Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion
As Premier League months go, both these sides would have been glad to see the back of April.
Five defeats and two draws in league and cup pushed the Seagulls to the brink of the relegation battle – even after they looked safe and well clear of favourites for the drop Cardiff City.
Arsenal, meanwhile, slumped to four defeats in six top flight games which created some Premier League news shocks and has seen them surely miss out on a top four finish.
That said, I expect the Gunners to bounce back here and they have been sheltered by their run to the Europa League semi-finals – including an impressive two-legged victory over Napoli – so could yet return to Europe’s top table by winning the competition.
Talking Points
Both sides really need the points.
Brighton could, in theory, be safe by the time this one kicks off.
In fact, anything other than a Cardiff victory over Crystal Palace just under 24 hours earlier will see Brighton’s top flight status secured.
A win for Neil Warnock’s side, however, would put real pressure on Chris Hughton’s men to take something from the Emirates Stadium.
Brighton have been in danger of sleepwalking into relegation in recent months and you only need to look back at the inaugural Premier League season to realise the dangers of that.
Matters have been so poor of late that, when Pascal Gross scored an equaliser against Newcastle last weekend, their fans acknowledged it was a rare moment of joy and even sang ‘we’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal’.
By the time Gross had scored, Brighton had long eclipsed a club record of 11 hours and 13 minutes without a goal, a barren standard that had stood since 1970.
With only two league wins in the calendar year of 2019, and none since March 9, niceties are redundant and Brighton must grind on and then take stock, irrespective of whether it is their resilience or the fragility of Cardiff which gets them there.
Unai Emery will surely not tolerate another off-day for his side however, even though their priority remains European competition, certainly judging on recent results.
A 3-0 reverse at Leicester City on Sunday was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests, although the decision to send-off Ainsley Maitland-Niles would be overturned if justice was to be done.
Right now they seem to lack leadership, indeed it is sorely lacking when compared to the title winning sides of the George Graham and Arsene Wenger teams of yesteryear – even if Wenger’s team in recent years had showed similar weaknesses to now.
On saying all of that, with Arsenal in the midst of a terrible run of form, it’s easy to forget that Emery won more games from his first 50 than any other Arsenal manager in history; his 32 victories are an impressive nine more than Wenger achieved in his first 50 games in charge.
So Gunners’ fans will put their faith in Emery for a while yet, particularly if he can stop his defence leaking goals.
This will surely be a day they get their act together.
History
Until last season, these sides hadn’t met in the top flight since 1983.
Although Arsenal won this corresponding fixture 2-0, courtesy of goals from Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi, Brighton enjoyed a day to remember in the return game.
The Seagulls recorded a memorable 2-1 home win after two goals in the opening 26 minutes from Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang pulled one back.
The match earlier this season, on Boxing Day, ended all square with Jurgen Locadia cancelling out Aubameyang’s opener.
Arsenal have never been beaten at home by Brighton in their history.
Overall, their meetings have produced 12 Arsenal wins, three Brighton triumphs and three draws.
Betting Tip
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Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion | Arsenal Asian Handicap – 1.50 @ 2.20 |
| May 05, 23:30(GMT+8) |
Arsenal are overwhelming favourites with the SBOBET Premier League betting odds.
You can get a 1X2 deal on them @ 1.38 and a 1X2 deal on Brighton at a rank outside @ 9.25.
The draw is on the table @ 4.20.
Likewise, for the Gunners to lead at the break it’s First Half 1X2 @ 1.86, the draw @ 2.44 and Brighton @ 6.60.
First Half Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 2.28 backs the hosts, with First Half Asian Handicap Brighton +0.50 @ 2.03.
I expect a fair few goals in this one.
Over 3.00 goals @ 2.11, total goal 2-3 @ 2.05, total goal 4-6 @ 3.00 all catch the eye.
A repeat of their 1-1 draw from Boxing Day offers odds of correct score @ 9.25.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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