Arsenal vs Cardiff City
Date: 29/01/2019
K/O: 19:45
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Referee: Mike Dean
Champions League-chasing Arsenal will host relegation-threatened Cardiff City at The Emirates on Tuesday night.
Unai Emery started the season well in his first season in the Premier League and the Gunners notched up a lengthy unbeaten run of 22 games. Since then, however, their form has petered down. They have claimed just 10 points from the last seven games, and Manchester United have drawn close to them as a result. Arsenal now find themselves three points behind Chelsea who are in fourth place while newly reformed Manchester United sit level on points with Emery’s side.
Cardiff meanwhile have a totally different agenda on their hands. Last week they slipped back into the relegation zone – a region which they had avoided for quite some time. Neil Warnock’s men are now two points from safety, as they compete with a host of other teams for survival. Newcastle beat them comprehensively last time out to go above them in the table and Cardiff will surely be keen to reverse that.
Arsenal’s last Premier League game was a pivotal derby victory against Chelsea, but their last competitive match was a FA Cup loss against United. Cardiff’s away form will give the Gunners confidence though, as the Bluebirds have been awful on the road this season. All signs point to a routine win for the home side, which is not good hearing for the Welsh outfit.
Team news
Arsenal
Emery has a host of injuries to deal with, especially in defence. Rob Holding has been out since November with a knee problem and Hector Bellerin ruptured his left ACL last week. The Spaniard is assumed to be out for more than six months, and Arsenal don’t have many replacements at right-back which is cause for concern.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, arguably their best defender this season, is also out after he suffered an ankle problem. The Greek is expected to be out for a couple of weeks. Captain Laurent Koscielny is also doubtful, which has further mounted the defensive problems. Shkodran Mustafi is back though, and so is Nacho Monreal. The latter could be asked to fill in at centre-back if needed.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is also expected to be sidelined for the Gunners. Mesut Ozil is fit, but his starting place is far from guaranteed. He came off the bench against United, and Emery has preferred the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi in his place. Naturally, the attack will be headed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
Cardiff City
Cardiff only have three major injury concerns, but two of them are key components of their team. Midfielder Harry Arter has a groin problem, and he was not in the squad against Newcastle. Warnock urged caution regarding his injury and he is a definite doubt.
Captain Sean Morrison is also on the treatment table. He didn’t feature against Newcastle either, and the chances are low that he’ll make a return against Arsenal. Bruno Ecuele Manga filled in for him last time, and he will be called upon again. Lee Peltier will be duly expected to start at right-back as a result.
New recruit Oumar Niasse started the last Premier League game and he could again form a striking duo alongside Callum Paterson. Josh Murphy, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, and Junior Hoilett will fight for the wide places, and Bobby Reid will hope to usurp Niasse’s spot up front.
Predicted Starting XIs
Arsenal (4-3-1-2): Leno; Kolasinac, Monreal, Mustafi, Maitland-Niles; Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi; Ramsey; Aubameyang, Lacazette
Cardiff City (4-1-4-1): Etheridge; Bennett, Ecuele Manga, Bamba, Peltier; Gunnarsson; Murphy, Ralls, Camarasa, Hoilett; Paterson
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 Cardiff City 0
Arsenal have been brilliant at home this season and couple that with Cardiff’s woeful away form, you get a clear winner. Arsenal should claim the three points comfortably, and keep a rare clean sheet as well.
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