EFL Cup Round of 16, Wednesday, 30.10.2024 at 8:45 p.m.
Arsenal has only one goal for this 2024/25 season: winning titles! Of course, the Premier League is the top priority, but the Londoners would of course also take a success in the EFL Cup.
The next round takes the Gunners to a second division club and of course: they are the overwhelming favorites. In my Preston Arsenal betting tip, I would now like to tell you in detail why I am thinking defensively and recommend the Under 3.5 goals bet.
Don’t slip into a little fall crisis! Arsenal FC made a mistake again after the surprising 0-2 defeat against Bournemouth. Well, a 2-2 draw against Liverpool doesn’t sound so bad at first glance.
But on second thought, I realized that they gave away a lead twice. It’s exactly these kinds of mistakes that have cost them the league title they so desperately want in the last two years.
Two goals conceded in four of the last five matches? We don’t know that from the Londoners! Especially not because they kept themselves completely out of harm’s way defensively in the Champions League games against Donetsk, Atalanta Bergamo and PSG.
It should be added in the offensive context: more than two goals were only scored twice (and here the Premier League and the Champions League have already been included in the evaluation together).
On the other hand, it was really offensive in the first round (or did Arsenal enter in the 3rd round) of the EFL Cup, beating Bolton 5-1. Well…the opponent is in the 3rd division, so you can expect five goals, of course.
The Gunners actually thrive on a congenial duo that is unfortunately currently on the road individually. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka are meant, and the latter player is unfortunately not in top form!
Saka is still suffering from an injury, sometimes he can play, sometimes he can’t. He scored against Liverpool and is hopefully hoping that he will have no more problems from now on.
In the 5-1 win over Bolton, coach Mikel Arteta made a few rotations and also gave his second team a chance. Ethan Nwaneri scored twice that day, with Kai Havertz also getting on the scoresheet.
Arsenal have met Preston 43 times in their history, but most of those games were a VERY long time ago. In 2017, the Gunners won 2-1 in the FA Cup, but before that there hadn’t been a match for almost 20 years.
So I’m ignoring the history in this case, but of course I’m still paying attention to the odds. Arsenal, logically, are clearly ahead, with the odds for a win after 90 minutes just making it to an average 1.22.
On the other hand, I see an 11.5 for the second division team from Preston. So at this point, I take a look at how the Championship team is doing. Is it perhaps even a candidate for promotion?
At number 16 in the table, it quickly becomes clear: no, not really. Three wins, five draws and four defeats are not going to scare any English top club.
And yet I can find words of praise, because they have not lost in five matches. In addition, Preston have not lost in five home matches.
It is also important to note that they have kept a clean sheet in four of those five games, but then conceded two goals in the most recent 2-2 draw against Norwich. This was not absolutely necessary, as Preston had already led 2-0.
The club has already been involved in the EFL Cup three times this season, and the last round could hardly have been more dramatic! The score against Fulham was 1-1, so it had to be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
The second division club won 17-16 on penalties! After the first two tasks, which were completed very confidently with 2-0 wins against Sunderland and 5-0 against Harrogate Town, the drama was pure.
It’s time for Arsenal to end their minor crisis, if necessary by winning the EFL Cup! In the league, the Gunners had to let a little tear down, so it is all the more important that this does not happen in other competitions as well.
Preston has been unbeaten for a few weeks, but of course they are competing in a lower league. Defensively, I have words of praise, it is quite possible that the home side are looking for walls for now.
Arsenal will have to get out of defense, possibly rotating Arteta like in the previous round. In short: I don’t think we’ll see a spectacle here, but rather think tactically. That leads to the following tip:
We see a maximum of three goals!
