Arsenal are back on the south coast for the second time in four days as they take on Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium this evening.
The Gunners crashed out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage with a frustrating 1-0 defeat to the Saints on Saturday afternoon so they’ll be out for revenge when the two sides meet in the Premier League tonight.
Mikel Arteta’s men have endured a disappointing first half to the 2021/22 season as they head into this game sitting 11th in the table having picked up just 27 points from their 19 matches so far.
Victory tonight would see Arsenal climb up to eighth and to within just four points of fourth-placed Liverpool so it’s vital they collect all three points to get themselves back in the hunt for European qualification.
However, Southampton showed on Saturday they can be a match for any side and they currently sit two points above Arsenal in the table so they’ll be looking to continue their recent good form with another win tonight.
Team news
Arsenal will be without captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang due to personal issues while Dani Ceballos has also been ruled out once again as he’s still carrying a calf issue that kept him out of the FA Cup defeat at the weekend.
Kieran Tierney will face a late fitness test on a muscle problem and Pablo Mari remains on the sidelines with a calf strain that’s kept him out of the last four matches.
Arteta is expected to recalled some key players with the likes of Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Alexandre Lacazette all coming back into the side after being rested at the weekend.
Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand will miss the game due to suspension and Kyle Walker-Peters is also set to be ruled out with a muscle injury so the hosts will be without their first choice full-backs.
Oriol Romeu and Will Smallbone are also still on the sidelines, however, Nathan Redmond is set to return from a groin injury.
Betting odds
Arsenal are the narrow 21/20 favourites to win the game at www.betx.com while Southampton can be backed at odds of 27/10. The draw is also available at 27/10 if you think the spoils will be shared at St Mary’s.
In the absence of Aubameyang, Lacazette will be the main threat in front of goal for the Gunners and he’s 4/1 to open the scoring tonight. Southampton hitman Danny Ings also looks good value to break the deadlock at odds of 4/1.
This could be another tight game and we don’t expect a lot of goals so under 2.5 match goals looks a solid bet at odds of 11/10.
Prediction
Southampton will be confident following their win in the FA Cup at the weekend but Arsenal should be a lot stronger with some key players returning to the starting eleven. The Gunners were on a terrific run before the defeat on Saturday having won four and drawn one of their previous five matches so Arteta will be keen to get back to winning ways.
We expect a closely-fought game on the south coast but have a feeling Arsenal will just edge it. They’ve improved a lot at the back in recent weeks and that could help them secure a 1-0 win tonight. Southampton 0-1 Arsenal
