Football betting: Worried Arsene Wenger to go all Gunners blazing at Leicester
Last season’s top two meet at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon after making less than impressive starts to this campaign.
Defeats for Leicester and Arsenal to Hull and Liverpool respectively mean another poor result could jeopardise hopes for either side scaling the same heights again.
The 2-1 reverse for the Foxes in particular showed little of the verve and spirit that saw them become the Premier League’s unlikeliest champions.
It was their fourth loss on the spin too, after succumbing to Manchester United in the Community Shield and Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in pre-season friendlies.
While it might be a little early to suggest their bubble has burst, they certainly appear to be deflated, and it’s clear the departure of N’Golo Kante has left a huge void in their ranks. Claudio Ranieri desperately needs a positive result to ensure heads don’t drop.
Their opponents have their own troubles, meanwhile, with mutiny on the cards after another summer without major improvements.
Their makeshift defence were dismantled by Liverpool on Sunday, and while a late rally helped make it a slightly more respectable 4-3 reversal, there are still question marks about whether the squad in its current form can challenge for the title.
The knives are out for Arsene Wenger, who was trimmed from 40/1 to 12/1 by Betway over the weekend to be the next manager to leave his post.
The same firm make it 12/5 for the points to be shared tomorrow, which is tempting.
Of the three defeats Leicester suffered in their title-winning season, Arsenal accounted for two of them. But, low on confidence and possibly missing Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, I don’t think they have enough to win this one.
This fixture last year saw both teams throw caution to the wind in a 5-2 thriller.
Without Kante to mop up, Leicester might return to the cavalier approach of the first half of last term, and take the game to Arsenal – who might fight fire with fire themselves.
I’m hoping for a goal-fest, so will be buying total goals at 3.0 with Sporting Index.
Pointers
Draw 12/5 (Betway)
Buy total goals 3.0 (Sporting Index)