Arsenal’s season, and that of their great rivals Tottenham Hotspur, all comes down to the final game of the campaign. The Gunners simply have to win against Everton (4pm Sunday) and hope that Spurs fail to earn a point against bottom of the table Norwich City to get a vital EPL top four finish.
It means that Mikel Arteta’s men have to go on the attack and that could lead to an open and entertaining contest at the Emirates on Sunday. Let’s not forget Everton’s part in all this: The Toffees are finally safe after a dramatic comeback win against Crystal Palace on Thursday, but they will want to sign off on a positive note after a difficult season. It is an intriguing encounter but what do the bookies make of it all? Read this AFC vs EFC preview, with betting tips, to find out
Despite losing their previous two games without scoring, Arsenal are red hot favourites for Sunday’s contest. Most bookies are quoting 1/2 on the home win. The draw is available at industry best odds of 18/5 while victory for Everton is out at 5/1.
First and last games of any season are among the hardest to predict. Often, a side has nothing to play for with the title, relegation and promotion places already decided. That is the case with Everton but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Toffees will roll over for the Gunners here.
In terms of overall form, Arsenal were looking good prior to those two most recent defeats. Mikel Arteta’s men had won all four of their previous matches, claiming a maximum of 12 points. Everton, following Thursday night’s win over Palace, have nine points across the same period of time.
Recent form suggests that they may be evenly matched but how much has Thursday night’s game taken out of Frank Lampard’s Everton side?
Arsenal may have been a little goal-shy recently, but Gunners’ players dominate the top of the first goalscorer betting odds. Key strikers Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette start as joint favourites with both men available at 4/1.
Everton’s strike pairing of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were responsible for turning the game against Palace after their team went behind. Richarlison is quoted at 9/1 to open the scoring while Calvert-Lewin is slightly further back at 10/1.
In terms of options from behind the main front men, Emile Smith Rowe has scored some important goals for Arsenal and is listed at best odds of 11/2. For Everton, could it be time to take a look at Dele Alli at 25/1? The former Spurs man would be delighted to derail the Gunners and he looked sharp when coming off the bench on Thursday.
In other markets, Both Teams to Score is available for Sunday’s game at a general 4/6. If you want to take the ‘No’ option on BTTS, this extends to best odds of 23/20. Those numbers suggest that the leading UK online bookmakers are expecting a relatively high scorer and the odds in the Total Goals betting tend to back that up.
Over 2.5 goals is very short for this fixture at 6/10 in many places. If we move that up a notch, a bet Above the 3.5 line increases the price to a general 6/4. If you’re expecting a low scorer, the majority of outlets are quoting 6/5 to go Under 2.5 goals.
That leaves us with some Correct Score options and, if you think that the match result betting looks right, you may want to claim a 3-1 win for Arsenal which is available at 11/1. A 2-1 victory in favour of Everton is on offer at 25/1 while the 2-2 draw can be found at 18/1.
Our Preview’s AFC vs EFC Betting Tips Verdict
Form in both camps is inconsistent but, based on overall results across the season, Arsenal should certainly be winning here. However, with two defeats in their last two matches and no goals scored, the Gunners look uncomfortably short at those 1/2 odds.
The concern for anyone getting behind Everton lies in Thursday night’s game at Goodison Park. It was a monumental effort to come from two goals behind, but we suspect that it will have left key players feeling drained coming into Sunday.
This preview is looking at a home win but we aren’t interested at that low price. Instead, we’ll look at the side markets where Over 3.5 Goals looks good at that 6/4 figure. Everton can contribute but we suspect that a tired defence may allow Arsenal to run riot in the later stages.
One player who has converted anytime goal scorer profits for us in the past is Bukayo Saka. His sharpness may have dropped but he can be in line to take penalties and, in a game such as this, Arsenal players may be lining up to find the net. So the brace of betting tips for this AFC vs EFC preview are:
- Over 3.5 goals at 6/4 with William Hill.
- Bukayo Saka to score at any time at 13/8 with Betfred.
Matt Harris is a football & golf writer for Just Bookies. Other sports in his portfolio of specialities include cricket. Matt has contributed to innumerable large organisations and media brands. These include: Betfair, BetVictor, USA Betting & Unibet. 