West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal
Competition: Premier League
Match date: Saturday, 29 November 2014
Kick Off Time: 12:45 BST
Venue: The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, United Kingdom
Competition: Premier League
Match date: Saturday, 29 November 2014
Kick Off Time: 12:45 BST
Venue: The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, United Kingdom
West Bromwich team enter the weekend pleased with
their performance thus far, sitting comfortably in 13th place at 3
points above the dreaded relegation zone. After barely staving off the
bottom 3 places last season, the Baggies will be eager to lend their
fans a pacemaker here, adding to their point tally against a tough
opponent and calming the nerves of thousands of club loyalists. But the
balances of power shift regularly in the English Premier League, and the
Baggies will know that avoiding defeat at The Hawthorns this season
will be essential to staving off the drop. They are unbeaten in 4 of
their last 5 competitive matches at home, and manager Alan Irvine will
be looking forward to taking points off the struggling Gunners.
Unfortunately for the hosts, they will be without Yacob and have not
defeated Arsenal in their last 8 meetings. While the Baggies can be a
stern opponent and will likely keep this match close, they will be
hard-pressed to sneak a point out of the Hawthorns this Saturday.
Arsenal responded well to a mass of criticism and
questions over the team’s mental fragility, as the Gunners came out of
their 1:2 defeat to Manchester United over the midweek with a sense of
purpose and determination. Against a Borussia Dortmund side that have
taken no prisoners in the Champions League this season, the Gunners took
the initiative from the off, as surprise starter Yaya Sanogo slotted
home the beautiful give-and-go with Santi Cazorla in just the 2nd
minute. But the visitors live and die by the “beautiful goal,” and
perhaps what has been most needed is a bit of directness in their play.
Alexis Sanchez provided that when his side took a 2:0 lead over the
Germans, as the Chilean curled a lovely 25-yarder into the far netting,
sealing the matchday’s proceedings. Unfortunately for the Gunners,
victory seems to come at a cost this season, as Mikel Arteta and Yaya
Sanogo both limped off in the second half. Neither will feature this
weekend, but Danny Welbeck should return to action and lead the line
once again. A big 3 points for the Gunners is the likely outcome this
Saturday.
Probable lineups:
West Bromwich: Foster – Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Pocognoli – Dorrans, Gardner, Morrison, Brunt – Sessegnon – Berahino.
Arsenal: Martinez – Chambers, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs – Arteta, Ramsey – Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez, Cazorla – Welbeck.
