Arsenal, fresh off a superb Champions League display, host Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners took advantage of the space surrendered by Lens down the flanks on Wednesday night and raced into a 5-0 half-time lead before adding another late on to win Group B.
However, it’s often been a different story for Mikel Arteta’s side in the Premier League. While Arsenal sit atop the table after last weekend’s win at Brentford, they’ve found it much harder to break sides down and dazzle as they did last season. Nevertheless, some might argue that Arteta’s current formula is more likely to lead to a league title.
Gary O’Neil’s Wolves have often impressed this season, and there’s no way they deserve to be sitting in the bottom half given the decisions that have gone against them. They’ll be looking to bounce back from their controversial defeat at Fulham in a big way this weekend.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Saturday’s Premier League duel between Arsenal and Wolves.
Arsenal vs Wolves H2H Record (last five games)
Current Form (all competitions)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
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United Kingdom |
N/A |
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United States |
NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, , FCUNIVERSO, nbcsports.com, USA Network, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo |
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Canada |
fuboTV |
Arteta confirmed before the Lens thrashing that Fabio Vieira would endure a spell on the sidelines after suffering a groin injury. Vieira was suspended for this fixture anyway.
Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey are both poised for returns in the new year, while Jurrien Timber is a long-term absentee.
Arteta likely won’t rotate too much from Wednesday night’s XI given that he was able to substitute several of his key players early on. However, Leandro Trossard might return to the side.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-3-3): Raya; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.
The visitors will be without suspended duo Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes on Saturday after the pair picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season at Fulham on Monday night.
Pedro Neto is closing in on a return to action after recovering from a hamstring injury, but he’s unlikely to start at the Emirates. Joe Hodge misses out due to a shoulder injury.
Craig Dawson will return to the defence after serving his one-game suspension.
Wolves predicted lineup vs Arsenal (3-5-2): Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Bellegarde, Traore, Doyle, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Cunha.
Wolves have already stunned a couple of the big boys this season, but their successes arrived at Molineux. A trip to the Emirates is an imposing one for the visitors, although they certainly have the capacity to frustrate and thwart the hosts as a result of O’Neil’s sound coaching.
However, their absences in midfield could prove costly against the Gunners and could see Wolves succumb to relentless sequences of sustained pressure. Pedro Neto’s inclusion would give them a greater chance of breaking free in transition, but he might only be fit enough for a substitute appearance.
Thus, this has the makings of a relatively comfortable home win.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Wolves
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90Mins
