Arsenal vs Brentford Prediction and Betting Tips: Rice to inspire Gunners victory
Saturday’s late kick-off in the Premier League sees title-chasing Arsenal host Brentford at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners looking to pile the pressure on fellow top-of-the-table rivals Liverpool and Manchester City ahead of their meeting on Sunday.
The Gunners are on a seven-game winning streak in the league and should be expected to comfortably see off the Bees, who are only six points above the bottom three and are close to being pulled further into a relegation battle.
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The major change for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will be in between the sticks, with Aaron Ramsdale set to start in place of David Raya who is on loan at the club from Brentford.
Jurrien Timber is the only definite absentee for the Gunners as he has only recently returned to full training after suffering an ACL injury on his debut, while late fitness tests will be required to assess Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu’s availability.
Thomas Partey made his first appearance in five months off of the bench against Sheffield United last time out and could grab extra minutes ahead of the vital second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League round of 16 tie with Porto next week.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank confirmed that Ben Mee will miss the rest of the season with an ankle fracture, and he joins Aaron Hickey, Ethan Pinnock, Kevin Schade, Bryan Mbeumo, Rico Henry and Josh Dasilva on the sidelines.
Striker Ivan Toney - who has been linked with a summer move to the Gunners - is expected to start up top for the Bees, with Yoane Wissa and Neal Maupay battling it out to partner him.
Predicted XIs
Arsenal (4-3-3): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Brentford (3-5-2): Flekken; Zanka, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev, Onyeka, Norgaard, Jensen, Reguilon; Toney, Wissa
Arsenal vs Brentford Tips
Arsenal have been in fantastic free-scoring form as of late, netting 31 goals across their seven league games in 2024, and another dominant victory should be expected on Saturday evening.
Their three home matches this year have seen dominant victories over Crystal Palace (5-0) and Newcastle (4-1), with the Gunners also picking up three valuable points over title rivals Liverpool in between those big wins.
Another high-scoring encounter could be on the cards given that matches involving Arsenal in 2024 are averaging 4.85 goals, while Brentford’s last three visits to fellow London grounds have seen the ball hit the net on at least four occasions - with trips to Crystal Palace (3-1), Tottenham (3-2) and West Ham (4-2) all ending in defeat.
One area where the Gunners have looked particularly deadly this season is from set-pieces, with no side bettering Arsenal’s record of 18 goals from dead-ball situations this season.
Declan Rice rarely puts a poor delivery into the opposition penalty area and, with two assists across his last two games at the Emirates, he looks a decent price to grab another on Saturday.
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