Arsenal Host Wolverhampton Wanderers in Pivotal Top-Flight Encounter
All eyes turn for a compelling top-flight matchup as table-toppers Arsenal host bottom-placed Wolves to the their home ground.
Team News
Mikel Arteta's side have opted for three changes from the side that suffered a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in their previous outing. William Saliba, Viktor Gyökeres and the Brazilian winger all come into the starting eleven. The captain and Mikel Merino are named on the bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is not involved. The centre-back is back after sitting out a run of games through injury.
The visitors also have made three adjustments to their starting XI after being soundly beaten 4-1 at Molineux by Manchester United last time out. The experienced full-back, the Brazilian midfielder and the South Korean forward are recalled. Hoever and Arias drop to the bench, while Bellegarde misses out altogether.
The Teams in Full
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Norgaard, Trossard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Johnstone, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Doherty, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Krejci, Wolfe, Larsen, Hwang.
Bench: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Referee: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks
Preamble
Good evening! And I mean, let's be honest …
The table reveals a striking contrast. The hosts sit comfortably at the summit of the table, while their opponents prop up the league.
… yet while this will be the 42nd time the top side have played the side propping up the entire table – with 30 victories from 41, with seven tied games – who are behind two of the four all-time upsets? Indeed, Wolves, that’s who! So while Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly be expecting another three points, Rob Edwards must know that long shots sometimes find the target, and anything is possible. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. Let's go!
(The other two last-over-first victories in the Premier League era are Oldham’s 1-0 win over United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – yeah, this one sounds a bit weird - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)
