DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Manchester City take on Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday night for a place in the FA Cup final. Tom Love (@TomLove_18) shares his thoughts.
Arsenal vs Manchester City | Saturday 18th July 2020, 19:45 | BT Sport
The FA Cup semi-finals take place this weekend and both look like mouthwatering encounters. First up we have Manchester City travelling to North London to take on Arsenal.
After failing to win another Premier League title, Pep Guardiola will be more eager than ever to get some silverware on the board to add to the League Cup win against Aston Villa. They still have aspirations for a treble and that would be another great season for the Blue Moon.
Pep tested some of his key men in the midweek game against Bournemouth so they’ll be fit and raring to go here. It’s no surprise to see them as short as 1/3 given the disparity in performance data of the pair. You could argue it’s a bit short given Arsenal's strong record on home soil but I do think the quality will tell here and the visitors will have too much.
To garner a more palatable quote I’ll take Man City to win and Under 4.5 Goals which chimes in at 5/6 with Betway. Mikel Arteta has looked to sure up the defence since his arrival and we have seen improvements structurally if not in individual mistakes. He will know all about Guardiola having worked under him for several years at the Etihad and I can’t see them opening too much against a slick City side.
I’ll also dip into the cards market because the 6/4 available in Bet365’s BetBuilder for Both Teams To Collect Over 1 Card looks a tasty play. Both these like cards, especially in the big games and the attacking threat from both sides will draw plenty of fouls you’d think.
With stakes so high in a one off game we would expect plenty of tactical fouls, especially in the middle of the pitch.
Best Bets
Arsenal vs Manchester City – Manchester City to win and Under 4.5 Goals – 5/6 (Betway)
Arsenal vs Manchester City – Both Teams Over 1 Card (6/4 Bet365)
