Arsenal surely look like big favorites against Southampton, not only because they’re currently much higher on the table than their opponents, but also because their match will take place in London at the Emirates Stadium. Still, this is the Premier League and anything can happen here. So, before putting any money on this game, make sure to read our Arsenal vs Southampton prediction and betting tips!
Arsenal
Arsenal’s goal for this Premier League season is to finish among the top 4. It won’t be easy, because many other teams wish the same. But, they’re currently not too far from the 4th place. Still, in order to get there and stay there till the end of the season, they mustn’t drop any points against teams from the bottom half of the season, especially when playing at the Emirates. This means that everything other than beating Southampton on Sunday afternoon is out of the question for the Gunners.
They’re going into this game after beating BATE Borisov in the Europa League in the second leg of their doubleheader. Winning that game has probably given them some confidence boost, because they got themselves a spot in the 1/8 finals, even though they lost the first part of the doubleheader.
That game also showed that the Gunners are superb when playing at home. Their home stats are even more impressive when it comes to the Premier League. They’ve won 10 home matches so far while playing draw twice and losing only one game. The match they lost was against Man City, played back in August. The best thing about Arsenal’s home performances is that they’ve won their previous 6 Premier League matches at the Emirates.
Southampton
They’re still in the danger zone, but since Hasenhuttl’s been in charge, the Saints have been playing much, much better than before. The biggest difference in their play is that they attack more. The result is that they’ve been scoring more. In fact, Southampton have scored in all but one game played in 2019. Unfortunately for them, they’ve also been allowing a lot of goals.
With 44 goals allowed in 26 rounds of the Premier League, Southampton are among the worst teams in terms of defending. Actually, there are only 4 teams that have allowed more. Still, despite the poor performances at the back, Southampton have still managed to collect a pretty decent amount of points lately.
Actually, in the last 5 rounds of the Premier League, they’ve collected only 1 point less than Arsenal. They’ve collected their 8 points in 5 matches by playing draw twice, losing one game, and winning 2 matches. Another thing giving them hope ahead of the trip to London is that their away form has improved drastically this year. They’ve won a total of 12 points on the road, 8 of which they got from the last 4 away matches.
What’s got to worry them ahead of the games at the Emirates is that they’ll be missing their top scorer and probably their best player Danny Ings. Mario Lemina is also injured, same as Michael Obafemi.
Team News
Arsenal absentees:
- Hector Bellerin (injury)
- Rob Holding (injury)
- Danny Welbeck (injury)
Southampton absentees:
- Danny Ings (injury)
- Mario Lemina (injury)
- Michael Obafemi (injury)
Possible Lineups
Arsenal
Leno – Mustafi, Sokratis, Lichtsteiner, Kolasinac – Torreira, Guendouzi, Xhaka – Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Southampton
McCarthy – Vestergaard, Bednarek, Stephens, Valery, Targett – Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg – Redmond, Long
Arsenal vs Southampton Prediction
Arsenal are going to win this, I have no doubt about that. And we’re likely to see many goals here, because both teams have been playing attacking football lately.
Arsenal vs Southampton Betting Tips
- Arsenal @1.45 (bet365)
- Over 2.5 Goals @1.64 (1XBET)