Quantcast
Home   >   Match   >   Wolves v Arsenal preview | Confirmed team news, my line-up + prediction

Wolves v Arsenal preview | Confirmed team news, my line-up + prediction

By on July 4, 2020

bukayo saka arsenal

Arsenal desperately need to come away with a positive result when we take on Wolves at Molineux this afternoon.

After a difficult couple of games following the restart last month, Arsenal have got back on track with three consecutive victories over Southampton, Sheffield United [FA Cup] and Norwich City.

It was vital we won those three matches but unfortunately we still sit down in eighth position in the Premier League table and six points adrift of Manchester United and Wolves – who are tied in fifth/sixth.

With fifth hopefully enough to secure Champions League football, Arsenal still have an outside chance of getting back among Europe’s elite but we’d have to beat Wolves today to stand a chance as we have some tough games coming up against Leicester, Liverpool and Spurs.

Wolves are bang in form so this is going to be an extremely tough game. The victory at Aston Villa last week has kept Nuno Espírito Santo’s men right in the mix for Champions League qualification and they’ll go nine points clear of us with a win today.

Team News

Arsenal have been handed a boost after confirming Lucas Torreira is back in contention following six months out with an ankle injury. Th midfielder returned to full training last week but he’ll be lacking match fitness so I don’t expect him to start today.

Matteo Guendouzi is set to miss out once again after being axed from the squad by Arteta while Mesut Ozil is a doubt due to an apparent back injury that’s kept him out of action recently.

Bernd Leno is still recovering from a knee injury so he’ll miss the game along with Pablo Mari, Gabriel Martinelli and Calum Chambers – who are out with long-term injuries.

Rob Holding arsenal 2019

Wolves, on the other hand, have a fully-fit squad to choose from. I honestly can’t remember the last time I said that about Arsenal!

Line-up

I expect Arteta to rotate his squad during this busy period and I hope we see Rob Holding come in for Sead Kolasinac in the back three. Sokratis should also get a run out while Kieran Tierney is finding some great form on the left flank.

Cedric Soares made a superb impact on his debut after scoring a fine goal just two minutes after coming off the bench. Hector Bellerin looks like a player struggling to reach his best after a succession of injuries so maybe it’s time to give Soares a shot.

I’ve said it for months but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should start through the middle. He’s our best player and should be played in his best position. It would also allow Bukayo Saka to start on the left side of the attack, so it’s a win-win.

This is the line-up I’d like to see today:

football formations

Expected Wolves XI: Patricio, Doherty, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Jonny, Neves, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Jota, Jimenez.

Predicted score

This could be described as a must win game for Arsenal. We definitely can’t lose if we have any hope of qualifying for Europe but a draw wouldn’t be the worse result as long as we beat Leicester at home next week. Thankfully we come into this game in decent form having won our last three matches but we’re going to need to be produce a special display to get all three points as Wolves are a terrific side. I hope we can edge it but realistically I think we’ll get a point.

Wolves 1-1 Arsenal

2 Comments