FA CUP MONDAY: The Striker looks ahead to the FA Cup Third round game on Monday between Oxford United v Arsenal including a recommended BETDAQ bet.
OXFORD UNITED V ARSENAL
8pm We finish the FA Cup Third Round on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with Monday Night Football as Oxford United host Arsenal. It’s fair to say that there’s a huge gulf in class between the sides here and Arsenal will be fully expected to win this tie. I suppose this is your classic case where the media always say it’s “the magic of the Cup” if Oxford get a result. However, Arsenal have been playing superb football this season and it’s very hard to see anything other than a comfortable away win.
The market agrees, with Arsenal trading as short as 1.19 at the time of writing. I think this is a case of how many goals can Arsenal score rather than will they win, so we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value. I would expect to see Arteta make some changes too; Arsenal usually give plenty of opportunity to young players in the domestic Cups, and Europa League Group stages to be fair.
Oxford are having a fairly average season. They sit down in 14th place in League One – they are eight points away from the bottom three so they aren’t in a relegation battle or anything like that, but it’s hard to see them getting away from mid-table. They will be happy to have home advantage against a club like Arsenal, but as I said above it’s hard to see them getting a result. You have to go back to 1988 when Oxford last met Arsenal!
With a lot of changes expected to the Arsenal starting XI, I wouldn’t be surprised if they started a little slowly with some low tempo dis-jointed play. It’s only natural when you make a lot of changes. This makes Under 2.5 goals appeal at around 3.15, but I’m happier on Under 3.5 goals at 1.88. I would be surprised if Oxford scored, so Under 3.5 goals allows for a 3-0 Arsenal win too which is a nice cushion to have. I can’t see Oxford attacking much, especially at the start of the game, and I would expect their plan is to get to half-time at 0-0 and see what happens from there.
With Manchester City closing the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League last week and some massive games coming up for both of those sides in the coming days, I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal weren’t fully focused on this fixture to be honest. I still expect them to grind out a win, but it might not be as impressive as the betting markets suggest. Under 3.5 goals is a nice option at the prices.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 3.5 goals at 1.88 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/OxfArs
