Football – England – Premier League
Saturday 29th November 2014 – Kickoff: 1245hrs
West Brom will be looking to end back-to-back Premier League defeats when they take on Arsenal at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon with both teams looking to revive their seasons.
West Brom recently suffered defeats to Newcastle United 0-2 at home and last Saturday’s loss at Chelsea 0-2 which means that the midlanders have won just once in their last six matches in the Premiership which was a 1-0 win at struggling Leicester City.
West Brom’s home form has been dominated by draws as their overall record at The Hawthorns stands at 1-3-2 10/10 which includes draws with Sunderland, Manchester United and Crystal Palace (all of which were 2-2 draws by the way!), while losing to Everton and Newcastle. Their one win so far was against second from bottom club Burnley 4-0.
Baggies striker Saido Berahino (7 goals) is their leading goalscorer.
Arsenal also go into this afternoon’s clash in the midlands on the back of two consecutive defeats to Swansea City 1-2 away and a 1-2 loss at home to Manchester United which has put manager Arsene Wenger on notice as he looks for a reaction from his players for this one.
These two recent defeats have resulted in The Gunners dropping down into 8th place and they find themselves 7 points adrift of Manchester City and the last Champions League spot in the table. On the road, Arsenal’s form has been sporadic with two recent wins at Aston Villa and Sunderland being spoiled by the defeats at Chelsea and Swansea City while they could only manage a point at the King Power Stadium against Leicester City.
Their away record stands at 2-2-2 9/7 but they have won two of their three away matches at bottom half opposition so far with wins at the aforementioned Aston Villa and Sunderland who are in close proximity to West Brom in the league ladder.
Strikers Alexis Sanchez (8 goals) and Danny Welbeck (2 goals) are the main anytime goalscorer candidates while Olivier Giroud may also get a run out after his goal against Manchester United last weekend.
Both teams go into today’s clash on the back of two defeats and it’s a question of who wants it more – my money’s on Arsenal to kick-start their season as they possess greater attacking depth than their hosts today. Could be a 2-1 win for The Gunners.
Pick: Arsenal straight win @ 1.87 Bet Victor
