Stoke City hosts Arsenal in a big English Premier League clash at the Britannia Stadium this Sunday January 17th. The Gunners are hoping to break their league-title slump of 12 years as they were last crowned champions back in 2004. Arsenal enters the game after giving up a late road goal at Anfield on Wednesday and settling for a 3-3 draw with Liverpool. Stoke has won their past two outings with their latest triumph being a 3-1 victory over newly-promoted Norwich City during the week. Stoke can’t be taken lightly as they’ve already defeated Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea this season.
Stoke City vs Arsenal: bet365 SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- bet365 currently lists Arsenal as the favorites at 9/10 with Stoke 10/3 and a draw at 3/1
Stoke City vs Arsenal – Head To Head:
- Arsenal downed Stoke 2-0 earlier in the season at home at the Emirates Stadium in London. Last season, Arsenal won 3-0 at home and Stoke took their home fixture 3-2. Overall, the two clubs have met 102 times with Arsenal winning 54, losing 25 and drawing the other 23. The last time the teams drew was in August of 2012 when both teams failed to find the back of the net at the Britannia.
Stoke improved during the offseason by signing Xherdan Shaqiri, Ibrahim Afellay and Bojan Krkic while Arsenal made arguably the best move of the summer when they acquired Czech Republic international goalkeeper Petr Cech. Stoke is fighting for a top-four finish this year and a spot in next season’s European Champions League tournament and are currently four points behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur with 17 games to go in the campaign.
Visit bet365 now for online SOCCER BETTING!
Stoke enters the weekend in seventh place with 32 points from nine wins, five draws and seven losses. They’ve scored 24 times and allowed 22 goals against. They’ve managed to win three of their past four league games. Striker Marko Arnautovic is leading the club in scoring this season, but has yet to sign a new contract. Overall, Stoke has three wins, a draw and a pair of losses in their last six league outings.
Arsenal enters the weekend with 43 points, which places them in a first-place tie with Leicester City. However, they own top spot in the standings due to a better goal differential. The Gunners have a record of 13 wins, four draws and four losses with 37 goals scored and 21 allowed. They’ve lost just once in their past eight league matches and have added some depth to the squad by signing Egyptian international midfielder Mohamed Elneny in the current January transfer window. However, it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to suit up for the London club on Sunday.
French international striker Olivier Giroud is leading the club in scoring this campaign with a dozen league goals to his name while German international midfielder Mesut Ozil leads the league in playmaking with 15 assists. Giroud has tallied seven goals in his past eight road appearances, but he usually struggles at the Britannia. Arsenal has four wins, a draw and a loss in their last six league fixtures.
Visit bet365 now for online SOCCER BETTING!
Arsenal isn’t sure if international striker Alexis Sanchez will be fit enough to suit up on Sunday as he has a hamstring problem and has been sidelined since the end of November. The Gunners will still be without midfielders Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Francis Coquelin along with forward Danny Welbeck. Stoke will be without Marc Muniesa, Geoff Cameron and Swiss international forward Shaqiri, but Stephen Ireland and Phil Bardsley should be back.
Click here for more information on SOCCER BETTING or the Stoke City vs Arsenal match.
By Ian Palmer
