Non-league visitors Lincoln City will travel to the Emirates Stadium to take on embattled Premier League team Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Non-league visitors Lincoln City will travel to the Emirates Stadium to take on embattled Premier League team Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Going into mid-March, Arsenal are yet again in the position of the FA Cup being their only realistic hope of winning a trophy this campaign.
No team has ever lifted the FA Cup trophy more often than the Gunners - but it is also the only major piece of silverware they have won since their last Premier League triumph in 2003/04. The nature of Arsenal's 5-1 back-to-back thrashing by Bayern Munich heaped more pressure on the shoulders of both Wenger and the team, with more calls for Wenger to resign from his post.
Now, Arsenal's poor run of form stretches into four losses and two wins in their last six matches in all competitions. They are also out of Champions League and top four in the Premier League. Arsenal players will want to use this opportunity in front of their own fans to start getting results once again, beginning from this FA Cup clash. SportyBet backs The Gunners as favourites in this quarter final tie, and they are pegged at (1.08) to win this match against the non-league side Lincoln City.
Lincoln City FC have managed to get themselves to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, beating Burnley, Brighton, Ipswich, Oldham Athletic, Altrincham and Gisele. Among the teams left in this stage of the competition, they are seen as the weakest.
Lincoln have been unbeaten in all competitions this season, as they are yet to lose in any of their last ten games and will go into this game from a 4-0 win against Braintree, who are eighteenth in the National League.
The Red Imps are first in the fifth tier of English football and are the first non-league side to make it into the FA Cup quarter-finals since 1915. Saturday will be their biggest challenge, with 88 league places separating the two teams - Lincoln City are the underdogs and have been given very high odds of (31.72) by SportyBet for a win at The Emirates. Defeat on Saturday would see Arsenal lose back-to-back at home, for the first time in a year.
A draw by the two teams at the end of 90 minutes is pegged at odds of (10.58) by SportyBet.
This is the first ever tie between these two teams from different tiers of English football in 102 years. Arsenal are expected to score up to three or four goals in this game. Over 3.5 goals and over 2.5 goals come at (1.61) and (1.27) respectively, with the same betting firm, as The Gunners will want to retaliate as they play in their first match after the Bayern drubbing in Champions League and aim for a turnaround.
Lee Angol marked his debut for Lincoln City with a hat-trick to help them to a convincing victory over Braintree Town in a National League match on Tuesday and should get the nod by manager Danny Cowley to start against Arsenal. A goal from the 22-year-old Peterborough United loanee anytime in the tie is priced at (5.15) by SportyBet.
Theo Walcott has scored four goals in the FA Cup this season, with no player left in the competition having scored more than him. Walcott has scored six goals in his last four FA Cup games and is at odds of (1.40) to score in the clash on Saturday.
Sanchez is thought to be unsettled at the Emirates, but the Chilean forward and Giroud are favourites in the first goalscorer betting at (3.47) and (3.16) respectively, while Jack Muldoon is considered the Imps’ main threat at (17.81) to net first.
The Gunners have been easy to break down recently as they conceded as many as 13 goals in only two games with Bayern and a league derby with Liverpool. Per Mertesacker could make his first appearance of the campaign having been an unused sub in the last two rounds.
Backing Arsenal not to keep a clean sheet is pegged at (2.41), but considering the level of opposition here, keeping a clean sheet at the Emirates comes at (1.44) with SportyBet and could be worth going for.
Form Guide:
Lincoln City
Recent form (all competitions): WWWDDW
Arsenal
Recent form (all competitions): LWLWLL
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