Premier League
Arsenal vs Fulham Preview
Emirates Stadium, London – Arsenal start the year with a home fixture against Fulham on Tuesday afternoon in the Premier League.
Both sides’ fortunes seem to have changed over the past couple of weeks but in opposing directions. Where the Gunners seem to have regressed, Fulham are on the up after their appalling start to the Premier League season.
Arsenal suffered a chastening defeat at Anfield last Saturday when a Roberto Firmino hat-trick inspired Liverpool to a 5-1 win.
Fulham, meanwhile, managed a dramatic 1-0 win over Huddersfield at Craven Cottage.
Previous Encounters:
- Arsenal have never previously lost at home to Fulham in any competition, winning 23 and drawing five of their 28 home matches against the Cottagers prior to this match.
- Fulham were beaten 5-1 in October at Craven Cottage in the reverse fixture.
- Fulham’s only league victory over Arsenal in their last 12 such encounters was in January 2012 (W1 D4 L7), a 2-1 win at Craven Cottage under Martin Jol.
View From Both Camps:
Unai Emery (Arsenal):
“Usually I don’t look behind, every day I’m looking at the next matches – what’s in front.”
“For me, whether we win or lose, every match is giving me a lot of information about how to improve. Every coach wants to win, but it’s not easy to do that.”
“With the current injuries we have, we are trying to explore other possibilities.”
Claudio Ranieri (Fulham):
“We go step-by-step, one match at a time. The win against Huddersfield was needed to boost the confidence within the team.”
“Arsenal are a big club, and we have the chance of further improving our form with a positive result against a top club.”
“It’s easier working with positive result than negative but it’s part of the process and our business and we cannot stop, we must be available for work and with high level of the confidence.”
Team News:
Mesut Özil is struggling with a knee injury and is a doubt for the London derby. Full-backs Hector Bellerin (calf) and Nacho Monreal (hamstring) could also feature.
Rob Holding (knee), Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin), Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Danny Welbeck (both ankle) miss out.
Alfie Mawson is set to miss the trip to the Emirates due to a “serious” knee injury. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa could yet return from an ankle injury
Calum Chambers will not be available as he is ineligible to face his parent club.
Predicted Lineups:
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Bellerin, Koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka; Iwobi, Ramsey, Aubameyang; Lacazette.
Fulham (3-4-1-2): Rico; Odoi, Ream, Le Marchand; Christie, Anguissa, Seri, Sessegnon; Cairney; Vietto, Mitrovic.
Match Prediction:
Whilst Arsenal have been poor recently, they will go into this fixture against Fulham as strong favourites. The reverse fixture saw the Gunners demolish their opponents 5-1 at Craven Cottage and Emery will be hoping for a similarly emphatic victory. The Cottagers appear to be heading in the right direction under Ranieri, but this may prove a challenge too far for them at this stage.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Fulham
Photo credit to BongDa 8live via Flickr
