Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
On Tuesday, Arsenal thrashed Paris Saint-Germain, so what can Southampton expect, given they are struggling even against Bournemouth?
Arsenal
Arsenal will play their fourth consecutive game at the Emirates across all competitions. In the previous three, they scored 11 goals and conceded only 3. Their strongest opponent left the pitch empty-handed. This came despite missing players capable of truly unexpected passes like Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino. Bukayo Saka compensates for this shortcoming, securing results for the team, as he did against PSG (2:0) with a free-kick. In midfield, the less creative Declan Rice and Thomas Partey form the core, but against Southampton, even their abilities will do, and they might even be rested—the immediate squad is capable of overcoming this opposition.
Southampton
Southampton bring back nothing but disappointment and a bunch of goals in their net from away games. They had a break during the week, but it won't help them. Last weekend, they received a lesson from Bournemouth (1:3), who significantly exceeded their expected goals, scoring more than twice what was anticipated (1.37 xG). Southampton overdid it a bit too (0.60 xG) but scored only when the outcome was nearly decided at 0:3. After that, the visitors resorted to collecting yellow cards (four in total, two for talking back).
Arsenal vs Southampton Prediction
In three of Arsenal's last five matches, at least four goals have been scored, as was the case in their last head-to-head encounter (3:3) at the Emirates a year and a half ago. For Southampton, only the total over 2.5 occurred in three of five matches, but now Arsenal will meet the norm and surely win.
