Arsenal return to Premier League action from fellow Londoners Fulham , who make the trip to the emirates.
BET BUILDER FOR THE GAME :
Saka over 1.5 shots , Jimenez over 0.5 shots , under 14 corners , under 6 goals, home team or draw
Arsenal Prediction
The international break is over, and Arsenal was certainly thankful for the two-week rest. Although the Gunners’ last match was a bounce-back victory against Chelsea, the team needed to gather strength ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals vs. Real Madrid on April 8 and 16.
Bukayo Saka is back on the team to face Fulham today. That means the world to an offense that lost Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to injuries and had to deploy central midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift center-forward/”false nine” for the past seven matches in all competitions.
Arsenal’s diminished attack was a factor in letting Liverpool slip further away. In the past five games, the Reds’ lead increased from 7 to 12 points, after the Gunners went into a winless streak, with two draws and a loss.
Saka has been out with a hamstring injury since late December but resumed training last week and will start getting back into rhythm today. When he went down, he was the team leader in assists with 10, and after missing more than three months, he still is. The next-best teammate in that category has five. That’s probably enough evidence of how much Arsenal missed the winger’s dribbling and playmaking ability.
Fulham Prediction
The Cottagers are still licking their wounds from their weekend FA Cup elimination at the hands of Crystal Palace with a resounding 3-0 in the quarter-finals. What could have been the highlight of their season became a moral blow before visiting Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Fulham’s season has been positive, nonetheless. The team currently sits 8th in the Premier League table, within distance of European Cup competitions (although no one will probably bet on them to overtake Man City or Newcastle).
The Cottagers have been on a nice streak—they have won five of their past eight Premier League matches—, and they are actually a pretty good visitor, with a 6-4-4 record and +4 goal difference, so even if Arsenal ends up beating them, it should not be a whooping.
Arsenal vs. Fulham Pick
Despite all the important injuries throughout the season, Arsenal is still the 2nd-best home team in the league with a 9-4-1 record. So today, with Saka back in the squad and a rival like Fulham, the Gunners should come through with a win.
More importantly, Arsenal has scored 28 goals in 14 matches at Emirates, exactly two per match, which could factor into the total for this game against a Fulham side on short rest after their FA Cup fixture last Saturday.
