Arsenal will host West Brom at the Emirates this weekend in the Premier League. The Gunners are without a win since the 5-2 victory over Tottenham last month, and have slipped down to 10th spot with 21 points to their name.
The club has endured the worst start to a Premier League campaign under manager Arsene Wenger, who has come under immense pressure recently.
West Brom on the other hand have had their greatest start to a Premier League campaign, and lie at 5th with 26 points, tied to Tottenham and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786.
Arsenal are fresh from a home defeat at the hands of Swansea City in a game where a lot of questions were asked from the team. West Brom have also suffered defeat last week as they lost to Norwich City in a 2-1 score line at Carrow Road.
The game poses as a crucial fixture for both teams as the race for a top 4 finish in the Premier League becomes tighter than ever. Arsenal need nothing less than 3 points as they welcome the Baggies, but know they are in for a tough night.
Arsenal
Expected starting line-up:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jack-Wilshere-c17463, Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs, Tomas Rosicky, Olivier Giroud, Gervinho.
Arsenal are without a number of players going into the West Brom game, with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bacary-Sagna-c7148 out of the team. The latter faces a late fitness test, so he may still be available for the game. Koscielny on the other hand is ruled out for
another two weeks.
Carl Jenkinson will start if Sagna is not deemed fit, with Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen in the centre and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kieran-Gibbs-c20945 on the left flank. Mertesacker and Vermaelen have proven to be a strong and solid centre-back pairing for the Gunners, and Arsenal
will hope the pair leads them to a clean sheet.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gervinho-c14755 may start on the wing, with Cazorla possible slotting up front.
Tomas Rosicky makes a return to the first team, and this gives Arsene Wenger a major boost in midfield. The team has been guilty for not creating enough chances in recent games, and need to score goals so they can move up the table.
West Brom
Expected starting line-up:
Boaz Myhill, Steven Reid, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Claudio-Yacob-c9331, Chris Brunt, Youssouf Mulumbu, Zoltan Gera, Romelu Lukaku, Shane Long.
West Brom made a number of changes for the 1-0 defeat against Stoke City. First team regulars Chris Brunt and on-loan striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Romelu-Lukaku-c31672 are expected to replace Graham Dorrans and Markus Rosenberg, with the pair moving to the bench.
The back four remains unchanged, though Popov may make way for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chris-c9006 Brunt and
Zoltan Gera playing behind them.
Final Score: 2-1
I expect this to be tough game for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429, despite the fact that they’re playing at home. The Gunners have not really enjoyed solid form at home, but may still manage a victory. I expect Giroud and Rosicky on the score sheet with Long getting a consolation
for the visitors.
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