Everton vs Arsenal Betting Tips and Preview

David Moyes' Everton got the tactics spot on when frustrating Arsenal at the Emirates earlier in the season when leaving north London with a hard-earned point following a goalless draw. On Sunday the Toffees entertain Arsene Wenger's men and, at 23/10 with Portlandbet, I reckon it's well worth chancing that his fixture will also end all square. Some of Arsenal's performances, notably on their travels, have been subdued this term. Their inconsistency has been there own worst enemy, but they certainly haven't been helped by a number of injury blows, the most recent being their captain, Thierry Henry, who's been ruled out for the rest of the season due to groin and stomach injuries. Henry's absence is made more severe by Robin van Persie's injury while Adebayor has one more game of his ban to serve. Therefore, Arsenal's attacking options will be limited, to say the least. However, the Gunners are in pole position to qualify for the 2007/2008 campaign: they are currently third in the Premiership, two points ahead of fourth-placed Liverpool with a game in hand of the latter club. As such, providing they don't blow it - as they did when going out in the FA Cup against Blackburn and against PSV in the Champions League - they should end the season where in the position they're currently occupying. Everton have also been guilty of failing to uphold the form on occasions, but the Merseyside outfit sit in a creditable sixth place in the Premiership pecking order and they are certainly a club going in the right direction under Scotsman Moyes's watchful eye. The Toffees too, however, have also been hit with injuries and midfielder's James McFadden, Tim Cahill and Andy van der Meyde are all on the easy list. Quite whether 11 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions is anywhere near as good a return the Everton hierarchy were expecting when parting with £8.6million to lure the twenty-six-year-old from Crystal Palace last summer is questionable. But, to be fair, the absence of the first-choice midfielders has certainly had an impact on the level of distribution the forwards have received. Despite his own niggling injury problems, James Beattie remains the biggest disappointment at Goodison Park, though, having failed to reproduce anything near the level of form he achieved with Southampton. However, Everton's defence have been generally reliable this term and, although they floundered against the young guns when beaten 0-2 by Arsenal in their Carling Cup meeting in November, they might have enough fire in their belly's to repel Arsenal's depleted strikeforce this time. Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy will both be missed on either side of the park in defence for Arsenal, but the return of Kolo Toure following his three-match ban will be a timely boost. Hoyte and Gallas shore things up nicely at the back for the visitors and they too can repel their rival defence. With this in mind, in addition to backing the draw I cannot resist a tickle on 0-0 in the correct score market at 17/2 with Portlandbet.