Frank Lorenzo
Arsenal (-120) vs. Southampton (+375) (Draw +275)
After losing to Manchester City (3-0) at home last Sunday, Southampton has another tough game mid-week, facing Arsenal in London on Wednesday, December 3. The kickoff will be at Emirates Stadium at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.
In the moneyline, the Gunners are favored to win the game at -120. A Southampton victory will pay +375 and the draw +275.
The recent loss to Man City notwithstanding, Southampton has been one of the biggest surprises of the BPL season so far. At 8-2-3 and sitting on 26 points, Southampton is just one point back of second-place Man City and one point up on fourth-place Man United. Their +15 goal difference is second only to Chelsea.
After playing a fairly weak schedule up to this point, there was a concern that Southampton would come crashing down to earth during their current string of games against traditional powers. The 3-0 loss to City on the weekend is breathing life into those fears, making Wednesday’s match against Arsenal crucial for both Southampton’s confidence and their continued residence in the BPL top-four (a.k.a. the Champions League positions).
“We know on Wednesday we play again, and there is no time to be disappointed with one result,” said coach Ronald Koeman after losing to City. “Arsenal is the best way to have a good reaction – that means working hard and showing it on the pitch”.
Meanwhile, Arsenal is sixth in the table with 20 points (5W, 5D, 3L) and a +6 goal difference. Last weekend, they edged out West Brom (0-1) in a pretty even game.
Despite getting the full three, coach Arsene Wenger wasn’t satisfied with the lone goal. “In glimpses [the partnership of Giroud, Sanchez and Welbeck] worked very well but what you want is to score the goals when you have so many strikers on the pitch. But the desire to play together is there, and the attitude is very good so the rest will come,” said Wenger after the win.
If Arsenal can win at home on Wednesday, they would be just three points back of Southampton in the standings. If Southampton pull the upset, they would move a shocking nine points clear of the Gunners.
Arsenal is unbeaten in their last nine Premier League games against Southampton (five wins and four draws); however, Southampton already won in Emirates Stadium this season during Capital One Cup action.
(Photo credit: Marcus Hansson (Flickr: Podolski scores) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
