Sunderland v Arsenal
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 11 February 2012 - Kick Off 3pm

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Sunderland

Sunderland moved through to the 5th Round of the FA Cup after an extra time win at local rivals Middlesbrough on Wednesday night and the question is how much that has taken it out of the squad ahead of this game. Martin O'Neill has inspired his squad to a number of good results in his short time at the club and this would be another one as they look to maintain their unbeaten home run under O'Neill.

After a start to the season when some were considering the Black Cats as a trendy pick for relegation, Sunderland have been in such a good vein of form that they have moved up to 8th in the Premier League and are looking like a candidate for a top half finish. Sunderland are 5-4-3 at home this season, scoring 19 goals and conceding 11.

The team have lost just 1 of their last 11 games in all competitions, and have lost just 2 of 13 under O'Neill, with both losses coming at Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. They are unbeaten in their last 6 home games in all competitions, winning 4 of their last 5 games here in the Premier League. Sunderland have enjoyed a nice set of fixtures in that time, although they have also beaten Manchester City.

There have been a bunch of injuries in this squad and the likes of Wes Brown, Titus Bramble, David Vaughan and Matt Kilgallon are all set to miss this game, while Nicolas Bendtner and Lee Cattermole could make their returns this week. Frazier Campbell could continue up front even though he played 88 minutes during the week.

Arsenal

I did say last week that I expect Arsenal to give someone a hiding sooner or later with some of the chances they had been creating in games, and they duly thumped Blackburn Rovers 7-1 at the Emirates Stadium. With a fight to get back into the Champions League, I expect Arsene Wenger to play a strong team in this game, despite the fact they travel to AC Milan on Wednesday night in the first leg of their last 16 tie.

Arsenal moved up to 6th in the Premier League table last week and managed to close the gap to 4th placed Chelsea to 3 points after the latter blew a 3 goal lead against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners have been inconsistent on their travels so far, compiling a 4-2-6 record, scoring 22 goals and conceding 25, with only the bottom two sides conceding more away goals so far this season.

The win over Blackburn stopped a run of 4 consecutive games in the Premier League without a win for Arsenal, a run in which they had picked up 1 point from a possible 12. They have won just 1 of their last 6 away games in all competitions, and they have lost 4 of those games. Arsenal have picked up 1 point from their last 3 away League games, losing at Fulham and Swansea from winning positions.

Kieran Gibbs is a doubt for this game, but could be in line to play against Sunderland in the FA Cup next weekend. There are still a few injuries in the squad, but not so much as there were a couple of months ago as Arsenal start getting a few of their players back.

Head to Head

Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-1 earlier this season, courtesy of a late goal from Robin Van Persie.

Sunderland should feel a little confident from the fact they have not lost in any of their last 3 home games against Arsenal, drawing 2 of those games.

Arsenal had been very successful in visits to the Stadium of Light before that, winning 4 in a row here.

Prediction

The biggest question surrounding this game is how much the Wednesday night game took out of Sunderland and how much the Arsenal players and management are looking ahead to the Milan clash on Wednesday night in Italy?

Martin O'Neill has continued to get the best out of a side that had been sinking down to the bottom of the Premier League before his arrival. They have proven themselves tough to beat with their only two losses coming by single goal margins at Spurs and Chelsea, and they were particularly unfortunate in the latter of those games.

Arsenal have really not had the best of times in their away games in recent weeks, losing 4 of their last 6 in all competitions, and they have even struggled to keep hold of leads in those games, blowing them at Fulham and Swansea.

They have also had a tough time in recent visits to the Stadium of Light and I think this will be another one of those for them, despite the seven goals they scored against Blackburn last week.

I just think this could be another close contest and one which could end up with both teams sharing the points. With that priced at 3.50, I think it is worth chancing that Sunderland maintain their unbeaten record at home under O'Neill as these teams prepare to meet again next week in the FA Cup.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Sunderland 1-1 Arsenal

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll go for the Draw @ 3.50