Arsenal v Wolves: Line-ups, stats and preview
Arsenal face Wolves on Saturday as they seek to put pressure on those chasing them in the Premier League title race by beating the strugglers.
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Match Preview for Arsenal v Wolves
Arsenal will be confident of at least briefly stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points when they welcome bottom club Wolves to Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners’ title hopes suffered a setback in the Midlands last weekend as Emi Buendia’s late goal saw them condemned to a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, though they bounced back from that defeat with a 3-0 Champions League win over Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s men are two points ahead of Manchester City in the title race, with Villa surprisingly just a point further behind.
With both those sides not in action until Sunday, when City visit Crystal Palace and Villa travel to West Ham, Arsenal have an opportunity to pile pressure on their nearest challengers.
It is one they will be expected to take, with Wolves still yet to win a game in the league this season.
Wolves have taken only two points from 15 games and are 13 points adrift of safety. Eight points shy of second-bottom Burnley, Wolves will be bottom at Christmas and appear destined for the drop.
Rob Edwards’ men showed some signs of resilience in Monday’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester United, levelling after going behind before United cruised to victory with three second-half goals.
Wolves’ efforts to try to climb up the table may appear futile but, as they tackle the unenviable challenge of facing Arsenal away from home, centre-back Emmanuel Agbadou made it clear they will not allow their determination to wane.
“When you’re in the situation we’re in and things happen like that, it becomes difficult, but we’re not going to give up,” Agbadou told Wolves’ official website.
“We’re going to try to give everything to at least finish our season well.”
Team news for Arsenal v Wolves
Riccardo Calafiori is suspended for Arsenal, while Max Dowman (ankle), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Leandro Trossard (knock), Gabriel (thigh) and Kai Havertz (knee) are all set to miss out.
Declan Rice (illness), William Saliba (knock) and Jurrien Timber (knock) add to Arsenal’s worries but could still each feature.
For Wolves, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde may be unavailable after being forced off during the loss to United. Rodrigo Gomes (groin), Marshall Munetsi (calf), Leon Chiwone (knee) and Daniel Bentley (ankle) will not play.
Predicted line-ups for Arsenal v Wolves
Arsenal: Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Norgaard, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze
Wolves: Johnstone; Krejci, Agbadou, Toti; Tchatchoua, Gomes, Andre, Wolfe; Lopez; Arokodare, Strand Larsen
How to watch Arsenal v Wolves: TV and online streams
Arsenal v Wolves kicks off at 8pm UK time. It will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1.
The game can be streamed on Discovery Plus and via Sky Go for Sky Sports customers with a TNT package.
Stats for Arsenal v Wolves
- Arsenal have won their last eight Premier League games against Wolves, their longest winning run against an opponent since a run of 10 versus Burnley from 2010 to 2019.
- Wolves have won just one of their last 14 away league games against Arsenal (D4 L9), losing the last four in a row since a 2-1 victory in November 2020.
- Arsenal have scored in every one of their last 35 meetings with Wolves, since a 1-0 home loss in February 1979. In English football history, only Wrexham against Darlington have had a longer scoring streak across all competitions (49 between 1929 and 1961).
- This will be the 42nd Premier League match between the top side and the bottom side, with the league leaders winning 30 of the previous 41 (D7 L4). Wolves have claimed two of the bottom side’s four victories, beating Manchester United at Molineux in both January 2004 and February 2011.
- Arsenal are looking to win five consecutive home Premier League matches for the first time since between January and April 2024. The Gunners have also prevailed in their last seven at Emirates Stadium against teams starting the day in the bottom three, since drawing 3-3 with Southampton in April 2023.
- While they have the best defence in the Premier League this season with nine goals conceded, Arsenal have shipped six goals in their last five league games, double the amount they did in their first 10 matches.
Prediction for Arsenal v Wolves
Arsenal
Wolves
Arsenal have shown some vulnerability of late, but Wolves are not the team to exploit it.
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