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Arsenal aiming for European places with a win over relegation favourites Fulham
Arsenal to win 2-0
Tournament: Premier League 2020-2021 | Venue: London, Emirates Stadium
Bet NowArsenal’s confidence will have improved massively after a huge win in midweek in their Europa League quarter final match, advancing to the semis after a brilliant performance.
Those have been few and far between this campaign, and it will have pleased Gunners fans to see homegrown talent Saka and Emile Smith Rowe running the show.
Unfortunately, a 9th placed finish is certainly not what the fans want and the club have seven matches left to try and improve their league standing to something more respectable.
Fulham’s drive for survival has come to a halt recently, having lost their last four on the bounce. Newcastle are now six points clear of the London side, and also have a game in hand.
If The Cottagers have any chance of clawing back that gap, they must start winning games such as these, although it will be incredibly difficult.
Form Guide (all comps): DLDWW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Morale boosting win in midweek
Have won all 29 home games against Fulham
Reasons to be fearful:
Several key players missing from the line-up
Haven’t won back-to-back league games since January
Arsenal will hope to continue their winning form into this weekend, having scored three goals past Sheffield United last weekend, followed by a thumping 4-0 victory over Slavia Prague in midweek.
Their consistency has let them down time and again this season, having gone since January since winning consecutive league matches. Should they do so here, it will draw the closer to the likes of Everton and Tottenham, two teams who have their own problems at the moment.
Arsenal’s incredible record against Fulham should also be taken into account. Never have The Cottagers beaten Arsenal at the Emirates from 28 attempts, with the Gunners winning the last six.
The Gunners will once again be without David Luiz, Kieran Tierney and Aubameyang, while Odegaard is a possibility after picking up an ankle knock.
Star Man – Alexandre Lacazette
The Frenchman is on quite the run now, and has scored in all three league appearances against Fulham.
Form Guide (all comps): WLLLL
Reasons to be cheerful:
Have had a full week’s rest whereas Arsenal played in midweek
Will be desperate for the win here
Reasons to be fearful:
Terrible record against the Gunners, and in London derbies in general
It looks too big a gap to catch Newcastle now
Understandably, Fulham players may be a little deflated after seeing their good form fall away recently. At one stage, they were within touching distance of Newcastle, and indeed favourites to overtake them.
However, after four defeats on the bounce, they’ve watched their rivals pull away from them, and also West Brom close the gap to them in 19th place.
With Newcastle winning 24 hours before this fixture, the gap to safety is now seven points – probably too much to manage with only six games remaining unless something magical happens.
Scott Parker will certainly want to end his club’s awful record against Arsenal, of course. 28 meetings without a victory is not something their supporters will be proud of, and could act as extra motivation for them here.
Star Man – Aleksandar Mitrovic
Scored Fulham’s most recent goal, but has gone 16 London derbies without being on the winning side.
Arsenal are heavy favourites here
The Gunners will have plenty of chances to score
Fulham will be hoping for an unlikely upset
Only victories will help Fulham from here on in, though the chance of them securing one here is slim.
Sure, Arsenal haven’t been perfect this season (especially after midweek European matches), but you’d expect them to have the quality to see off Fulham here.
Arsenal to win 2-0
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