Saturday Premier League preview: Sunderland vs Arsenal

October 29, 2016 12:30pm – Stadium of Light

Premier League preview and odds

Recent form:

Sunderland: LLDLL

Arsenal: DWWWW

Rock-bottom Sunderland have had little to cheer about this season. The northeast side have amassed just two points from the nine games that they have played so far. Their quest for a first win this term will not get any easier this weekend when they welcome unbeaten-in-eight Arsenal to the Stadium of Light.

David Moyes’ men have a lower point’s tally than at the same point last year. On that occasion, former England boss Sam Allardyce arrived to salvage their campaign. Another defeat could prompt the board to once again go in search of a saviour.

The Black Cats are already six points away from safety. And right now that gap seems huge in light of their recent displays. To add to their woes, they are also suffering from an injury crisis with Jan Kirchhoff, Lee Cattermole, Fabio Borini, Vito Mannone and Seb Larsson all unavailable this weekend. Meanwhile, Jason Denayer and Adnan Januzaj could also miss out.

The Mackems come into this game on the back of a 1-0 defeat away to West Ham United. In that game, they were punished for being overly defensive in the latter stages of the game. After stifling his own attack, by substituting Duncan Whatmore and Wahbi Khazri in the second half, David Moyes effectively handed West Ham the initiative. Therefore, it came as no surprise when the home side grabbed the winner deep into stoppage time. Such tactics will surely produce similar results this weekend, so the prospects do not look good for the hosts.

Arsenal have yet to be beaten on the road this term and have won their last three Premier League away matches. In fact, they have not lost a league  game away from the Emirates they lost to Manchester United back in February.

The Gunners are level on points at the summit of the Premier League table. They could go clear at the top on Saturday if they win and increase their goal difference by a sufficient margin. Last time out, Arsene Wenger’s men suffered a minor blip when they were held 1-1 at home by newly-promoted Middlesbrough.

The North London side will have to make do without the services of Santi Cazorla, Chuba Akpom, Per Mertesecker and Danny Welbeck. However, they should have enough strength in depth to see them through.

Prediction

Sunderland will need to be at the top of their game and hope that luck is on their side if they are to get a positive result from this game.

The Gunners have not lost in any of their last 13 fixtures in all competitions. In addition, they have only conceded two goals away from home in the league.

You can back the away side to keep a clean sheet at 6/5 with Betfair.