{"id":120367,"date":"2026-09-06T13:20:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T12:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/?p=120367"},"modified":"2026-09-06T13:29:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T12:29:38","slug":"soccer-picks-arsenals-midfield-edge-drives-best-bets-against-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/soccer\/soccer-picks-arsenals-midfield-edge-drives-best-bets-against-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Picks: Arsenal\u2019s Midfield Edge Drives Best Bets Against Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":117701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[780],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"acf":{"brief_description":"Thierno Barry\u2019s shot volume offers plus-money value as Everton tests Manchester United\u2019s unsettled defence in Sunday\u2019s early match","auto_update_sportal365":true,"property_type":["","run_ads","","","",""],"main_image":117702,"authors":false,"custom_author":"Mark Keast","type":"news","properties":{"ads_enabled":true,"adult_content":false,"important":false,"live":false},"live_url":"","type_of_redirect":"permanent","body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"

Just two remaining games on the English Premier League docket this weekend, both today \u2013 Everton versus Manchester United (9 a.m. EST), followed by Arsenal versus Chelsea (11:30 a.m. EST).<\/p>\n

Both offer strong betting storylines.<\/p>\n

Everton has started strong, at 1-1-0, opening with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace and a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.<\/p>\n

Manchester United? They opened with a 2-0 loss at Hull, but then responded by defeating Ipswich at home, 5-2.<\/p>\n

Chelsea versus Arsenal, in front of 60,000 at Emirates Stadium in London, Arsenal\u2019s home turf, is an early title-race test.<\/p>\n

Both teams enter with six points. Defending champion Arsenal has recorded consecutive clean sheets. Chelsea has scored seven, while giving up five, under new manager Xabi Alonso.<\/p>\n

Chelsea is dealing with midfield injuries, which might affect where bettors place their money.<\/p>\n

Moises Caicedo is listed as doubtful, with an unspecified injury, and Alonso wasn\u2019t sure up to yesterday whether one of his most important midfielders would be available for today.<\/p>\n

Caicedo returned in the game against Brighton, played 14 minutes, then left after feeling pain again.<\/p>\n

In <\/strong>soccer betting<\/strong><\/u><\/a> at Betway, Manchester United is the -110 favourite, while Everton is a +260 underdog. A draw is priced at +280.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 In the later game, Arsenal is the -150 favourite, with Chelsea the +375 underdog, and the draw priced at +280.<\/strong><\/p>\n

United has 54 shots in their opening two matches, compared to Everton\u2019s 29. Bryan Mbeumo had nine attempts, while Bruno Fernandes had three goals and an assist against Ipswich.<\/p>\n

Manchester United has issues, though \u2013 defensive depth, since they entered the season with questions at centre-back, and injuries have only made that situation more precarious. Harry Maguire\u2019s age, Leny Yoro\u2019s inexperience and Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez\u2019s fitness issues have raised questions about Man United\u2019s durability there over a full season.<\/p>\n

An overreliance on Fernandes to create, unconvincing away form, and an easy opening schedule, including the match against promoted Hull, have clouded accurate evaluation of where they sit.<\/p>\n

For Everton, Thierno Barry has replaced Beto as primary striker, with four goals across all competitions this season. He has had five shots in two EPL appearances.<\/p>\n

Best bets today include taking Barry on shot total. Betway has 2+ shots at -250, and 3+ shots at +120. Rather than laying -250 for two attempts, I\u2019ll take the plus-money price on him reaching three against a vulnerable Manchester United defence. That\u2019s a reasonable target since Barry is Everton\u2019s central striker.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take the Arsenal moneyline at -150, assuming Caicedo is unavailable. They\u2019re the more settled team.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll also go Arsenal-Chelsea over 2.5 goals at -138. Chelsea\u2019s first two matches produced 12 combined goals. They\u2019ll get contributions from their attacking talent, but their defensive and midfield vulnerabilities will open the door to Arsenal opportunities.<\/p>\n

Both teams to score (yes) at Betway is -138, another lean. Chelsea should create enough to score, seeing as they are more dangerous than Villa or Coventry, even though I\u2019m going with Arsenal to win.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the matches today.<\/p>\n"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120368,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120367\/revisions\/120368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}