The relegation battle is becoming a nightmare for Brighton as they welcome the Gunners to the American Express Community Stadium this weekend. The match schedules for Saturday with kickoff at 14:00 GMT.
Arsenal began their restart to the Premier League in the worst way possible with a 3-0 loss to Manchester City. The match was full of highs and lows with the gruesome injury of Garcia that left him stretchered out the stadium.
Coach Mikel Arteta’s return to the Etihad Stadium was far more memorable. The side had their first taste of defeat in domestic football. The match saw two players leave the pitch with injuries placing the side into more troubles.
Brighton, on the other hand, is a loss away from deepening their relegation woes. Their last time out saw the side hold off the attacking threat of Wolves ending in a 0-0 draw. However, more is at stake with a series of matches against the top six teams.
Coach Graham Potter will have to fend off any losses at the moment to ensure their stay at top plight football. Potter sets to take advantage of the injury woes in the opponent’s camp to stay on top.
Brighton vs. Arsenal Head to Head
Both sides have only seven games between them with Arsenal taking home three wins while Brighton with two wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton
Arsenal 1-1 Brighton
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal
Brighton 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton
Brighton 2-3 Arsenal
Brighton 2-3 Arsenal
Brighton Team News
The Potters do not have any injury woes at their camp except for the long term injury of Jose Izquierdo. Youngster and January new arrivals Alex Mac Allister and Tariq Lamptey are pushing for their first start to the Premier League. Mac Allister made a 13 minutes cameo against Wolves after his loan spell at Bocca Juniors was cut short.
Arsenal Team News
David Luiz’s disastrous display against the Citizens ended in conceding the first goal and a penalty. The Brazilian received a red card after a foul against winger Rihayd Mahrez. The future of the Brazilian remains uncertain with his contract ending in two weeks. Arsenal remains adamant about extending his contract, and this could see the veteran defender leave the Emirates on a free transfer.
The match also saw the injury of midfielder Granit Xhaka with his expected return still unknown. New signing Pablo Mari also came off the start of the game after picking up an injury.
Prediction and Odds
Arteta contends with injury woes at the camp with top names out with injuries. We expect a low goal-scoring encounter:
Draw
Goals Under 2.5
Arsenal First Team to Score
Correct Score 1-1
