Match Preview: West Brom vs Arsenal

Saturday and we are back to football ways, Arsene Wenger’s in-form Arsenal side visit The Hawthorns for an epic Premier League clash against Steve Clarke’s inconsistent West Brom team.

West Brom would be looking recover from that embarrassing loss against West Ham. Their display was similar to the Reading outfit that visited the Emirates; they committed a high number of individual errors and were also too aggressive. Although, they were a bit unlucky, as they created tons of goal scoring opportunities through individual skills but couldn’t convert them into goals. Overall, they were poor and Steve Clarke should be looking to instill some belief to a side that dominated possession but ended up losing by a fair margin.

For Arsenal, the incredible win against Bayern in the UEFA Champions League looks to have spurred the Gunners, who gained 3 successive league wins. Their mouth-watering display against Reading hasn’t come unnoticed; they created a high number of chances relating to their possession, even though they were caught offside often. Arsenal played very well in my opinion and should have scored more goals anyway.

After losing to Arsenal in the first leg of this fixture, West Brom have managed just 5 wins out of 16. So, for that, I choose to label them as “inconsistent” despite their barnstorming start to the season.

Team news

West Brom

Highflying goal scorer Romelu Lukaku should be available. The Belgian, on loan from Chelsea, has scored 13 goals for the Baggies this season and is currently the highest goal scorer in the team. Also, one should not forget goalkeeper Ben Foster, who has performed heroics between the sticks. Other than that, the team looks okay and should be ready to give Arsenal a torrid time at the Hawthorns.

Arsenal

The competition in the squad is getting feisty and that has seen top players stuck to the bench. Arsene Wenger’s message is loud and clear: You need to be at your top game and work very hard to make the starting line-up irrespective of your position in the team.

Aside Nacho Monreal limping off at the Reading game and a definite doubt ahead of this encounter, the squad looks in good shape and it would be interesting to see if Wojciech Szcz?sny is welcomed back into the squad.

Last 5 matches for each side

West Brom League Form : WLWDL

Arsenal League Form : WLWWW

Predictions

This sort of fixture has been noted to produce incredible moments and goals. Expect the Baggies supporters to roar from start to finish. If Arsenal are on their top game and dictate possession, then they can cause problems for the hosts.

Predicted scoreline: West Brom 1-2 Arsenal