Bukayo Saka injury fear and PSG plans will not stop Arsenal delaying Liverpool’s Premier League title party
Both teams have semi-finals to worry about.
It’s not the most glamorous London derby for either side, neither team has much to play for in the remaining fistful of Premier League matches and both clubs have huge cup semi-finals on the horizon. Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium looks something of a dead rubber.
The Gunners go into the final match before next week’s Champions League semi-final, first leg at home to Paris Saint-Germain knowing defeat will mean Liverpool have clinched the title.
The Eagles head into the match hoping to avoid a third loss of the season against Mikel Arteta’s men after losing 3-2 to them in the Carabao Cup and 5-1 in the league in the space of three days before Christmas and they have an eye on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley.
Both sides want to escape injuries which would rule key players out of their imminent blockbusters and with everything thrown into the melting pot it looks as though this may not be entertainment of the highest quality.
It’s also Arsenal’s third game in a week which could lead to strains, tears and pulls so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they lack their usual intensity.
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Palace’s amazing run of seven away games in all competitions without conceding a goal ground to a halt when they drew 1-1 at bottom club Southampton before being blitzed 5-2 at Manchester City and 5-0 at Newcastle.
But they regained their defensive discipline in the 0-0 draw at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, playing the second half with ten men after central defender Chris Richards was sent off for a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time.
Arsenal may not be operating at full throttle, with the PSG game coming up and fresh injury concerns over Bukayo Saka, so the Eagles +2 goals is worth a small flutter at 7/10 in Unibet’s handicap market.
A 2-1 home win is 17/2 with bet365 with former Brighton player Leandro Trossard 41/20 with Unibet to score for the hosts at any time while former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is 5/1 with bet365 to hit the net against his old club.
• Alexander Zverev, fresh from winning the BMW Open in Stuttgart is on the opposite side of the draw to Barcelona Open runner-up Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and is worth an each-way investment at 15/1 with Unibet and BetMGM at the Madrid Open.
• A trip to Brighton is always fun and after enjoying fish ‘n’ chips while wandering around the Lanes it will pay to pop up to the nearby greyhound stadium and back speedy Headford Asher to overcome a tricky plot in trap six and win the Hove Puppy Cup.
Maxine Locke’s Romford raider clocked an astonishing 29.21seconds in his semi-final heat and is 10/11 with Coral while also being worth an each-way dabble at 50/1 with bet365 for the imminent Greyhound Derby at Towcester.
Liz McNair’s Queen Shakira will also be out and gone in the final of the Brighton Belle final and is 8/11 with Paddy Power and Betfair to win the prestigious £10,000 first prize.
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