Prediction: West Brom vs Arsenal

18th March 2011

West Brom climbed out of the relegation zone as they beat Birmingham away and the Baggies are now hoping to extend their unbeaten run to five games. Arsenal missed a chance to close the gap behind United, while they were eliminated from the FA Cup and Champions League in the meantime, meaning the Gunners will have something to prove at the Hawthorns.

West Brom finally managed to overcome the poor run of form that almost cost them Premiership survival and the Baggies are clearly showing progress under Roy Hodgson. I still believe that Roberto Di Mateo shouldn’t have been sacked, but the former Liverpool boss is proving to be pretty good replacement. West Brom made a giant step towards survival having beaten fierce rivals Birmingham at St Andrew’s and they are now hoping to get one over underperforming Arsenal as well. The Baggies are unbeaten in their last four home games and they will be looking to continue the trend, especially as Arsenal will be severely weakened in this match. Roy Hodgson has problems of his own, with influential midfielder Chris Brunt doubtful with fever, while Graham Dorrans and Carlos Vela are unavailable. Youssouf Mulumbu should feature after recovering from a calf problem.

These past few weeks have been pretty disappointing for Arsenal fans since the Gunners were eliminated from three major competitions within less than three weeks. After losing the Carling Cup final to Birmingham, Arsene Wenger’s side were eliminated from the FA Cup and Champions League, while they also missed a great chance to further close the gap behind United after failing to beat Sunderland at home. The Gunners now face a prospect of yet another trophy-less season, so they have to give their best to try and pip Manchester United to the Premier League title as that is the only way to save this season. Arsene Wenger faces major selection problems before the trip to Hawthorns, since Fabregas, Walcott and Djourou have been ruled out of the game, joining Fabianski, Szczesny, Mannone, Song and Vermaelen in the infirmary. Arsenal were forced to sign Jens Lehman as a cover for Manuel Almunia and the German, who has come out of retirement to join Gunners, is set to start of the bench.

Conclusion

West Bromwich will be without two or three important players and that could damage their chances in this match. Arsenal, on the other hand, are missing a host of first team players, but the Gunners have excellent replacements for the absentees and I still believe they have what it takes to win this game.

Verdict: Away win Arsenal (2)

Best Odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: William Hill