England Premier League
Friday 21st April 2023
Kick off at 8pm BST
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Match Preview:
First place will play bottom place with 51 points separating the sides to kick off the weekend’s Premier League football on Friday evening. Arsenal will be the huge odds on favourites to make light work of Southampton but football isn’t usually that straight forward. However this is a huge game for the Gunners who have seen their favourite tag to win the league title for the first time in 19 years vanish over the past few weeks.
Mikel Arteta’s side have dropped four points in their last two games and that could be crucial in the end. First the Gunners blew their lead over Liverpool to draw 2-2 and then they followed that up with a 2-2 draw against West Ham. The Hammers result would have really hurt Arsenal though given that they were 2-0 up within 10 minutes and it feels that they have blown a great chance to go clear at the top. As it is Manchester City are only 4 points behind and have a game in hand. Form at home for Arsenal has been solid and they have won their last 4 games here with their latest victory coming against Leeds by 4-1. It’s 12 wins at home from 15 games so far and only one side has been able to come here and win and that was Manchester City.
The relegation battle for most teams is up in the air and so close but for Southampton it looks bleak. The Saints are bottom with 23 points and are four points from safety with 21 points left on the board. Even a shock win here would only move the club up to 19th place but of course it would be welcomed. It would indeed be a shock win given that from their last 15 points on offer only 1 has been earned. The club have lost their last three games and away from home it’s been two months since they last won beating of all teams Chelsea. But it’s 10 defeats on the road from 15 so far and just 9 goals scored. The Saints last away game ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat against West Ham.
Team News:
Arsenal: Oleksandr Zinchenko will be assessed due to a groin strain. William Saliba is missing with a muscle injury.
Southampton: Valentino Livramento is back in training after missing a year due to his knee injury. It is thought that this game may come too soon for him because of fitness issues but he could be assessed. Che Adams remains out for another week at least with a calf injury. Mohammed Salisu is out with a hip injury, Mislav Orsic is also out with a hip injury.
Arsenal vs Southampton Head to Head:
Last season Arsenal won this fixture 3-0.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture the game finished 1-1.
Southampton have not beaten Arsenal away from home since 1987.
There is a 60% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
Arsenal vs Southampton Prediction:
The script in favour of Manchester City would say that Arsenal’s glitches would continue and the Saints will come here and force a draw, but we believe like many others that Arsenal won’t just win this game but they will score a few goals too. Arsenal need a shake up but they also need some home games and let’s remember that their last two have both been away from home and yet they still managed to score four goals. No one is really going to back Arsenal to win given their odds so we need to look into different markets, to bring some value back to the home side winning the handicap could be used on them.
We should also be backing goals and in league games 5 of last six played at the Emirates have seen Arsenal score 2 or more goals. It will be interesting to watch Southampton face the team in 1st place and the Saints can certainly fight when they need to and they have pulled off some good results this season despite their position. But this is a game in which we believe that the Gunners will have the bulk of possession and chances and that the Saints simply won’t be able to hold on. After the last two results Arsenal need to win this game as much for their self belief than anything else.
Arsenal vs Southampton Betting Tips:
Handicap: Arsenal to beat Southampton with a -1 goal start at 1.50
Arsenal to score 3+ goals at 1.83
Anytime goalscorer: Bukayo Saka at 2.25
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