Arsenal have a chance to get closer to the Premier League top four as they play their game in hand against Southampton at St Mary's on Wednesday. Arsenal have beaten Southampton three times out of three this season, first they recorded a 2-1 victory in the reverse league fixture in September, then a 2-0 away victory in the League Cup, and last but not least a 5-0 triumph at St Mary's in the FA Cup. Southampton have not beaten Arsenal since the memorable 4-0 Boxing Day victory in 2015.
Even though Southampton have nothing left to play for this season, they still managed to make Liverpool slip up as they held them to a goalless draw at Anfield Road on Sunday. That was the second consecutive goalless draw for the Saints after the one recorded against Hull at home, a good series of results for them considering they were coming from back-to-back defeats. Alex McCarthy, Virgil van Dijk, Matt Targett are out injured, while Charlie Austin has returned to action with the Under 23 squad last weekend.
Arsenal recorded a 2-0 victory over an experimental Manchester United side on Sunday, a result which puts them six points behind fourth-placed Manchester City with a game in hand. The Gunners could reduce that deficit to just three points if they win at St Marys, and with three games left in the season they could still produce a late push for a place in next season's Champions League. Santi Cazorla and Lucas Perez remain the only injury concerns for Arsene Wenger.
Probable line-ups:
Southampton: Forster - Soares, Stephens, Yoshida, Bertrand - Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Davis - Tadic, Gabbiadini, Redmond
Arsenal: Cech - Mustafi, Koscielny, Holding - Monreal, Xhaka, Ramsey, Chamberlain - Sanchez, Ozil - Giroud
My prediction: Arsenal to win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Southampton win - 3.50
Draw - 3.40
Arsenal win - 2.05
06/04/17, 11:06:18 PM
