Over 38 matches this season, Arsenal have failed to win only nine times, and one of the clubs to take points off them was Sunderland, who snatched a draw at the Stadium of Light. Now the visitors leave their fortress and travel to Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal
Thanks to results like this, Arsenal remain in contention in all four possible competitions. On Tuesday they completed another victory over Chelsea, who have been a favourable opponent in recent years (3:2 and 1:0). They will now face Manchester City in the final at Wembley Stadium, but before then they need to maintain and extend their lead over the same rival in the Premier League. The previous round added two points to that advantage, and the hosts beat Leeds United 4:0, their first win in four matches in the competition: in January they had two goalless draws and a 2:3 defeat to Manchester United.
Sunderland
For Sunderland there is a clear dividing line as soon as they leave the Stadium of Light. Régis Le Bris’s team have won seven and drawn five there and remain the only side in the Premier League who have not lost at home. Away from home, however, the newcomers’ spark quickly fades. They have won only two of 12 away matches, with just three draws. Their attacking output suffers as well, with only 0.5 goals per game. Therefore the recent 3:0 home demolition of Burnley should not be overvalued when assessing this fixture; the opposition here are of a completely different calibre.
Arsenal vs Sunderland Prediction
In the first round, a stoppage-time goal from Brian Brobbey rescued Sunderland from defeat against Arsenal (2:2), but repeating that away from home looks almost impossible given their goal difference of -11 on their travels. However, we will back the visitors with a +2 handicap, because the London side played in midweek and only three of their 10 home matches at Emirates Stadium this season have been won by more than a single-goal margin.
