MY ACCOUNT
– At least four goals have been scored in Arsenal’s last seven home league games
– At least four goals have been scored in three of Brighton’s last four league contests
– Recommended Bet: Back Over 3.5 goals
Aiming to take the title race down to the wire, Arsenal will go all out for victory against Europe-chasing Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side made it back-to-back wins since their 4-1 defeat at leaders Man City with a solid display at Newcastle last Sunday and victory would take them back to the top spot if Pep Guardiola’s side slip up at Everton.
Brighton will have other ideas as they attempt to shrug off the stunning 5-1 home defeat to Everton — a result that nobody saw coming.
The Seagulls have won on three of their last four visits to the Gunners’ ground and head coach Roberto De Zerbi has warned Arsenal to expect “the true Brighton” this weekend.
Team news
Arteta has denied reports that William Saliba (back) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) could miss the rest of the season, but Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny have officially been ruled out until next term.
Jakub Kiwior’s displays against Chelsea and Newcastle will ensure he keeps his spot alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence with Kieran Tierney coming in at left-back.
Jorginho looks likely to keep Thomas Partey out of the starting XI with Leandro Trossard also on the bench against his former team.
Brighton’s Solly March and Adam Webster are out through injury and join a lengthy casualty list that also includes Jeremy Sarmiento, Tariq Lamptey, Joel Veltman, Adam Lallana and Jakub Moder.
Dutch defender Veltman has an outside chance of featuring at the Emirates, while Levi Colwill, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson, who all came off the bench against Everton, could replace Webster, Deniz Undav and Danny Welbeck.
The stats
Arteta’s side, who enter this game on a 17-game scoring streak in all competitions, are two strikes short of reaching the 100-goal mark this season.
Brighton have notched in 11 successive away games and can already lay claim to a new club record for top-flight goals (63).
Clean sheets have been lacking for the Seagulls, however, with only two recorded in 16 road trips – three fewer than last season’s final tally.
Meanwhile, only three of Arsenal’s 13 Premier League shutouts this season have come at Emirates Stadium, with only rock-bottom Southampton, with one, registering fewer top-flight clean sheets in front of their own fans.
Prediction
Goals should be guaranteed in this clash of two clubs with attacking habits that have become ingrained under these two young coaches.
Only Man City have outscored Arsenal across their last eight home games.
But while Guardiuola’s men have conceded just five in that sequence, the Gunners have shipped 12 times — more than four teams in the bottom half of the table and as many as Everton.
Their defensive issues appear to have stemmed directly from Saliba’s absence and it took some great goalkeeping from Aaron Ramsdale to ensure they returned from St James’ Park last week with a rare clean sheet.
Brighton will want to bounce back from their 5-1 humiliation against Everton, which appeared to be a game too far for the jaded Seagulls.
They may not be able to deny the Gunners all three points this weekend, but De Zerbi’s team have enough attacking prowess to get on the scoresheet — potentially more than once — in a game that could match the six-goal thriller these two played out on New Year’s Eve for entertainment.
Back Over 3.5 goals at 6/5 with LiveScore Bet.
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