Arsenal are looking to bounce back from the spectacular League Cup defeat they suffered at Liverpool on Wednesday when they host Wolverhampton at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday. The Gunners were unable to defeat the Wolves last season, the match in London ended 1-1 while the reverse fixture was won 3-1 by Wolverhampton. Overall, Arsenal have won three of the last six direct meetings, while Wolverhampton have won just one.
Arsenal went very close to causing a spectacular upset at Anfield Road in the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday but somehow they managed to lose on penalties after having led 3-1 and 5-4. They have won just one of their last four matches in all competitions, and that was at home against Vitoria Guimaraes in the UEFA Europa League. Last weekend they threw away a two-goal lead and drew 2-2 at home against Crystal Palace. Mesut Ozil played in Wednesday's match along with several other backup players, but Unai Emery will most likely recall his favourites in the starting eleven for this match. Granit Xhaka will surely sit this one out after last weekend's outburst against the fans, while Reiss Nelson is injured.
Wolverhampton shocked the Premier League with their 2-0 victory at Manchester City before the international break, but since then they recorded two draws in the league, a narrow victory in Europe at Slovan Bratislava and a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the League Cup this week. Patrick Cutrone scored in midweek but he will most likely be on the bench on Saturday as manager Nuno Espirito Santo will field first-choice strikers Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota. Central defender Willy Boly suffered a severe ankle injury and will be out of contention until next year.
Probable line-ups:
Arsenal: Leno - Bellerin, Sokratis, Luiz, Tierney - Guendouzi, Torreira - Pepe, Ceballos, Aubameyang - Lacazette
Wolves: Patricio - Bennett, Coady, Saiss - Traore, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny - Jimenez, Jota
My prediction:
Arsenal have been struggling to keep clean sheets lately and Wolverhampton have definitely proven their ability to score this season. I think that the Wolves will deepen the crisis for the Gunners, I expect a 2-1 victory for the visitors.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Arsenal win - 1.80
Draw - 3.75
Wolves win - 4.55
