After Southampton knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the weekend, they meet again on Tuesday, this time in the Premier League. Joe Townsend looks at the betting.
Three days on from their FA Cup fourth-round meeting, when the Saints dumped the holders out 1-0 courtesy of a Gabriel own goal, Southampton and Arsenal do it all again on Tuesday night, this time for Premier League points.
Mikel Arteta made seven changes to his side and was without captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for personal reasons at the weekend, and while it will be a very different-looking Gunners XI that walks out at St Mary's this time around, I fancy a very similar contest.
Ralph Hasenhuttl went full-strength, and his team should take plenty of confidence from what was a third straight home win in all competitions. The Gunners are in decent form too; Saturday brought their six-game unbeaten run to an end.
What these sides have most common, though, is their recent tendency to be involved in low-scoring encounters.
Kyle Walker-Peters' deflected cross-shot was the first time Arsenal had conceded in 508 minutes. Southampton, meanwhile, have scored just one league goal in the 522 minutes since Theo Walcott put them ahead in the reverse fixture at Emirates Stadium on December 15.
For under 2.5 goals to be trading at 10/11 with Betfred is quite a shock. The 5/2 across the board for one goal or fewer isn't to be written off either, and neither should the draw at the same price.
The table really does reflect just how evenly matched these sides are, with Southampton 10th and Arsenal a place and two points behind.
A best price of 10/3 on draw/under 2.5 goals doesn't boost the odds enough for me, but I'm happy to take the draw as a second bet as well as going one step further and also take on the bigger punt.
The 0-0 draw is generally priced at 9s, with the market leaders (SBK and Sporting Index) offering 11/1.
Considering two of Southampton's previous four league games have ended goalless, with Crystal Palace holding Arsenal by that scoreline only a couple of games ago, that is too good to turn down.
Score prediction: Southampton 0-0 Arsenal (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Southampton v Arsenal best bets
Odds correct at 1400 GMT (26/01/21)
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