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Soccer tips: Arsenal vs Sunderland - Back Black Cats to score in defeat at Emirates

Arsenal and Sunderland meet in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night with the League One side hoping to cause a major shock at the Emirates.

Sunderland are the only club outside of the Premier League to make it to the last eight of the competition, but will understandably start the game as strong outsiders to progress any further.
Both clubs have reported isolated COVID cases in the last few days but none of the major outbreaks that have seen other fixtures recently postponed.

When, where and how to watch

When: Tuesday, December 21, 7.45PM GMT

Where: The Emirates

How to watch: Sky Sports

Arsenal vs Sunderland best bets

Arsenal to win 3-1 at 9/1

Nathan Broadhead first Sunderland goalscorer at 11/2

Gabriel Martinelli to score a brace at 20/4

Arsenal have found some really good form this season after a tough opening month of the season and will be in the Premier League top four at Christmas.

The Gunners will be keen to win a trophy this season to maintain that progress, and will surely to be taking this cup match seriously.

In previous years Arsenal have used the League Cup to blood their youngsters, but those days seem very much in the past with Mikel Arteta naming strong sides throughout this season's competition.

That is unlikely to change at the quarter-final stage, and anything like Arsenal's strongest side should see a relatively routine win against opposition two tiers lower down the pyramid.

Sunderland will not be underestimated either, though. The Black Cats are very much in the race for automatic promotion this season and have scored 39 goals in 22 games this season and are quite well set-up this season for counter-attacking football.

On-loan Everton man Nathan Broadhead has been the star of the show for Sunderland lately, scoring five goals in his last five games and he will be confident of continuing that run at the Emirates.

For Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli has been in red-hot form lately, scoring three goals in the last week including a brace against Leeds. Back him to repeat that trick against the Wearsiders.

Carabao Cup runs so far

Arsenal have been dominant in the League Cup so far this season to the point where they haven't even conceded a goal.
They started with a very impressive away win at Championship promotion-chasers West Brom and backed that up with routine home wins over AFC Wimbledon and Leeds.

West Brom 0-6 Arsenal

Arsenal 3-0 AFC Wimbledon

Arsenal 2-0 Leeds

Sunderland have played one extra round in the competition than Arsenal and have, oddly, been drawn away from home in all four ties.
They are yet to face Premier League opposition, but have proved their mettle by beating two Championship sides so far in the competition.

Port Vale 1-2 Sunderland

Blackpool 2-3 Sunderland

Wigan 0-2 Sunderland

QPR 0-0(P) Sunderland

Arsenal happy at home

Mikel Arteta's job looked like it was in serious danger back in August, but he has since presided over a very impressive turnaround.

There is still vulnerability there, as highlighted by away defeats to Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton in the last month.

However, at home it has been a very different story. The Gunners have not lost on home soil since late August and have yet to conceded a goal in their last five matches at the Emirates.

Those runs do not last forever, though, and Arsenal are traditionally a club who allow a little complacency to sneak in. Sunderland are unbeaten in seven in the league, so Arsenal to win but with the Black Cats to score looks like a good way to go.

Sunderland's rough diamonds

Sunderland's decline in the last five years has been dramatic and well-documented, but since the Netflix cameras were turned off the Black Cats have fallen from the public's eye to a large extent.

However, things seem to be finally turning a corner for the club. They were taken-over a year ago and have since switched policy to recruiting younger players and developing them.

That has seen them plunder clubs such as Bayern Munich (Ron-Thorben Hoffman), Tottenham (Dennis Cirkin), Manchester City (Callum Doyle) and Everton (Nathan Broadhead) for young talent, and a hungrier and quicker team has emerged.

The real gem appears to have come from their academy, though. No player in League One has more assists this season than 20-year-old Dan Neil, a central midfielder who has been likened to former Manchester United star Michael Carrick.

Arsenal vs Sunderland goalscorer bets

The Gunners have been looking for someone to step up since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fell out of favour, but have actually done a pretty good job at spreading the goals around this season.

Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli has looked electric in the last two games. He has plundered three goals and appears to have come into top form just in time for the festive period. He can be backed for another brace at around 20/4.

Emile Smith Rowe has two in his last two games too, so he should be in confident mood as well. He is priced at 9/2 to score the first Arsenal goal in the tie.

Aiden O'Brien (6/1) has four goals in the League Cup for Sunderland so far, including a hat-trick against Blackpool.

He is being kept out of the Sunderland team by Ross Stewart (17/4) and Nathan Broadhead (11/2), though, who have 17 goals between them this season.

Stewart's goals have dried up a little of late, although he is a threat at set-pieces which may be Sunderland's best chance of scoring.

An outside bet on Tom Flanaghan to score Sunderland's first goal at 18/1 may be a fun punt for the same reason.

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