English Premier League - Match Prediction: Burnley VS Arsenal

Match Time：3/6/2021 20:30 Saturday  (GMT+8)

English Premier League --  Burnley   VS   Arsenal

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Arsenal travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley on Saturday lunchtime looking to make it back-to-back Premier League wins and three victories in a row across all competitions. The Gunners slumped to a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium, though, and Burnley could now complete a league double over Arsenal for the first time since 1962-63.

 

Match preview

After a buoyant end to February, progressing through to the next round of the Europa League in dramatic fashion before beating Leicester City last weekend, Arsenal will be looking to carry that form into a difficult-looking March schedule. Mikel Arteta's side must face top-four chasing London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United in the top flight this month, in addition to a European double-header against Olympiacos, but they need only look to the reverse fixture in December for evidence that they cannot afford to overlook Saturday's match either.

 

Arsenal will certainly arrive at Turf Moor in confident mood following their last two results, producing arguably their two most impressive wins of the season in those two games.

 

Whether that improvement comes in time for a late top-four push remains to be seen, but they have left themselves with a mountain to climb on that front and Europa League glory perhaps offers a more realistic route into next season's Champions League at this stage of the campaign.

 

Arteta's men have been beaten 11 times in the league this season - only in 2017-18 have they suffered more defeats in a 38-game Premier League campaign - and they have also failed to score in 10 league outings - one short of equalling an unwanted club record. Arsenal did not show many signs of that profligacy last time out against Leicester - a result which made it four away wins in their last six, having only won four of their previous 18 before that.

 

Indeed, the Gunners have fared better away from home than they have at the Emirates this season and, if history is anything to go by, they will be confident of improving that away record further on Saturday. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight league visits to Turf Moor stretching back to December 1973, and have kept clean sheets in four of their last five such matches.

 

Indeed, Burnley have only ever scored seven goals in their 13 previous Premier League games against Arsenal, and never more than once in a match, so the Clarets may not be too hopeful of improving their meagre goal return this weekend.

 

Only rock-bottom Sheffield United have scored fewer than Burnley's 19 goals from 27 games this season, and the lowest goal tally of any team to avoid the drop in Premier League history currently stands at 28. Sean Dyche's men therefore have work to do if they are to keep themselves at arm's length of danger, with only six points separating them from the relegation zone despite them losing just one of their last six top-flight outings.

 

Burnley have also only won once in their last eight games, but they picked up a creditable 1-1 draw with Leicester on Wednesday evening to respond well to their heavy defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

 

Wednesday's result means that the Clarets have now drawn each of their last four home games and could set a new top-flight club record of five in a row if the spoils are shared again on Saturday.

 

Dyche would regard a draw against a team of Arsenal's quality as a positive result, but he will also be desperate to see what is now a five-game winless run at home come to an end.

 

The victory at the Emirates in December should give Burnley plenty of confidence that they can pull off the double in this fixture for the first time in almost 60 years, but they will still go into the game as underdogs regardless.

 

Burnley Premier League form: DWDDLD

Burnley form (all competitions): LWDDLD

 

Arsenal Premier League form: DLLWLW

Arsenal form (all competitions): LWDLWW

 

Team News

Arteta is blessed with a largely clean bill of health at the moment, with Emile Smith Rowe the only first-team regular over whom there is a question mark for this match.

 

The youngster was forced off shortly before half time against Leicester last time out and could miss out again on Saturday, with Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard set to replace him in the starting XI.

 

Arteta left the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey, Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin and Dani Ceballos out for that Leicester game and was rewarded with one of his side's best wins of the season, so he faces a dilemma whether to welcome some of those players back into his team for this one.

 

Aubameyang netted the only goal of the game at the wrong end in the reverse fixture, but he has scored more Premier League goals against Burnley than he has against any other side so will be desperate to return to the starting lineup.

 

Nicolas Pepe has also begun to find some good scoring form, netting in four of his last five away league games.

 

Burnley, meanwhile, will be without striker Ashley Barnes, who has scored three of the club's seven Premier League goals against Arsenal.

 

Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Robbie Brady and Jack Cork will all be assessed ahead of kickoff, but the match may come too soon for Cork in particular to recover from a tight hamstring.

 

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil; Rodriguez, Wood

 

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Leno; Cedric, Luiz, Mari, Tierney; Thomas, Xhaka; Pepe, Odegaard, Willian; Lacazette

 

Burnley VS Arsenal

Burnley 0-1 Arsenal