ON top of the live Premier League match on Tuesday, there are three other fixtures taking place. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) has pinpointed two bets that caught his eye.
Arsenal v Leicester | Tuesday 19:45
Who knows how the Leicester players will react to events of the past 72 hours when they take to the Emirates field on Tuesday night? At tea time on Sunday, manager Nigel Pearson looked a goner before a reported extraordinary volte face later in the evening by the board.
Big Nige remains in charge for this game and it will be intriguing to see how his dust-up with James McArthur and subsequent stoic, belligerent and arrogant behaviour towards the media goes down with his players.
As a Pearson fan I really hope things work out, but there is the potential for them to receive a kicking on Tuesday. A huge part of that reason is that they're facing an angry Arsenal side. At home!
One of the great things about Arsenal is that they pick themselves up pretty quickly from disappointments. They do the Hangover Effect in reverse, suffer bad defeat, bounce straight back.
Arsenal have lost eight times in all competitions this season, and on only one occasions were they back-to-back losses. That happened in November when they followed up their home defeat to Manchester United with a Liberty loss to Swansea. Crucially though, those games were two weeks apart as there was an international break in the middle.
Arsene Wenger's side will be hurting after their North London derby loss on Saturday and I expect Leicester to pay for that. On the back of other defeats this season Arsenal have beaten Borussia Dortmund, smashed three past Aston Villa at Villa Park and tore the Turks of Galatasaray apart in the Champions League.
But back to my original question of how Leicester will do. Well, I'm willing to take a chance on Big Nige and the Foxes. I think they can score at the Emirates on Tuesday and maybe even show some fight.
The 11/5 on Arsenal to win and Leicester to score with 888 Sport appeals to me and it's my bet in this game.
Sunderland v QPR | Tuesday 19:45
Sunderland odds on? Gaad! (That's a Scottish word for ugh)
I'm not for a minute suggesting Sunderland won't win tonight but I can't be having this unreliable outfit at odds on. They've won just four of 24 league games and for me have been disappointing overall after a rousing end to last season.
Jermaine Defoe was brought in for big bucks and so far it's looking a good purchase as he's scored in his last two matches. That very well might be the catalyst they need to be chilling out in the haven of mid-table come April and if that proves to be the case, good on them.
I'm still happy to go low in goals here on Tuesday. Sunderland, with just 22 goals scored, have only scored more than Aston Villa, Hull and Leicester, while QPR have scored just 24 goals.
Let's talk about QPR then. No manager at the moment due to Harry Redknapp's departure and a 0% record away from home. Yup, 11 games, 11 defeats. They've scored just six goals on their travels too.
Crucially for QPR, the man who scored four of those six away goals (Charlie Austin) is unavailable for this match due to injury. That puts a dent in any sort of post-Redknapp euphoria in my opinion and I can't see myself being shocked by the R's tonight.
Under 2.5 Goals is 3/4 with Boylesports but I'll be a little braver and back Under 2 Goals on BetVictor's Asian Handicap Total Goals market at 13/10. Put simply, if there are under two goals I get paid out, over two goals and I lose, exactly two goals and I get my stake back. That insurance is enough for me to play at odds-against.
Best Bets
Arsenal v Leicester – Arsenal to win and both teams to score (11/5 888 Sport)
Sunderland v QPR – Under 2 Goals Asian Handicap (13/10 BetVictor)
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Your View
What are your thoughts on Leicester tonight? Think Nigel Pearson has lost control? Maybe you disagree with Chris and think Sunderland deserve to be odds on?
Let us know your views in the comments box below please. We'd love to hear them!
