Here come the Gunners. Arsenal moved to within two points of leaders Manchester City in the Premier League race with a resounding 3-0 victory over Watford on Saturday. They will look to grab the solo lead this coming Saturday when they face Everton in a blockbuster showdown at Emirates Stadium.
Who will emerge victorious in this mouth-watering matchup? Read on for an in-depth breakdown of this much-anticipated clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the 170th Manchester derby between arch-rivals City and United.
Arsenal will head to their Premier League clash with Everton with momentum on their side after recording a 2-0 victory over European giants Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This result comes on the heels of their three-goal thrashing of Watford in the EPL this past weekend. Arsenal have been playing some excellent football of late, going a perfect 3-0 thus far this month of October.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Key to the Gunners’ resurgence has been the excellent form of Alexis Sanchez. He leads the Gunners in scoring this season with six goals. He was the one who finally broke Watford’s resistance with a well-taken goal in the 62nd minute. Also contributing to the Gunners’ success thus far is the ever-improving Theo Walcott. The England striker has nabbed 12 goals for Arsenal in his last 15 Premier League starts.
For the Gunners to extend their three-game winning streak this coming weekend, they will need to continue their excellent play on the defensive end. Led by veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech, the Gunners have recorded three clean sheets in their last three matches. Apart from shutting out Bayern and Watford, Arsenal have also managed to blank Manchester United.
One source of concern, though, for manager Arsene Wenger heading into the match against Everton is the fitness of Aaron Ramsey. The Welsh international is facing a long lay-off after suffering a hamstring injury in the second half of their game against Bayern. His career has been blighted by this particular problem in the past. Ramsey was sidelined on three separate occasions by a hamstring problem in the 2014-15 season.
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Betting on Everton
Everton had their seven-match unbeaten run snapped on Saturday with a heavy 3-0 defeat to Manchester United. It was a disappointing performance by the Toffees who dropped down to ninth in the league table with 13 points. It won’t get any easier for Everton as standing in their way in the next match are 13-time league champions Arsenal. The Toffees managed to grab just a single point in their two league meetings with Arsenal last season. To make matters worse for Everton, they haven’t beaten Arsenal on the road since January 20, 1996.
For Everton to return to winning ways this coming Saturday, they need to improve greatly on their ball possession. The Toffees only had 47% of the possession in their last match against Manchester United. As a result, they were outshot by the Red Devils in the shots on target department 7-3.
It’s crucial for Roberto Martinez’s men that they control the midfield battle this coming weekend and disrupt Arsenal’s offensive flow. One of the main reasons behind their lackluster display against the Red Devils was their inability to stop United’s midfield players, in particular, Morgan Schneiderlin. The Frenchman completed 97.1% of his 70 attempted passes on Saturday, the most of any visiting player at Goodison Park this season. That kind of defensive performance simply won’t do against an Arsenal side that has already scored 16 goals in the Premier League this season, fourth-highest this campaign.
It’s also vital for Everton that they provide Romelu Lukaku with enough scoring chances. The Belgian leads the Toffees in scoring this season with seven goals to his name. He was basically a non-factor in Everton’s 3-0 loss to United this past weekend.
