Sutton United of the fifth-tier non-league National Conference is one of this year’s Cinderella stories of the English FA Cup. They’ll be hoping to make history this Monday, February 20th when they host Premier League giants Arsenal in the fifth round of the competition at Gander Green Lane in a London derby. Sutton is coming off of a 2-1 away loss to Guiseley last weekend in league action while Arsenal downed Hull City 2-0 at home in the Premier League. However, Arsenal was then thumped 5-1 in Germany by Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the European Champions League.
Sutton United vs Arsenal – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle currently lists Arsenal as the favorites to win the game at -559 with Sutton +1816 a draw at +702
Sutton United vs Arsenal – Head to Head:
- This is the first time the two clubs will be meeting in a competitive match.
Sutton United – A Closer Look:
This is a huge and much-appreciated payday for non-league Sutton as they enter the match in 17th place in the 25-team National League, which is the fifth tier of English soccer. The team has just 36 points out of a possible 90 after 30 games. They have 10 wins, six draws and 14 losses with 32 goals for and 41 against. They’re a pretty good home side with nine wins, three draws and three defeats with 21 goals scored and 15 allowed.
Sutton sits just six points ahead of 21st-place Maidstone and the relegation zone and is 28 points behind league-leading Lincoln City. They’re also 17 points back of fifth-place Barrow and the last playoff spot. Sutton is winless in their last four league games with a draw and three defeats. They’ve also won just two of their past 15 with five draws and eight losses.
Sutton beat Dartford 6-3 away in the first round of this year’s FA Cup and then beat Cheltenham 2-1 at home in the second round. They took care of Wimbledon 3-1 away in their third-round replay after drawing the first match 0-0 at home. Sutton then beat Leeds United 1-0 at home in the fourth round. The club’s home ground holds just over 5,000 fans and the pitch is an artificial surface. This is the furthest Sutton has gone in an FA Cup campaign.
Arsenal – A Closer Look:
Arsenal enters the match in fourth place on the Premier League table. They’re level on points with Tottenham, but have a worse goal differential. The Gunners have won six of their past 11 games in all competitions and have six wins, a draw and four defeats in their last 11 Premier League outings with 21 goals for and 14 against. Arsenal has 50 points on the season from 15 wins, five draws and five losses with a shared league-high 54 goals for and 28 against. They previously went 23 matches in all competitions without losing earlier this season.
Arsenal trails first-place Chelsea by 10 points and is two behind second-place Manchester City. They’re just one point in front of fifth-place Liverpool and two up on sixth-place Manchester United. Most Arsenal fans aren’t happy with manager Arsene Wenger though as they haven’t won a league title since 2005 and they were embarrassed by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last Wednesday. Arsenal has six wins, three draws and three defeats away from home in league play this season with 28 goals for and 15 against.
Arsenal shares the record with Manchester United for the most FA Cup Final wins with 12 each and for the most appearances with 19 each. Their last appearance and win came in 2014/15when they thumped Aston Villa 4-0. Arsenal beat second-tier Championship League club Preston North End 2-1 away in the third round of this year’s FA Cup and then thumped fellow Premier League side Southampton 5-0 away in the fourth round.
Sutton United vs Arsenal – Takeaway
There are a lot of Arsenal fans who’d love to see manager Arsene Wenger escorted out of town and would probably be happy to lose here if it means he’d be sacked. However, while Sutton has a slim chance to play giant killers, it’s still not likely to happen.