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West Brom vs Arsenal match preview with betting odds and prediction

By mac14 on December 31, 2020

Arsenal head to the Hawthorns on Saturday night looking to make it three consecutive wins in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta came under huge pressure having overseen our worst start to a league season in over 50 years and some fans were calling for his head after we lost to Everton and Man City before Christmas.

However, we’ve enjoyed a mini-revival over the past week as Arsenal put-in a hugely impressive performance to beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates before grinding out a hard fought 1-0 win at Brighton on Tuesday night.

Those results have certainly eased the pressure on Arteta’s shoulders and lifted the mood around the club, however, the job is far from done as Arsenal still languish way down in 13th position in the table.

Therefore, it’s vital we continue to build momentum and get ourselves back in touch with the European places by coming away with another three points when we take on West Brom this weekend.

Looking at the table, we should be confident as West Brom sit second from bottom but Sam Allardyce will no doubt be demanding a response from his players after they were thrashed 5-0 by Leeds last time out.

Betting odds

The latest soccer odds 1×2 shows us that Arsenal are the 4/7 favourites to win the game on Saturday night. West Brom can be backed at 5/1 to get back on track with a win on home soil while the draw is available at odds of 3/1.

For those that want a bit more value, the correct score market has some tempting propositions. Arsenal to win 2-1 stands out as it’s currently priced at 13/2 while the more optimistic Gunners’ fan can back the team to win 3-1 at odds of 10/1.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is 10/3 to be first scorer on Saturday and if we combine that with a 2-1 Arsenal win then we get excellent odds of 36/1 – which looks a terrific bet.

Team news

Arsenal will have to assess the fitness of Bukayo Saka after he picked up an ankle knock against Brighton but the winger has a decent chance to be passed fit as it didn’t look too serious.

Thomas Partey is back in light training after recovering from a thigh injury but this game will come too soon while David Luiz and Willian remain doubts after missing the last two matches due to illness.

Gabriel is certain to miss the trip to the Hawthorns as he’s still self isolating after testing positive for Covid so Pablo Mari should keep his place alongside Rob Holding in defence.

West Brom will be without Conor Townsend as he’s still out with a knee injury and Jake Livermore is suspended. Kieran Gibbs is a doubt to face his old club while Kyle Bartley and Hal Robson-Kanu is out with an elbow issue.

Prediction

Arsenal took their time to get going against Brighton but eventually got the job done. I would expect a similar display on Saturday as it’s mostly about grinding out results at this time of year, rather than worrying about the performance.

West Brom were ripped apart by Leeds in midweek but I think Allardyce will have them much more organised this weekend, and we know they can get results against big teams after getting a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

This is a good opportunity for Arsenal to pick up another valuable three points and while I expect a tough game, I still think we’ll have enough quality to secure a 2-1 win.

West Brom 1-2 Arsenal