Sunday draws suit Arsenal just fine

 

Chelsea v Southampton
Premier League
4.10pm, SKY SPORTS

ARSENAL BIGGEST WINNERS FROM SPURS v MAN U 2-2 DRAW

There’s one set of results that will suit leaders Arsenal at the moment. Draws all round.

Arsenal sit six points clear at the top of the table and the early kick off between Spurs and Man U finishing an entertaining 2-2 draw will suit the Gunners just fine.

Chelsea get their chance to try and narrow the gap in their 4.10pm game against Southampton and simultaneously Man City are at home to Swansea.

Two home bankers ??? I’m not so sure. Interesting to hear from Martin at Star Sports earlier today that there was plenty of interest in Southampton getting ‘something’ out of this game.

It’s easy to see why punters are taking this view. They are in great form, strong defensively and aren’t afraid of the big teams as their 1-0 win at Anfield and a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford earlier this season testify.

It’s a match-up that usually provides plenty of goal action:

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Max last 10 only)
Mar 2013 Premier Southampton 2-1 Chelsea
Jan 2013 Premier Chelsea 2-2 Southampton
Jan 2013 FA Cup Southampton 1-5 Chelsea
Apr 2005 Premiership Southampton 1-3 Chelsea
Aug 2004 Premiership Chelsea 2-1 Southampton
May 2004 Premiership Chelsea 4-0 Southampton
Nov 2003 Premiership Southampton 0-1 Chelsea
Dec 2002 Premiership Chelsea 0-0 Southampton
Aug 2002 Premiership Southampton 1-1 Chelsea
Jan 2002 Premiership Chelsea 2-4 Southampton

It’s a big match for Southampton today. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be a match they would expect to win but such are the high standards set by the south coast side this season they will want to take this to maintain their pre-Christmas form and not see things start to fizzle out.

Chelsea were poor midweek in their 1-0 defeat to Basel, although do progress in the Champions League, but based on that performance, when they didn’t get a single shot on target, you wouldn’t be rushing to back them at odds-on today.

I can’t see a Southampton win but can very much see a draw – which appeals at around 3/1.

It’s a result that Southampton will almost certainly take – as will the Gunners.

STAR FORECAST
(stake between 0.5 and 10 points)
6 points DRAW at around 3/1

SMART PHONES ARE SO YESTERDAY

In the high-tech field, the trend for “wearables” – smart devices that are worn rather than carried – is booming. Worn on or close to the body, smart glasses, smart watches and the like are becoming ever more advanced and capable of new functions. They are more practical and immersive, and are now easy to use, thanks to advances in voice recognition technology.

At the same time, smartphones are getting increasingly expensive: the new iPhone 5S costs the same as a quality computer. So does this signal the end of smartphone dominance? According to market intelligence firm IDC, in countries with mature markets, the growth in smartphone sales could drop from 20.6% in 2012 to 4.6% in 2017. The great wheel of innovation never stops turning though: perhaps soon a 4G phone will be seen as outdated.