Kick-off: 2000, 02/01/2021
Stadium: The Hawthorns
TV: BT Sport
Arsenal ended 2020 with two straight wins and will hope to maintain that much-needed momentum at the start of the new year.
The Gunners lifted the FA Cup in August but were unconvincing in the Premier League, winning only 15 of 34 games in 2020.
Scoring goals has been the biggest issue and the same problem applies to the struggling hosts so under 2.5 goals looks good value at 21/20 as our opening West Brom vs Arsenal prediction.
A Look At West Bromwich Albion’s Betting Odds
West Brom start the year in the relegation zone and have shown little to suggest they can avoid relegation straight back to the Championship.
Recent 1-1 draws at Manchester City and Liverpool have proved what the Baggies are capable of on their day but those results count for very little when followed by 3-0 and 5-0 thrashings at home to Aston Villa and Leeds respectively.
Sam Allardyce was recently brought in to replace Slaven Bilic as manager but knows he faces a tough task, especially at this time of year when the matches are coming thick and fast.
He said: “It’s difficult for me to get them fitter when we have so many games. If I do they will probably injure themselves because they would have to play a game after doing extra fitness work.
“What they have to do is get stronger in their mind. The mind can make you do many things. It can make you run faster.
“I’m sure if I pointed a gun at their head and said ‘I’m going to shoot you’ they would run as fast as they needed to.
“They have to get that type of determination inside them and, when they are tired, say ‘I’m not tired, I am going to run again, I am going to keep going’. Hopefully that will help.
“It seems it’s hard getting a result at home but OK getting a result at Manchester City and Liverpool. We’ve got to change that.”
West Brom have failed to score in five of their eight home games and an away win to nil looks worth backing at 33/20 in the West Brom vs Arsenal odds.
Last West Brom line-up: Johnstone, Furlong, Ajayi, Peltier, O’Shea, Phillips, Diangana, Gallagher, Sawyers, Robinson, Grant.
A Look At Arsenal’s Betting Odds
Arsenal had been in danger of getting dragged into the relegation battle but the surprise 3-1 victory over Chelsea was followed by a scrappy 1-0 win at Brighton to ease the pressure on Mikel Arteta.
Substitute Alexandre Lacazette, dropped to the bench to accommodate recalled captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, coolly bagged the second-half winner at Brighton just 21 seconds after replacing Gabriel Martinelli.
“In this period, we know how much we needed the wins,” said Arteta.
“We had a really tough week and it wasn’t that much about the performance, it was about the result.
“You need the results to start confidence and now with two wins I think everyone is in a much better mood.”
The Gunners failed to produce an attempt on target during a forgettable first half in Sussex but improved significantly after the restart.
That has often been the case this season, with Arsenal only leading twice at the break, so let’s take 10/3 for the visitors to take control after the interval as our final West Brom vs Arsenal prediction.
Last Arsenal line-up: Leno, Bellerin, Tierney, Holding, Mari, Saka, Elneny, Smith Rowe, Xhaka, Aubameyang, Martinelli.
Additional stats
Last result:
WEST BROM 0-5 Leeds
Brighton 0-1 ARSENAL – Alexandre Lacazette
Head-to-head: West Brom 1-1 Arsenal, Arsenal 2-0 West Brom, West Brom 3-1 Arsenal, Arsenal 1-0 West Brom
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