Arsenal opened up this season in the strangest form, having to come from behind to take care of Leicester City, thus avoiding a defeat that could have plagued Arsene Wenger for the entire season. The Gunners have their three points, though, and they'll be expecting to get three more when they visit Bet365 Stadium to take on Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
This Premier League duel will go down Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 12:30 p.m. ET at Bet365 Stadium. The match will be televised live on NBC.
Opening Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Stoke City +375
Arsenal -140
Draw +275
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
Stoke City was a dangerous team at times last season, and it figures to be more of the same this year. Overmatched, it is, but incompetent, it isn't. The Potters are +375 on the moneyline in this match. It's believable that they could snare a result against an Arsenal team that will come into this one at -140. Figure that it's about 60 percent that the Gunners take their three points based on the odds to win this match.
The total is a rising number for sure. The figure is set at 2.5 as of the publication of this article, but with -150 vig on the over, that may as well be changed to a flat 3.
Key Injuries
Alexis Sanchez is still in the middle of a firestorm right now with a potential move to Manchester City (or PSG… or Barcelona). Regardless, he's still dealing with an abdominal injury that could keep him out for this match. Laurent Koscielny is serving the end of his three-match ban for his red card against Everton right at the end of the season. Santiago Cazorla is amongst the long-term injuries Wenger must deal with at the outset of the year.
Stoke City is in pretty good shape right now. Stephen Ireland and Ibrahim Afellay are both long-term absentees who are nearing returns to the lineup. In fact, there's a decent chance that both could at least be on the bench and be available for selection or substitution on Saturday, and that would be a huge boon to the squad.
Recent Form
Stoke City ran into a bit of a buzz saw on the first Saturday of the season last week. The match at Goodison Park easily could have gone either way. Yet it always seemed like Wayne Rooney was going to have some sort of a say in his return to Everton, and he scored the one goal of the match just before halftime on a brilliant moment of skill. It's nothing to worry about for the moment for the Potters.
It was an odd opening night at the Emirates for Arsenal. The result was just fine with three points against Leicester City, but the fact that the team blew a 1-0 lead in a span of three minutes, rallied to tie the match at 2-2, then fell behind 3-2, only to come back in the final 10 minutes with two more strikes to win gives us reason to be concerned all over the pitch.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
We think Stoke has more than just a shot in this match. Good health is a big factor in this one, and Stoke has it. There is a question as to just how good the Potters are up front, especially if they're going to be counting on 36-year old Peter Crouch for any extensive minutes in a match like this one. But Saido Berahino is fantastic, and Xherdan Shaqiri has been a thorn in the side of the top teams in England for a few years now.
Arsenal's lack of confidence at the back and its identity crisis at the top of the pitch still worries us. The Gunners may get out of Bet365 Stadium with a point, but we don't see three happening.
Premier League Odds: Stoke City 1, Arsenal 1
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