West Brom vs Arsenal Preview, Team News, Line-Ups, Betting Tips & Prediction

Arsenal will look to close the gap on the top four when we take on West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns this lunchtime.

It’s been a tough few weeks for Arsenal as we suffered a humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League while a 3-1 loss at Liverpool has dented our top four hopes.

The FA Cup once again looks to be Arsene Wenger’s salvation and we’ve got a huge semi final against Manchester City to look forward to after beating Lincoln City 5-0 at the Emirates last weekend.

However, it league matters that are the focus today and we desperately need to pick up three points this afternoon as we head in to the weekend action sitting five points off fourth place.

The good news is we have two games in hand on Liverpool and they face a tough trip to Manchester City on Sunday so we have to apply some pressure with all three points today.

West Brom won’t be easy though as they currently sit eighth in the Premier League table and we lost this fixture 2-1 last season, so Wenger will know not to take this task too lightly.

Team News

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appears to have been passed fit after making a swift recovery from a hamstring problem that forced him off against Lincoln but it remains to be seen whether he’s fit enough to start.

Danny Welbeck is back in contention after recovering from illness but Kieran Gibbs is set to miss out after picking up a knock against Lincoln.

Mohamed Elneny could return to the squad after recovering from an ankle injury while Mesut Ozil is expected to come back in to the starting eleven after being a substitute last weekend.

West Brom will be without winger Phillips due to a hamstring injury while James Morrison is also out with an ankle problem but Salomon Rondon is expected to get a recall.

Likely Line-Ups

Predicted Score

West Brom 1-2 Arsenal: Our form has been poor in recent weeks and it’s time the players stood up and got our season back on track. If we lose today it will be a huge blow to our hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season so hopefully the players realise how important this game is heading in to the international break. I’m expecting a tough game but I’m backing the boys to dig deep and bring home a vital three points with a 2-1 win.