Andy's Sunday Tips - Easy for Arsenal?
Two title contenders are in action on Sunday and while Andy is confident in Arsenal's chances he is not so sure Chelsea will have it all their own way with Sunderland in town
Everton v Arsenal
Everton are having a terrible time trying to score goals. I don't think David Moyes would have any complaints about the football they are playing from box to box but he must be seriously concerned about their end product. They are really struggling in the penalty area; Louis Saha hasn't started the season anywhere near as well as Moyes would have expected, while Yakubu remains injured.
Tim Cahill has scored five league goals so far but a team cannot rely on its midfielders to shoulder the goalscoring burden. Other players need to chip in for the Toffees, the likes of Mikel Arteta need to start finding the net and even at the back, players such as Sylvin Distin are capable of chipping in.
Of course, Jermain Beckford scored a cracking goal to earn his side a point on Wednesday night against Bolton. Perhaps he will get a lift from that and, as with Liverpool's Fernando Torres, goals tend to come in clusters so if you were backing an Everton player to score here he might be your man. I'd wait to see if he's in the team before putting any money on Beckford though.
I actually fancy Cesc Fabregas to get on the scoresheet at Goodison. He grabbed a couple of goals in the 6-1 rout here last season and a player of the Spaniard's abilities can never be discounted in the goal markets.
Arsenal's win over Wolves in midweek was important for them. After the defeat at home to Newcastle it was essential for Arsene Wenger's team to returning to winning ways and Marouane Chamakh proved that he is capable of making the difference when it matters.
I don't think Everton will be thumped 6-1 again on Sunday but I am going to have to bet against one of my teams for the second time this weekend. With a heavy heart I'm backing Arsenal to win 2-1.
Recommended bets:
Back Arsenal @ [2.28], 1-2 @ [9.8], Over 2.5 goals @ [2.02].
Chelsea v Sunderland
Three more points at home for Chelsea? I'm not too confident and this is by no means a foregone conclusion. The league leaders are winning but they are not sparking. They played badly against Wolves and won, they were poor against Blackburn and won and even in midweek against Fulham they needed Petr Cech's saves to guarantee them a 1-0 victory.
Steve Bruce's side picked up an excellent point against Tottenham on Tuesday and he would be delighted to do the same at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will be far tougher to contain and I believe Sunderland may start with a five man midfield with Asamoah Gyan the lone striker.
The Ghanaian is a decent player, he's done well to take his chance in Darren Bent's absence in recent games. What I like about Gyan is the quality of his finishing, he can gets himself in good positions and even if he misses one chance he keeps his head up and perseveres. That's exactly what Steve Bruce requires of his striker because, when a club like Sunderland spend big money on a player they can't afford to give him time to adjust to the Premier League in the way that bigger teams can. So far Gyan has done his manager proud.
Sunderland are capable of getting a point at Stamford Bridge but I don't think they will. What they might do is become the first Premier League away team to score there this season. I fancy Sunderland to sit back and try to hit the Blues on the break but Chelsea can score a couple themselves and I'm backing them to win 2-1.
Recommended bets:
Back Chelsea to win @ 1.25, 2-1 @ 11.0, Both Teams To Score @ 2.18
Published: 13 Nov 2010
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