1/18/20 10 am
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Arsenal is welcoming Sheffield United to Emirates Stadium in London in part of round 23 of the English Premier League.
Arsenal is still struggling on both ends, but the improvement is visible since the arrival of Mikel Arteta as the new head coach in late December. Arsenal is undefeated in their last 3 games and has scored 4 goals during that stretch while conceding only 1 goal. In their last EPL game against Crystal Palace away from home, Arsenal was the better team with 58% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 4 corner kicks, and 78% of accurate passes. Arsenal had the lead at the half-time, but Crystal Palace was able to score a goal to tie the game in the 54th minute. I think that Arsenal was playing well at that point and they would have won the game if Aubameyang didn’t get a red card in the 67th minute. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Aubameyang’s red card is a huge blow for Arsenal because he seems to be the only player that can score a goal for Arsenal this season. Aubameyang has scored 14 goals for Arsenal this season, while Lacazette added 5 goals. Tierney and Bellarin are only two injured players for Arsenal, while Aubameyang is suspended due to the said red card. Arsenal has only 28 points from 22 games and is in 10th place in the EPL standings. The defense has been the biggest problem for Arsenal this season with 31 conceded goals, but it seems that they gained some consistency as of late. Arsenal is also playing in the Europa League where they are one of the top favorites to win the competition, and to be honest, Arsenal must go for it because that is the only way they might play in the Champions League next season.
Sheffield United is playing fantastic soccer this season, and it doesn’t look like they are stopping anytime soon. With 32 points, 24 scored goals, and 21 conceded goals, Sheffield is in 6th place in the EPL standings, 2 points behind Manchester United in 5th place. As the newcomer to the EPL this season, it’s a huge surprise that Sheffield United is this high in the standings halfway through the season, and more importantly, they plan on staying there. Late December and early January were tough on Sheffield, but they won their last 2 games and got back on the winning track. In their last EPL match against West Ham, Sheffield United had 46% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 7 corner kicks, and 70% of the correct passes. Sheffield scored a goal early in the second half, and after that their defense stepped up once again and Sheffield has won this match 1-0. Mousset is Sheffield’s top goalscorer with 5 goals, Fleck and McBurnie added 4 goals each. Moore and Verrips are the only two injured player and coach Wilder will not have them at his disposal. Man do I love when the small team gets a success like this in one of the strongest leagues in the world, especially when that team has just been promoted to the EPL. The title will most likely go to Liverpool this season, but the rest of the teams are fighting for every point and because of that, EPL is extremely interesting this season.
Arsenal hasn’t lost any of their last 4 home games against Sheffield, but Sheffield is the team that is in better form, and they already beat Arsenal earlier this season. Sheffield has been playing well when being the underdog this season. As far as the Arsenal goes, they are not a bad team, but with Aubameyang being suspended, I see Arsenal struggling on the attacking end and for that reason, I will side with Sheffield.
Goran’s Pick Sheffield United +333
AUTHOR: Goran Kucar
Follow Goran Kucar on Twitter @GoranKucar