Arsenal are heavy favourites to beat League Two side Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, with tipsters backing the visitors to cover a -2.5 Asian handicap at 4/5 with Sky Bet.
The Premier League champions travel to Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium looking to avoid an upset. The hosts sit 18th in League Two having lost five of their last seven league matches, ahead of one of the biggest games in their history.
Football betting sites offer odds as big as 22/1 about a Fleetwood win in 90 minutes, while Arsenal are expected to rest several first-team regulars before Sunday's trip to Liverpool in the title race.
Team news and expected line-ups
Mikel Merino and Cristhian Mosquera are among those expected to come into the side, having played little so far this season. Martin Zubimendi and young starlet Max Dowman also fall into that category, while Kepa Arrizabalaga looks set to start in goal.
William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis are out injured. Arsenal's predicted line-up is Arrizabalaga; White, Mosquera, Salmon, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly; Dowman, Merino, Eze; Gyokeres.
Fleetwood's expected XI is Lynch; Rooney, Bennett, Potter; Cirino, McLean, Neal, Helm, Andrew; Coughlan, Evans.
Betting tips and analysis
Even an Arsenal reserve side should have too much quality for a team in the bottom half of League Two. Since Mikel Arteta took charge in December 2019, the Gunners have won 11 of their 13 matches against lower-league opposition, with the two losses both coming against Championship sides. They have won by three or more goals in eight of the 13, with Wimbledon, Oxford and Wigan all heavily beaten.
Merino is a likely starter and probably in an attacking role, having scored when in the starting XI against Ipswich in the previous round of this competition and netted three times for Spain during the recent international window. He is priced at 9/5 with Ladbrokes and Coral to score anytime.
Mosquera has missed a large chunk of the season through injury but has been fit for a few weeks, usually occupying a seat on the bench. This looks a good opportunity to rest Gabriel and Ezri Konsa, especially with Saliba currently out injured, so Mosquera is expected to play. He landed a 1+ shot bet in games against Mansfield and Wigan in the domestic cups last season and is available at 11/10 with Paddy Power to have any shot.
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