City should win here, but it’s hard to make the case that they should be much shorter than 1.77. I’m happy to stay out of the match odds market here and focus on the goals market. Both sides have been creating so much this season we should see a lot of chances here. Over 2.5 goals is trading 1.67 and that looks a very nice value bet. Manchester City are averaging an xG of 2.2 in the Premier League this season, while Arsenal’s figure is very similar at 2.1. We’ll have a lot of attacking talent here, and we should see goals.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.67 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/mciars
