Today as part of the 28th Premier League round, Arsenal will welcome Brentford on their home ground. On Monday evening, Mikel Arteta's team thrashed Sheffield United with a score of 0:6, and prior to this, the "Bees" shared points with its West London neighbours - Chelsea (2:2).
Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kivior; Edegor, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Brentford: Flekken; Zanka, Collins, Ajer; Rorslev, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Reguilon; Wissa, Toney.
Holding the 3rd place in the Premier League table, just 2 points behind the leading Liverpool, Arsenal has joined the title race, which has eluded the club since 2004. In December, Londoners slowed down a bit, but since the beginning of January, the hosts have won 7 consecutive matches: Crystal Palace (5:0), Nottingham Forest (1:2), Liverpool (3:1), West Ham (0:6), Burnley (0:5), Newcastle (4:1), and Sheffield United just on Monday (0:6). By the 25th minute, Arteta's team already held a four-ball advantage thanks to accurate shots from Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Edegor, Kai Havertz, and Jade Bogle's own goal, a left foot shot from Ben White secured the biggest away victory in Arsenal's Premier League history.
In the Champions League playoffs, Arsenal lost their first match to Porto (1:0) and will try to turn the tide of the confrontation in the return match next Tuesday. The Dutch defender Timber sustained an injury in the first round and is still in recovery. In addition, Mikel Arteta won't be able to rely on the important left back Zinchenko and the versatile Tomiyasu. The center-back pair, Saliba and Gabriel, set up the best defense in the Premier League (only 23 conceded goals). Midfielder Declan Rice is having an outstanding season and will surely start, with Martinelli, Edegor, Trossard, Havertz, and Saka possibly appearing in attack. Importantly, the hosts won't be able to use goalkeeper David Raya, who belongs to the Bees - he'll be replaced by Ramsdale.
Currently, Brentford holds the 15th place in the overall standings of the Premier League, with one game in hand, being 6 points away from the relegation zone. Needless to say, Thomas Frank's team needs to stay vigilant, all the more so given their current form is raising concerns among fans. Just one win, one draw, and five losses in the last 7 rounds. After three consecutive defeats from Liverpool, Manchester City, and West Ham, Brentford managed to scrape a draw against Chelsea (2:2) last weekend. Mads Rorslev's first Premier League goal and a stunningly beautiful shot from Yoane Wissa turned the tide of the West London derby after Nicolas Jackson's goal, but Axel Disasi levelled the score in the 83rd minute. It's vital to note that seven out of Brentford's last eight away games ended in defeat, the only exception being a 0:2 success at Molineux.
Brentford is dealing with personnel problems due to a multitude of injured players. Key striker Mbeumo (7 goals, 3 assists), defenders Pinnock, Hickey, Henry, as well as reserves, Dasilva and Shade, are all out for the upcoming round. Ahead of the clash with the Blues, club manager Frank delivered devastating news: Ben Me will miss the remainder of the season due to an ankle fracture sustained during the defeat to West Ham. Ivan Toney (4 goals in 8 Premier League matches) may be joined in the attack by the experienced Wissa (6 goals), who scored last weekend, while French forward Mopi (6 goals, 3 assists) will bolster the game by coming off the bench in the second half.
In November, Brentford lost to Arsenal on their home ground with a score of 0:1, and in February last year, the Bees managed to snatch a 1:1 draw at the Emirates.
Given that Brentford, which lacks two key central defenders, is playing against title-contending Arsenal at the Emirates, it is safe to assume that they will not put up much resistance. The hosts are in phenomenal form with seven consecutive Premier League wins, which is quite different from what the Bees have shown. Out of their last nine away matches in all competitions, the visitors lost eight times, thus we confidently bet on the favourites' victory with a -1.5 handicap.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Manchester City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9:2 | 9 | |
2 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7:0 | 9 | |
3 | Brighton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6:2 | 7 | |
4 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5:1 | 7 | |
5 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4:2 | 7 | |
6 | Brentford | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5:4 | 6 | |
7 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4:4 | 6 | |
8 | Bournemouth | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5:4 | 5 | |
9 | Nottingham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 5 | |
10 | Tottenham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6:3 | 4 | |
11 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7:5 | 4 | |
12 | Fulham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 4 | |
13 | West Ham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 4:5 | 3 | |
14 | Manchester Utd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 3 | |
15 | Leicester | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 3:5 | 1 | |
16 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 1 | |
17 | Ipswich | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 2:7 | 1 | |
18 | Wolves | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 3:9 | 1 | |
19 | Southampton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 1:5 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 2:10 | 0 | |
1 | Newcastle | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 6 | |
2 | Brentford | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 6 | |
3 | Arsenal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 4 | |
4 | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 | |
5 | Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
6 | Brighton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
7 | Tottenham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 | |
8 | Fulham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
9 | Manchester Utd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 3 | |
10 | Nottingham | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 | |
11 | Bournemouth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
12 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
13 | Leicester | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Ipswich | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Aston Villa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | West Ham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:5 | 0 | |
17 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
18 | Wolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:1 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
1 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 | |
2 | Liverpool | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 6 | |
3 | Aston Villa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 | |
4 | Brighton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 4 | |
5 | Bournemouth | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:3 | 4 | |
6 | Arsenal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
7 | Nottingham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 | |
8 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:2 | 3 | |
9 | West Ham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
10 | Newcastle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
11 | Tottenham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
12 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 1 | |
13 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Wolves | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Brentford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | Manchester Utd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
17 | Leicester | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
18 | Ipswich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:4 | 0 |
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