English Premier
2024-12-14 - Arsenal vs Everton
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 14th December 2024 - Kick Off 3pm
Arsenal
The best way for Arsenal to bounce back from the disappointing 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage was to get back on the field and produce a solid Champions League victory. That is exactly what they did against Monaco on Match Day 6 of the Group Stage and Arsenal are very much in line for a top eight finish and direct passage into the Last 16 of the competition.
We have a six week gap before Match Day 7 of the Champions League, but for Arsenal fans and players the focus has to be to try and put a strong Premier League run together as they bid to close the gap on leaders Liverpool. That gap is 6 points after results last weekend, albeit with Liverpool holding a game in hand, but Arsenal might feel they missed a big opportunity and cannot afford to drop more points at the Emirates Stadium where they have a 5-2-0 record in the League.
Arsenal's win over Monaco makes it 5 wins in 6 games in all competitions for the team, while the home form has been particularly strong. The Gunners have won 8 of their last 9 at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions and that includes each of their last 3 since the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the end of October.
Jurrien Timber should be ready to start having been used as a sub in the win over Monaco. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori are all still doubtful having missed a couple of fixtures.
Everton
He needed a big result and Sean Dyche's only frustration after the 4-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League is that Everton's last home Merseyside derby was postponed last Saturday. The manager would have been keen for Everton to have built on any momentum they had earned from the win over a relegation rival, but it does give Dyche time to work with his squad on the training ground before the hectic festive period around Christmas and the New Year.
Despite not playing last weekend, Everton are 15th in the Premier League table and 5 points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand. The Toffees have a 1-2-4 record away from home in the top flight where they have scored 5 goals and conceded 13.
Everton not only snapped their 5 game winless run in the victory over Wolves, but they ended a run of 370 minutes of Premier League Football without a goal in the emphatic win. The side earned a very important win at Ipswich Town in mid-October, but Everton have not scored in 3 away Premier League games since the 0-2 victory at Portman Road and they have lost twice in that time.
Michael Keane and Youssef Chermiti may have benefited from the unexpected mini break and could be involved in the travelling squad.
Head to Head
Arsenal earned two narrow wins over Everton in the Premier League last season, including a 2-1 win over them at the Emirates Stadium on the final day.
That result makes it 3 straight home wins for Arsenal since an upset Everton win in this Stadium in April 2021.
Prediction
This is an important game at the top and bottom of the Premier League table and an opportunity to build some momentum to take into the festive period.
There is a lot of football to be played in a pretty short period and both Arsenal and Everton might have a bit of confidence behind them after big results.
Everton did have the Merseyside derby postponed last weekend and that means their last fixture ended in the 4-0 win over Wolves. Sean Dyche will have been very pleased to see the likes of Ipswich Town and Wolves lose narrowly on a weekend when they were not playing and that keeps Everton 5 points clear of the relegation zone.
His team have not really been at their best away from home in recent weeks and they have not won any of their last 3 on their travels and have been beaten twice in that run. The real problem for Everton has been a lack of goals and they have managed just five away from home this season, which is going to make it very hard to pick up points at grounds like this one.
Mikel Arteta has had a few defensive issues to deal with, but he will be hoping that a couple of key players can return having had a bit more time to recover from knocks. Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori would just offer a bit more balance defensively and give the manager the chance to push Thomas Partey back into the midfield.
Even while they have been missing, Arsenal have still looked pretty solid defensively and they have been particularly tough at the Emirates Stadium.
They earned a clean sheet in the win over Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday and that makes it 3 straight wins here and all with clean sheets too. In fact Arsenal have conceded just three goals in their last 7 at home in all competitions and they should be able to restrict the Everton threat in a winning effort to just ensure they do not lose too much more ground on the Premier League leaders.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-0 Everton
