Arsenal to struggle for first-half Emirates goals again against Coventry

Arsenal may be top of the Premier League and on a winning run of six games in all competitions, but it is unlikely that they will go mad in blowing away League One Coventry at the Emirates in the FA Cup fourth round.

Few will want to back against the Gunners winning this, but at 1/10 for victory, this is not really a price that appeals for accumulator purposes, let alone as a stand-out bet.

However, there are a few other observations that have been made that help provide some more enticing betting propositions.

The first is the 8/13 that Arsenal score less than 1.5 goals in the opening 45 minutes against Coventry.

Arsene Wenger has seen his team score twice or more in the first period just twice in 17 Emirates appearances in all competitions this season and the most recent of these was against Napoli in the Champions League on October 1st.

Meanwhile, Coventry have let in no more than one goal in the first half in 14 of their last 15 away games.

Given the gulf in quality between these two teams, 13/10 may look an attractive price that Arsenal score four times or more in this FA Cup clash.

But, it is under 3.5 Arsenal goals that has greater appeal at 4/7, with the Gunners more prolific in front of goal on the road this season than on their own patch.

Furthermore, Coventry have been more generous in home games this season, conceding almost half the number of goals in away games than when playing at their temporary home of Northampton’s Sixfields Stadium.

Four clean sheets in five suggest that 4/6 is a fair price that Arsenal win to nil, although Leon Clarke has scored three goals in the last two games to help Coventry reach this stage.

Clarke may have handed in a transfer request, but he is still expected to lead the Coventry line here and could be worth a small play at 7/2 to score at any point in the 90 minutes.