Premier League Match Preview – Title chasers Arsenal travel to face struggling Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
The Premier League title race grows ever more fascinating as an in-form Arsenal side requires maximum points to chase down Manchester City and Liverpool. Meanwhile, Sheffield United are hanging on by a thread at the bottom of the league, looking for any points to help their cause.
Here’s all you need to know about Monday night’s Premier League clash.
Premier League Match Preview – Sheffield United vs Arsenal
Form
Sheffield United: LLWLL
There’s not much time left for the Blades to turn their season around, currently sitting in last place, in what has been a dire return to the Premier League that has seen them win just three of their 26 games.
They’ve lost 19 games and find themselves 11 points away from safety, staring at an immediate return to the Championship. Whilst the form has improved slightly since the return of Chris Wilder, the club are still far away from the results they need to mount a survival challenge.
The Blades have shipped five goals in three of their last six games, and have conceded 66 goals in the league this season. That’s more than any other team.
It doesn’t bode well when you’re due to play the second-most-lethal attack in the league. It will be a huge task to take any points away from this fixture but times are getting desperate, and it seems that all points are hard to come by.
Wilder’s team showed they could compete at this level with a 3-1 win over relegation rivals Luton Town a few weeks ago. However, the result that sparked a small buzz around the club was quickly abolished, as they’ve failed to score since, losing 5-0 to Brighton and 1-0 to Wolves.
As for the team news, Wilder could welcome back Ben Brereton Diaz and Cameron Archer for the game following their returns from injury, but he will remain without long-term absentees John Egan, Chris Basham, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Max Lowe. Mason Holgate will also miss out through suspension.
Arsenal: WWWLW
Arsenal are looking for their 19th win of the season, and are hoping to continue applying the pressure on Manchester City and Liverpool, the two sides above them.
The Gunners are only two points off top spot, but that could become five before kick-off. When the whistle blows at eight o’clock on Monday night, they will either be trying to close the gap to the league leaders once more or battling to move into first place, such is the pressure and standard of this title race.
February at The Arsenal ❤️
1️⃣ Scoring 18 goals in four Premier League games pic.twitter.com/ALTRV68F1x
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 1, 2024
Whilst the stakes are high in every game for Arsenal, they won’t have too many worries heading into this fixture, having demolished the last three sides they’ve come up against in the league.
After a poor end to 2023, they’re unbeaten in the league this calendar year, winning all six matches they’ve played and scoring 25 goals in the process. The exciting aspect for their fans is that barring a tight victory at Nottingham Forest, every game has been very comfortable, including a 3-1 win over title rivals Liverpool.
Their recent fluidity in attack could have a field day against the worst defence in the league, and one man who will relish that prospect is Bukayo Saka, who has scored six goals in his last four games.
Mikel Arteta iswithout Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu on Monday but has had a huge boost to his squad. Both Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko could return from injury. Meanwhile, striker Gabriel Jesus is also thought to be fully fit for Monday’s game, after appearing on the bench last week.
Previous Meetings
When the two sides met back in October at the Emirates, it was Arsenal who took the three points. Having already spoken about United’s poor defence, and Arsenal’s current form in front of goal, the fact that the result on that day was 5-0 doesn’t bode well for Monday’s hosts.
It was a second-half collapse from the Blades who trailed 1-0 at halftime. Eddie Nketiah had put the Gunners in front midway through the first half, before quickly adding his second and third of the day shortly after the teams reappeared.
Fabio Viera and Takehiro Tomiyasu finished the game off late on. If there’s any consolation for the Blades, it’s that none of those goal-scorers are expected to start this time around.
Overall it has been a pretty even history for these two clubs in the head-to-head results. They’ve met over 100 times in all competitions, with Arsenal winning 52 of those, and Sheffield United 40. However, Arsenal have won the last four meetings, and if form is anything to go by, we may well be seeing that winning run extended.
Predicted Lineups
Sheffield United: Grbic; Ahmedhodzic, Trusty, Robinson; Bogle, Norwood, Sousa, Hamer, Larouci; McAtee, McBurnie.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Who is the referee?
Sam Barrott.
Is the game on TV?
Sky Sports Main Event.
What time is kick-off?
20:00 GMT, Monday 4th March.
Odds
Sheffield United – 16/1
Draw – 6/1
Arsenal – 2/11
Read – Iconic Performances: Henry inspires Arsenal to Liverpool comeback
See more – Ranking the Premier League teams with the most set-piece goals this season
