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West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal Preview | Team News & Key Men

West Bromwich Albion are still looking for their first win since they fired Tony Pulis.  Since firing Pulis they have drawn five matches and lost three, seeing them fall to 19th place in the table.  While they’ve had some good results with draws away to Liverpool and Tottenham, they have to start winning games more often or else they will likely see themselves relegated from the Premier League.  Arsenal are a tough opponent, but the Baggies have beat them at the Hawthorns in both of the last two seasons, so they’ll hope to repeat that feat this season.

Arsenal are coming off a midweek win away to Crystal Palace, but they have struggled away from home this season.  They have won only three of their 10 away matches this season, including losses to Stoke City and Watford and draws to Southampton and West Ham United.  They’ll also be playing on less rest than their opponents.  Arsenal last played on Thursday, while West Brom last played on Tuesday, so that could put the Gunners at a disadvantage.

Team News

West Brom will be missing some of their key players going into this match against Arsenal.  They’ll be without top goal scorer Salamon Rondon as he recovers from a hamstring injury, as well as Nacer Chadli who is out for about two months with a hip injury, according to Physioroom.com.  They’ll also be without James Morrison as he recovers from an Achilles injury.

The Baggies aren’t the only ones missing key players though, as Arsenal will be without Nacho Monreal and Aaron Ramsey, two of Arsenal’s better players so far this season, according to Physioroom.com.  They’ll also be without super-sub Olivier Giroud as he recovers from a hamstring injury and Santi Cazorla as he continues to recover from his nightmare Achilles injury.

Key Players

West Bromwich Albion: Jay Rodriguez

West Brom have struggled for goals all season, only Swansea City have scored fewer goals, and now they’re without their top scorer in Rondon.  With the Venezuelan out, Jay Rodriguez will have to step up and score a few goals.  The Englishman has only scored two league goals this season and hasn’t scored since his goal against Manchester City in October.  The baggies don’t have a lot of goalscoring options and will likely need Rodriguez to come through for them against the Gunners.

Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette has failed to score in his last five appearances, but he has still been productive, assisting a goal against Liverpool and Palace, as well as taking the shot that led to Arsenal’s first goal against the Eagles. The Frenchman is a goalscorer though and will be desperate to end his goal drought as soon as possible.  He scored two goals against the Baggies earlier in the season in September, his only multi-goal game for the Gunners so far.  He’ll be hoping to repeat that in their meeting at the Hawthorns.

Prediction

Arsenal have really struggled at home and will likely look a bit leggy with such a quick turnaround after the Palace match.  West Brom have also been pretty poor lately, but they’ve shown their ability to get a point against big teams.  There’s a decent chance this match ends in the points being shared,

Prediction: 1-1 Draw

thejerseyfitz
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