Arsenal shouldn’t worry over Walcott
These stats are brought to your by our friends over at Football Form Labs. Check out their site and the powerful software that sits behind these comments.
Theo Walcott, Forward, Arsenal
Theo Walcott’s cheery mood following Arsenal’s FA Cup victory over Tottenham was quashed when scan results on his knee injury ruled him out for the rest of the season and this year’s World Cup. England will surely suffer from his absence but Arsenal have coped well without him previously. The Gunners have won 58% of the games that Walcott has started since the start of last season but 64% when he’s been missing. They have also kept more clean sheets without Walcott despite playing eight fewer games.
Fulham v Sunderland (Sat, 15:00)
A second successive home win against a fellow struggling side will give Fulham priceless breathing space between them and the relegation zone. The hosts have been hit-or-miss this season as they’ve tied just one of their 20 games so far. Unfortunately the losses are beating the wins 13 to six currently but Rene Meulensteen’s squad should be too strong to go down. Under Meulensteen, The Cottagers have won three of their seven Premier League games and they were the only three against teams currently in the bottom-half of the table. Furthermore, their three victories this season before he took charge also came against current bottom-half sides suggesting that Fulham are one of the stronger of the poor teams in the division.
Sunderland have won just 1/10 away matches this term and they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 on the road when they’ve conceded. This becomes particularly worrying when you realise that Fulham have netted in 12 consecutive home fixtures.
If you don’t trust Fulham fully (and, honestly, who would?) then a safer option could be playing the goals market. We’ve mentioned that Fulham often score at home but they’ve also kept a clean sheet in just six of 29 matches at Craven Cottage since 2012/13. 20 of the 29 matches have had Over 2.5 goals including their last six. Similarly, Sunderland have had Over 2.5 Goals in 18/29 away games since the start of last season and these stats make three or more goals very attractive.
Category: Football trading strategies
