Sunday, February 14, 2016, 11pm AEDT, Emirates Stadium, Watch on Fox Sports
Table position
Arsenal: Third
Leicester City: Top
Season record
Arsenal: 14-6-5
Leicester City: 15-8-2
Last five match results
Arsenal: WDLDD
Leicester City: WWWDW
WILL Leicester City continue its remarkable run of taming the English Premier League’s giants or can Arsenal put a stop to its title-leading juggernaut?
Or will they fight out a draw?
That’s the question on every one’s lips as this tantalising match up of two of the Premier League’s best sides face off in what is shaping up to be one of the games of the season.
The Gooners, fresh of crushing Bournemouth 2-0 on the weekend, are the $1.75 favourites with WilliamHill.com.au, thanks to the home ground advantage.
But City ($4.50 with WilliamHill.com.au), who destroyed second placed Manchester City 3-1 on the weekend, is now the title fancy, at $2.80 with the bookie. A draw in the match is $3.75.
In the corresponding match at Emirates Stadium last season, the Gunners went ahead 2-0 in the first half through Theo Walcott and Laurent Koscielny, before Andrej Kramaric pegged one back on the hour.
But Arsenal enjoyed almost 60 per cent possession, giving them little chance to nick a share of the points.
This is a vastly different Leicester side to the outfit that turned out on that day just over a year atom
And striker Leonardo Ulloa is hoping the side can topple yet another Premier League titan in this one.
Ulloa, who came on as a substitute against City, following a double from towering defender Robert Huth and a sweet finish from boom midfielder Riyad Mahrez, says his side has the fighting will to beat Arsenal.
“We need to enjoy this and then we must start to think about Arsenal,” he said after the City win.
“We knew this game was difficult for us, the last two have been, but we have six points.
“Now we focus on the next game.
“After today anything is possible.
“We must try to play the same, with the same intensity and spirit, and after we wait to see what happens at the end of the season.
“It is part of our spirit.
“The manager (Claudio Ranieri) says we must fight for every ball.
“The result is the second thing, the first thing is to fight and to work for the team.
“But we don’t think about the title, just about the next game.
“We take it step by step and at the end of the season we will know what happens.
“It will be another tough game against Arsenal.”
Arsenal’s master coach Arsene Wenger is similarly confident that his men have what it takes to beat the title favourites.
Should the Gunners win, they will cut the Foxes’ lead to just two points on Valentine’s Day.
“Beating Bournemouth is very good for the future as we now have a very big game at home against Leicester who are now the favourites for the Premier League,” Wenger said.
“A win can maybe prepare you in a better condition for the next game.
“Leicester is a strong side but we are also a strong side.
“At home with our fans and support, we can do it.”
Goals to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil just 88 seconds apart put paid to Bournemouth, giving the Gunners their first win in five matches.
This one has the hallmarks of an absolute classic Premier League match, with both sides possessing the pace, skill and fire power to make this a high scoring thriller.
Possible line ups
Arsenal: Petr Cech, Hector Bellerín, Gabriel Paulista, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sánchez, Olivier Giroud
Leicester City: Kaspar Schmeichel, Danny Simpson, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth, Christian Fuchs, Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater, N’Golo Kanté, Marc Albrighton, Shinji Okazaki, Jamie Vardy
Predictions
Match result: Draw ($3.80 with CrownBet.com.au)
Match correct score: Draw 2-2 ($15 with CrownBet.com..au)
Total match goals: Over 2.5 ($1.82 with CrownBet.com.au)
We can’t separate them. Arsenal’s form had been worse than fair before they got their season back on track with their first goals in five matches. The attacking flair and will to finish had not been there. But two pieces of inspired play have given rise to new hope. The star Ozil in the middle will be key and it will be interesting to see if the likes of Mahrez and Danny Drinkwater can continue to match it with the best. The Gunners defence will have its work cut out for it with the likes of Premier League golden boot leader Jamie Vardy, while Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott will be nightmare match ups for Huth and company. The Foxes have scored eight goals in their last three matches, so you know they have goals in them. And you hope that the Gunners new success in front of the net will translate to at least a couple. We’re very excited for this match and we really think it will go down to the wire and end up being an entertaining 2-2 draw, so the $1.82 about the over 2.5 goals is on the money.
First goal scorer predictions
Arsenal
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ($10 with WilliamHill.com.au)
This one is a wait and see, but the Ox was a real bull in the win over Bournemouth, scoring his first goal for … and we reckon he may have just done enough to keep his spot in the side. Theo Walcott will almost certainly come back into the starting line up at the expense of Mathieu Flamini, so it will be interesting to see if Wenger continues with the Ox or brings back defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin. If he does hold his spot, Oxlade-Chamberlain has proven that he can score and we think he is the man with the form, having slotted most recently and he is the man to tip at really juicy odds. Just make sure he is actually playing before you drop your hard earned.
Leicester City
Jamie Vardy ($7 with WilliamHill.com.au)
Speaking of men to tip, Leicester’s supreme run through the Premier League has a lot to do with the remarkable goal scoring prowess of this man. It was strange not seeing him on the goal scoring sheet when his side scored three times last week. At 29 years old, Jamie Vardy is the pride of the Foxes, having fired in 18 goals in the Premier League and played in every game. He is perhaps the most talented striker in the Premier League, equally adept at creating opportunities for himself as he is at finishing off the work from the likes of Mahrez. This guy is a gun, scored in 11 straight games at one point and is leading the golden boot. He has proven he can and will score against the big guns and they don’t come much bigger than the mighty Arsenal.
