Manchester City, Arsenal clash in FA CUP
Justbet offers a whopping $4.00 for The Gunners to beat the Citizens
TWO teams fighting tooth and nail for the Premier League title will clash in an FA Cup encounter today, Friday, January 27, as Manchester City host in-form Arsenal at the Etihad. In Germany, the hottest team in the Bundesliga currently, RB Leipzig, will be aiming to extend their winning streak to 11 games when they host struggling Stuttgart at the Red Bull Arena today.
Event # 1 – FA Cup – Man City vs Arsenal – 3:00 pm
The FA Cup tie takes place at the Etihad as Premier League leaders Arsenal take on defending champions Manchester City in a blockbuster showdown. Fresh from their impressive 3-2 win over the other Manchester club, Manchester United, Arsenal will be aiming to make it two from two over the city rivals as they arrive at the Etihad high on confidence to take on a City side that have won their last two home matches following disappointing losses prior to Southampton and Manchester United. Indeed, this fixture has been dominated by City in recent years, winning 12 and losing just one of their last 13 meetings since 2017. Yet, this is a vastly different and much-improved Arsenal side who have won eight of their last 10 away matches so far this season.
Arsenal have been in imperious form and are brimming with confidence after beating Manchester United with the final kick of the game last weekend. They should be high on confidence against a City side they defeated 2-0 the last time both teams met in the FA Cup in the 2019/20 season. With that said, not even the most ardent fan of Arsenal would have predicted they would be leading the Premier League by five points — with a game in hand, in January, 15 points clear of fifth place in the league. However, the 14-time FA Cup champions will hope to continue their dream season by ousting Manchester City in this expected humdinger. Indeed, this will be undoubtedly the most anticipated clash of the weekend, and with the draw forcing a replay in an already busy schedule, both sides will most likely go for the win which should ensure a brilliant, end-to-end spectacle for fans.
KEY STATS
• Man City – have won their last nine home matches in the FA Cup, scoring at least three goals in every win and 40 goals in total. The only other team to have won nine home games in a row while scoring 3+ goals in FA Cup history is Blackburn Rovers between 1881 and 1885, a run of 12.
• Arsenal – have won their last four FA Cup games against Man City. They’ve reached the final every time they’ve eliminated the Citizens, winning the trophy on the last three occasions (1971, 2017, 2020).
• Both sides – Man City have won 13 of their 16 meetings with Arsenal in all competitions under Pep Guardiola (D1 L2), only beating Burnley (14) more since the Spaniard took charge. However, both defeats in that run have come in the FA Cup.
The betting tip. Draw& both teams scoring
Event # 2 GER – RB Leipzig vs Stuttgart – 2:30 pm
In-form RB Leipzig will be aiming to keep their title challenge on track when they host struggling Stuttgart at the Red Bull Arena, today, January 27. They will be aiming to make it 11 straight wins against a side they normally dominate, having won seven and drawn two of their last nine meetings since 2017. Following the resumption of the Bundesliga after the Qatar World Cup, RB Leipzig played to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich then destroyed Schalke 6-1 at the weekend, to go into this game full of confidence against a Stuttgart side that have only managed to avoid conceding 2+ goals in just one away game so far this season. RB Leipzig now have the chance to win six of their last seven league matches against a side that has failed to win a single away match this season.
Stuttgart arrive in Leipzig with a truly miserable away record over the last 13 months, losing nine and drawing nine, they last won on the road in the Bundesliga all the way back in December 2021. Their terrible form sees them sitting bottom of the table with 16 points from 17 matches, losing four of their last five away matches while conceding 15 goals during this run. History doesn’t give much hope to the visiting Stuttgart fans either, as their team has lost on all four previous trips to the Red Bull Arena, and they also failed to score in any of those games. Indeed, Stuttgart fans will dread going to watch their side against an in-form Leipzig, since Stuttgart has collected only a single point from a possible 33 serves to emphasise just how poor they have been.
KEY STATS
• RB Leipzig – have won six of their last seven home matches.
• Stuttgart – have lost four of their last five away matches and have lost by more than one goal in six of their eight away matches.
• Both sides – RB Leipzig have won by more than one goal in each of their previous three home wins over Stuttgart.
The betting tip.rb Leipzig win.