Premier League: Gunners Set Their Sights on Embattled Burnley

Arsenal vs Burnley

The most fascinating side of Premier League match between Arsenal and Burnley is just which players will appear for each side, as both have recently been ravaged by injuries, illnesses, and absences.

The Clarets have had more postponements than anyone in the league with the first three called off by their opponents, but they missed their recent home matches against Watford and Leicester as their number of fit senior players approached single figures.   

Before Sunday’s clash, the Gunners have a second leg EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Thursday night so Mikel Arteta will have to assess his players on Friday.

But the latest Premier League 2022 betting odds have placed the hosts as red-hot favourites to see off the Clarets at a price of 1.37 to win.

Talking Points

Arsenal still short on numbers

Mikel Arteta is taking the Gunners through a period of transition and he’s been doing a good job of it so far, winning two trophies and challenging for a top four place this term.

But like many head coaches, he’s had a nightmare of a job to manage his squad during the latest wave of the pandemic. He was heavily criticised for asking for a postponement of last weekend’s North London derby and Arteta has rounded on his critics, calling them ‘liars’. 

He may be a little tetchy after seeing his team’s impressive run of form start to slide.       

After smashing 14 goals against Leeds United, Sunderland, and Norwich, the Gunners have misfired in their last three, losing 2-1 to Manchester City, 1-0 to Nottingham Forest, and drawing 0-0 with Liverpool in their Carabao Cup first leg.  

Thomas Partey, Mohammed Elneny, and Nicolas Pepe are all at the African Cup of Nations while Granit Xhaka missed out on the EFL Cup semi-final second leg, having been sent off in the first.

Xhaka is likely to start against Burnley. But he has unsurprisingly already been sent off against the Lancashire side.

With Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang seemingly on his way out of the club, it is left to France striker Alexandre Lacazette to lead the team and the attack and who he has alongside him on Sunday remains to be seen.

Arteta is being coy about who is ill or injured and patient confidentiality means he can keep it that way.       

Is Burnley’s time up this year?

Fans of other clubs and plenty of pundits still think Burnley can survive despite sitting rock bottom of the league and with realistically, only four or five teams they can catch.

This is the first time Sean Dyche’s team has been in a relegation scrap with an average finishing position of 12^th over the past five campaigns.

So what has gone wrong this season? 

Well, Burnley struggled to get a win, leading several games until the late stages before uncharacteristically slipping up. And finding themselves in the lower reaches, they then had a series of postponements as well as suffering back-to-back unfavourable Premier League 2022 results.

They have five games in hand on some of their rivals. But the Clarets, like their hosts, are desperately short of players.

Dyche said they only had 10 men in training last Monday with COVID-19 absences and long-term injuries. Strikers Ashley Barnes and Matej Vydra are sidelined, and having sold Chris Wood to Newcastle United, they are left with one more striker in Jay Rodriguez.       

And Burnley will be without their top scorer Maxwell Cornet, as he too is at the African Cup of Nations with the highly-fancied Ivory Coast.

Four defeats in the last six in all competitions has left Burnley out of the FA Cup and in serious trouble in the league. But they have only played two Premier League matches over the past six weeks so the players who are still standing should be well-rested.

But they looked rusty in their recent defeat to Leeds United and that will have struck fear into the hearts of Burnley fans.            

History

The Gunners have almost had it all their own way in their Premier League encounters with the Clarets, winning 14 of the 19 games while Dyche’s men have scratched together two wins and three draws.

But over the past two campaigns, Arsenal have struggled against Burnley – winning for the first time in four games as they triumphed 1-0 at Turf Moor early in the season.

Last term, the Clarets picked up a narrow 1-0 win at the Emirates when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put through his own net and Xhaka was sent off.       

The Clarets are winless in eight games and have lost the last three on the road and they would take a draw right now I suspect.

Betting Tip

	Arsenal vs Burnley	Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.98
	January 23, 22:00 (GMT+8)

With the draw at 4.55 and a Burnley win at SBOTOP odds of 7.14, it’s difficult to see anything other than a home win. But with both teams down to the bare bones, it could be a closer affair than is seems. A 1-0 or 2-0 win for Arsenal or a 1-1 draw are the most likely outcomes.

 

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