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Arsenal is in desperate need of a win, but traveling to Bournemouth will not be an easy task, as the hosts are in very good form lately.
Bournemouth was looking pathetic at the start of the season, but really picked themselves up starting December. The hosts are on the back of a 2-1 victory away at Crystal Palace and have lost just once in the last 7 matches in all competitions. Going a bit further with the stats, Bournemouth lost just twice in the last 14 matches in all competitions. One of those losses was 0-2 against Arsenal in the last game of 2015.
Leicester’s 3-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday was a good result for Arsenal. The Gunners can now pass Manchester City with a win today and host Leicester next round, so two consecutive victories would see Arsenal right back in title contention, maybe even as favorites. Unfortunately for Arsenal the recent weeks have been a disaster – 3 draws and 1 loss in the first 4 games put a huge dent in their title chances. They defeated Burnley 2-1 in the FA Cup, but went on to draw 0-0 with Southampton last weekend. Arsenal had chances and played a good second half, but they still should have done more.
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Team news & lineups:
Wilson, Mings and Gradel are out of Bournemouth’s lineup, while Stanislas and Rantie are questionable. Arsene Wenger can’t count on Welbeck, Wilshere, Rosicky and Cazorla, all of them long term injuries.
Bournemouth: Boruc – Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels – Surman, Ritchie – Gosling, Arter, Pugh – Afobe
Arsenal: Cech – Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal – Coquelin, Ramsey – Campbell, Ozil, Sanchez – Giroud
Arsenal’s poor form is a real surprise, particularly as the Gunners got some key players back from injury lately. While they were not good recently and Bournemouth is quite hard to defeat these days, I still believe Arsenal will claim the three points today.
Anything else but a win would mean that Arsenal will lose any realistic title chance and could win it just if a small miracle occurs. I can’t see Bournemouth forcing the Gunners in this situation. Arsenal knows that these two next matches will make or break their season, so expect them to come out determined, focused and motivated. They surely worked very hard in training, particularly on the offensive end, as Arsenal scored zero goals in the last three Premier League matches. They were not so poor against Southampton and should be even better today, particularly when it comes to being more effective.
The poor run should end today. My tip is Arsenal to win and the odds are dropping, though I expected people to fancy Bournemouth more. Prediction: Bournemouth – Arsenal 1-3.
Pick: Arsenal
Odds: 2.00 @ William Hill
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 7
Event date: 7 February
