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Arsenal will be keen to draw a line under their midweek defeat in the Champions League when they host Newcastle on Saturday evening. The game takes place at the Emirates and kicks off at 8:30pm.
Arsenal
Arsenal were involved in a tepid affair with FC Porto on Wednesday night and although the Gunners would probably have been happy to settle for a point, they couldn’t do anything about Galeno’s stunning injury-time strike. It leaves the North Londoners with plenty to do in the second leg and they will need to significantly improve their performance level if they are to qualify for the next round of the competition.
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Mikel Arteta will be keen for this side to get back to winning ways here and they will be hoping to keep the pressure on both Liverpool and Manchester City (the latter will have played just a couple of hours earlier).
Having struggled for form at the end of December, the Gunners have turned things around and have won five PL matches in a row by an aggregate score of 21-2. Arteta’s men have been free-flowing going forward and they’ll relish the chance to face Newcastle’s leaky back-line.
Given their exploits in the Premier League, Wednesday night’s performance in Portugal must have been incredibly baffling for the fans. Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta named an unchanged XI for the third match in a row, so perhaps a few elements of fatigue were starting to creep in. The Spaniard is likely to make changes for Saturday evening, particularly as this is a fairly short turnaround for the Gunners.
At home, Arsenal are a formidable proposition and they have been victorious in eight of their last nine PL matches here.
Newcastle
Last season, much was made of Newcastle’s incredibly watertight defence with the Magpies back-line barely putting a foot wrong all season. However, this time around, particularly in recent weeks, they have looked incredibly vulnerable and have struggled to contain the opposition.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight matches and have been breached on eight occasions across their last three outings. The Tynesiders also haven’t managed a shutout on the road since beating Sheffield United 8-0 at the end of September.
Newcastle’s injury issues have eased a little in recent weeks and although he won’t be fit enough to feature here, Fabian Schar has been training with the squad this week and may return to the fold in the next fortnight. Alexander Isak and Joe Willock are also reportedly back in training this week, although they’ve yet to be spotted with the first team. This game is likely to come a little too soon for the recovering pair.
Although their away form has been ropey this season, Newcastle have been victorious in each of their last two. Each of their three away wins have been high-scoring affairs and having scored 2+ in each of their last three matches on the road, they’ll be confident of taking the game to their hosts.
Head to Head
The last few matches between these two sides have been very tight and cagey. This seems unlikely to follow suit.
Newcastle have a decent record against Arsenal and have won two of the last four meetings with the Gunners. Nevertheless, all of those wins have come at St. James’ Park and they haven’t actually picked up maximum points at this venue since 2010 when an Andy Carroll strike gave the visitors the victory.
The Magpies have failed to find the net at this ground since 2014 and will be determined to end that barren run on Saturday teatime.
Key Betting Stats
- Newcastle’s away games have averaged 3.92 goals so far this season
- The visitors have conceded an average of 2.08 goals per game on the road.
- There have been 32 goals across Newcastle’s last seven Premier League matches.
- Arsenal are averaging 13.5 shots per game at the Emirates with a conversion rate of 19%
- The Gunners have netted 2+ goals in six of their last seven matches here.
- Arsenal are yet to concede a goal between the 31st-40th minute or the 71st-80th minute.
Match Prediction
Newcastle are unlikely to change their ways for this one and with Arsenal desperate for a response to their underwhelming midweek display, this is a very intriguing fixture. I would back the hosts to score a few with the visitors to also get on the scoresheet.
Winning Combo
Both Teams to Score Two or More Goals
19/5 with Betfair
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