Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Premier League clash between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Facing up to one of their favourite Premier League opponents, Arsenal head to the West Midlands to battle Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners gave themselves a shot in the arm in midweek with a 3-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb, two days after Vitor Pereira‘s men were slain 3-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Match preview
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For a short while against Dinamo Zagreb, Gooners may have been feeling a dreaded sense of deja vu, as Mikel Arteta‘s men initially failed to build on Declan Rice‘s second-minute opener and almost allowed Fabio Cannavaro‘s men back into the contest with some sloppy play in defence.
However, Kai Havertz‘s header with 25 minutes remaining laid any concerns to rest, before Martin Odegaard‘s tap-in made the scoreline even more emphatic for Arsenal, who are now just one point away from guaranteeing themselves a place in the last 16.
Being able to bypass the playoff stage may mean that the mid-season trip to Dubai – a godsend for Arsenal in recent years – is on for Arteta and co, who are in desperate need of that season-saving trip if last weekend’s excruciating 2-2 stalemate with Aston Villa is anything to go by.
By throwing away a two-goal lead to draw with former manager Unai Emery, Arsenal fell six points behind Liverpool – who still have a game in hand – in the Premier League table, and surprise package Nottingham Forest are only behind on goal difference at this juncture.
As agonising as that result was, the visitors have now navigated each of their last 12 Premier League matches without suffering defeat – the second-longest unbeaten sequence in the division behind Liverpool’s 17 – and Arsenal’s attackers are always up to the task against Wolves.
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By easing past the West Midlands outfit 2-0 earlier in the season, Arsenal extended their incredible scoring streak over Wolves to 34 games in all competitions, last failing to make the net bulge against Saturday’s hosts all the way back in 1979.
That 46-year run unsurprisingly also represents Wolves’ longest sequence without a clean sheet against a particular opponent, a discouraging omen for a side who have seen Pereira’s new manager bounce well and truly wear off since the turn of the year.
Gary O’Neil‘s successor took seven points from his first nine on offer in the top flight, but Wolves have now suffered three straight losses to Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Chelsea, conceding three goals on each occasion and only netting once themselves.
Only goal difference is keeping 17th-placed Wolves above 18th-placed Ipswich Town in the gripping relegation dogfight, and the hosts are now at risk of losing each of their first four league matches of a calendar year for just the third time after 1906 and 1982.
Another harbinger of doom for the Old Gold, Wolves’ fourth loss in each of those sequences coincidentally came against Arsenal, who will secure their eighth straight win over their relegation-threatened foes if they can make lightning strike for a third time in the West Midlands.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):
Arsenal Premier League form:
Arsenal form (all competitions):
Team News
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Arsenal kept Dinamo Zagreb at arm’s length despite the absence of hamstring victim William Saliba, who is not expected to be sidelined for more than a couple of weeks, but the Gunners should have to cope without him yet again at Molineux.
Arteta has also been dealt an untimely concern over Myles Lewis-Skelly, who sat out the Champions League success after jarring his knee in the Villa draw, while Gabriel Jesus (knee), Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Ben White (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) remain unavailable.
However, it is not all doom and gloom on the fitness front for Arsenal, as Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori were both part of the matchday squad against Dinamo Zagreb after shaking off muscular problems, although the latter did not make it onto the pitch.
As for Wolves, Pereira’s side travelled home from Chelsea with no new concerns on the fitness front, and there is a slim chance that Toti Gomes (thigh) will be back in action when the Gunners pay a visit.
The hosts remain without Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Boubacar Traore (knee), Enso Gonzalez (knee) and Yerson Mosquera (knee) for the time being, though, while Mario Lemina was left out of the squad to face the Blues as he contemplates a move away.
Speaking of players possibly set for transfers elsewhere, Pereira took issue with Matheus Cunha‘s body language after the Chelsea draw – the Brazilian did not acknowledge the Wolves faithful at Stamford Bridge – but the head coach should not consider axing him against one of his reported admirers.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Doherty, Agbadou, Bueno; Semedo, Andre, J. Gomes, Ait-Nouri; R. Gomes, Cunha; Larsen
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Kiwior, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Arsenal
Arsenal and clean sheets away from home do not go hand-in-hand – the Gunners have shipped goals in each of their last nine Premier League away matches – but any rearguard frailties should count for nought at Molineux.
The Gunners’ 11 goals from crosses in the Premier League this season is a division high, as is Wolves’ 10 conceded from such deliveries into the box, so do not be surprised to see Arsenal flaunt their aerial and set-piece excellence en route to victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
