Sunderland hope to outdo 'genius' Arsenal
Steve Bruce has chosen flattery in his attempt to beat Arsenal today, describing Arsene Wenger as a genius - but against a free-scoring Arsenal there is little point winding them up with insults.
High flying Sunderland will look to take advantage of any slips from the teams above them; and with Liverpool and Manchester City drawing 2-2 earlier today, Sunderland can move level on points with Liverpool - tucked in just behind Villa, Spurs and Man City. Sunderland has a good record against the 'big four' - beating Liverpool, drawing at Old Trafford and an unfortunate 3-1 defeat against Chelsea.
Eduardo will today get his best opportunity since returning from that devastating injury to stake a case for inclusion from the start of most games; but it is an uphill challenge. Arsenal have scored 36 goals in the opening 11 games (equivalent to 124 over the season) as well as 15 goals in Europe. Arsenal's injuries aren't as deep as was thought earlier in the week - and they will expect a goal or two in every game.
Sunderland vs Arsenal; Kick Off 3:00pm 21 Nov 2009
Prediction Panel
Our panel contains both Squarefootball writers and readers, the writers are marked: (sqf).
Dave Blackburn : 1 - 2
Chris Cox : TBC
Graham Enwright : 1 - 2
Sue Gardener : TBC
Chris Goodwin : 1 - 3
Paul Grech (sqf) : TBC
Colin Illingworth (sqf) : 1 - 2
Hugh Larkin (sqf) : TBC
Peter Lee : TBC
Don McMahon : 0 - 2
Antony Melvin (sqf) : 1 - 1
Paul O'Meara (sqf) : 1 - 3
Dave Nash : 1 - 3
Stephen Orford (sqf) : TBC
Tony Ratton : 2 - 2
Peter Rendle : 1 - 3
Dan Taylor : 1 - 1
Andy Wakeman : 1 - 3
Isaac Williams : TBC
Mark Williams : 0 - 1
Panel Verdict
The panel is expecting an entertaining 3-1 Arsenal win
Home: 0; Draw: 3; Away: 10; TBC: 7.
* Do we have it right, or do you know better? Please don't bother with derisory comments on the predictions after the match - unless you also pulled us up before it!
