Southampton vs Arsenal: Preview, Odds and Betting Tips - 16/04/2022

Two sides aiming to restore good fortunes will battle it out for three points at St Mary’s. The stakes are high especially for the visitors who must gather as much points as they can in their quest for European football.

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Southampton

After starting 2022 on a high with five wins out of seven, including a victory over Tottenham, things have gone downhill for Southampton. Since claiming a 2-0 win over Norwich back in February, the Saints have now gone five league games without a win, losing four of them consecutively.

St Mary’s has not exactly been a fortress of late as Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men have lost their last three outings on home turf. All of that negative form means the Saints only have a top-half finish to play for.

Despite their recent drop in form, Southampton have managed to find the back of the net, meaning they have scored in all of their games in 2022, bar the 4-0 loss to Southampton.

A herculean task awaits them as they take on a side with an ambition and much motivation to return to the Champions League.

Arsenal

Arsenal will be aiming for a return to winning ways against Southampton after suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. The Eagles were pretty much on top in all departments and it is safe to say they deserved the win and all three points.

It was easily their worst performance of the season, highlighted by the fact that they had zero shots in the first half against Palace. The Gunners cannot afford to lick their wounds for too long as a strong reaction is needed.

With West Ham, Tottenham and Manchester United all still realistically in the hunt for a top-four finish, Arsenal must be wary of dropping points.

The Gunners won the reverse fixture back in December courtesy of a 3-0 scoreline and I am backing them to come out on top once again.

How the match could go

Arsenal need the three points more and are the better side at the moment so there should be enough motivation to see this through. However, Southampton will not come easy to beat and I expect them to put up a fight as well. With that being said, both sides could get on the scoresheet, with latest 1.77 odds for that to happen.

With both sides having questionable backlines, there could be a lot of goals in this one and whoever is more effective in front of goal would be the likely victors.

Betting Predictions

Arsenal to win
Arsenal might have fumbled against Crystal Palace but there is a strong likelihood they will go on the front foot here and eventually go home with all three points. Bar the loss to Palace, their away record has been impressive and we see tempting 2.06 odds for the Gunners to win.

Over 2.5 Goals

Southampton’s poor defence means over 2.5 goals have been scored in five out of their last six games. Arsenal will be looking to take advantage of this, like in the reverse fixture and an early goal could set the match up for a decent amount of goals. This is surely worth a punt at current 1.91 odds.

1st Half Clean Sheet – Arsenal

Arsenal has to make their intentions known early on and that could mean sustained pressure from the visitors in the first half. Southampton are known to play better in the second half and we see Arsenal keeping them quiet in the first 45 minutes. Odds of 1.54 for this to happen.

Editors Note: All odds are current as at time of writing.

Writer – Dex Easthaven